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For the first time, the World Enduro Championships was held in Greece. The organisation, motor club Pegasus and the Iron Team were no strangers to hosting such events though, having organized a number of National enduro rounds and European Supermotard Championships. Held in the small town of Kalavrita, at the foot of Mt Helmos, the race would see riders climb through the rocky mountainside and complete two cross tests and one enduro test for each of the three loops on the first day and two on the second. Not even the rain leading up to the race could soften the hard, stony ground and only managed to keep the dust down.
Husqvarna’s Stefan Merriman once again proved the TE 400 was the bike to beat winning the 400cc class and the overall classification on Day 1 from Juha Salminen. The test times were close on the second day, until Merriman crashed in the second to last test. Stefan finished second on Sunday by a small margin of five seconds. “I had a great day on Saturday and felt good on all tests. Sunday was a little more difficult as the track wore in, and I was disappointed about crashing in the second last test”. Merriman remains the leader of the class, with a four point margin over his rival Salminen.
In the 250 Four Stroke class, Paul Edmondson finished the both days in second position. The second day was much closer and after the first three tests Eddy was only 2 seconds away from Bergvall. He made a couple of mistakes in the last few tests and was unable to bridge the gap. After the first day eddy commented, “ It was a difficult day for me. I made some mistakes in the first enduro test. I was a little thrown as I thought it would only be timed on the second and third laps, not the first. I found the fast hard track good as there was nice berms. Overall it wasn’t all bad, I finished second with no crashes.”
Anders Eriksson also finished second on both days. On the first day, Anders said, “I had a huge crash in the first motocross test, went over the handlebars and lost 16 seconds. I was pleased with my riding though as I managed to make up a lot of time and finish second.” On the second day, Anders had trouble matching the speed of fellow countrymen, Bjorne Carlsson, who has ridden previous Greek rounds and was experienced with the conditions.
Husqvarna’s 125 rider, Petteri Silvan finished second on the first day by a small fraction of a second. Afterwards he said, “I found the special tests too short. They were not particularly technical, just fast straights, full gas. I enjoyed riding the trail at this race, the area is a beautiful location. I drove a little too slow in the morning and had trouble trying to catch Larsson in the afternoon”. Silvan rode well on Sunday and beat Pohjamo for first position.
Samuli Aro finished in second place on day 1, after the race he said, “I had a good day, apart from my crash in the last enduro test when I hit an obstacle and lost the front end as I exited a corner. I really liked the special tests, especially the first motocross test. That test was fun, with the jumps and fast straights. The hard ground was good with the recent rain providing just enough grip.” Aro fought Fretigne for first position on the second day and came out victorious, despite having difficulties in the first enduro test.
Overall Results: Day 1
1. Stefan Merriman 38:17.144
2. Juha Salminen 38:26.921
3. David Fretigne 38:46.526
Overall Results: Day 2
1. Juha Salminen 25:15.117
2. Stefan Merriman 25:21.266
3. Bjorne Carlsson (HBG) 25:36.638
Championship Points: After Three Rounds:
1.Salminen 119
2.Stefan Merriman 98 (Husqvarna)
3.Aro 93 (Husqvarna)
4 Knight 65
5.Eriksson 62 (Husqvarna)
125cc 2T -
Silvan 133 (Husqvarna),
Larsson 119,
Germain 79,
Pohjamo 63
250cc 2T
Aro 135 (Husqvarna),
Knight 102,
Wiik 90,
Laaksonen 82
250cc 4T
Bergvall 141,
Edmondson 125 (Husqvarna),
Oblucki 97 (Husqvarna)
400cc Class
Merriman 135 (Husqvarna),
Salminen 131,
Tarkala 79,
Arpa 62
500cc Class
Eriksson 135 (Husqvarna),
Ahola 122,
Carlsson 103
