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Contributed by: Lexy Thorogood.
Husqvarna has already gained it\'s first World Enduro Title and there is still one round left of competition! Finnish rider, Samuli Aro secured his first world title for the Husqvarna Factory Team, run by Fabrizio Azzalin. Aro now has enough points to win the 250cc 2 stroke class, without having to ride the final round in Sweden next weekend. Although Aro has said he is keen to ride the following round to contest Salminen for the Overall World Champion Title.
The Finnish round of the World Enduro Championships is renown for it\'s difficult forest trails and boggy special tests, however this wasn\'t the case this year. Held in Mikkeli, Finland the round was not as challenging as expected. Riders were to complete 2 loops of 117km course and 3 specials tests. Many of the riders complained that they were not able to warm themselves up before the special tests as the interconnecting trail was mostly on the road!! The special tests were quite odd too - two were set in sand quarrys, with half the test run through rough gravel.
Over both days the sun shone and it was warm and dusty. In the 125cc class, Silvan got off to a good start on the first day winning the first test by a fraction, against his fellow countrymen Pohjamo. Then in the following test he crashed and lost 10 seconds to his rivals. He managed to finish both days in third position, but retains hold of the lead in the 125cc class and is determined to defend his world title in Sweden next weekend.
Whilst the 250cc 4 stroke title has been won by Peter Bergvall, Husqvarna\'s Bartoz Oblucki and Paul Edmondson are battling it out for second and third position. Oblucki made up some ground on his team mate on the weekend, producing some excellent special test times, despite a couple of crashes.
In the hotly-contested 400cc 4 stroke class, Stefan Merriman dropped back to second position in the world championship classification as he had a bad crash in the dangerously fast enduro test. The enduro test, which was set on the town\'s bicycle trails, was ridden at an average speed of up to 63kph. Despite being in excess of the allowed speed for enduro test, it was still raced. Many riders crashed including Merriman, who badly injured his knee turning off a fast straight into a corner. The strong Australian rider continued to ride but was unable to race at his usual pace. Merriman has secured second position in the 400 class and will race next weekend in Sweden.
Eriksson maintains his lead in the 500 class, winning the first day after his rival Ahola made the fatal error of clocking into a time check too early. Anders rode strong over the weekend and now looks to be a sure winner in the World Title hunt.
The final points standings are.
Overall classification.
1.Salminen 245
2. Aro 197 (Husqvarna)
3. Merriman 175 (Husqvarna)
4.Eriksson 118 (Husqvarna)
125cc 2T - Silvan 238 (Husqvarna), Larsson 202, Pohjamo 169, Germain 154
250cc 2T - Aro 285 (Husqvarna), Knight 188, Laaksonen 176, Rodrigues 148
250cc 4T - Bergvall 291, Edmondson 198 (Husqvarna), Oblucki 193 (Husqvarna)
400cc -Salminen 271, Merriman 232 (Husqvarna), Tarkala 163, Michalik 135
500cc - Eriksson 263 (Husqvarna), Ahola 233, Carlsson 180, Sala 163
World Enduro Championships- Mikkeli, FINLAND
Results Day 1
Overall
1. Petri Pohjamo (GAS) 37.01:85
2. Samuli Aro (HUS) 37.07:84
3. Juha Salminen (KTM) 37.10:09
125cc 2T
1. Petri Pohjamo (GAS) 37.01:85
2. Rickard Larsson (TM) +00.22:83
3. Petteri Silvan (HUS) +00.26:19
250cc 2T
1. Samuli Aro (HUS) 37.07:84
2. Helder Rodrigues (HON) +00:19:71
3. David Knight (YAM) +00.24:66
250cc
1. Peter Bergvall (YAM) 37.56:87
2. Bartoz Oblucki (HUS) +00.43:90
3. Nicklaus Gustavsson (KTM) +00.46:99
400cc
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 37.10:09
2.Marko Tarkala (HBG) +00.20:77
3. Roman Michalik (VOR) +01.03:04
500cc
1. Anders Eriksson (HUS) 37.31:79
2. Giovanni Sala (KTM) +00.41:77
3. Mika Ahola (VOR) +00.45:05
Day 2 - Mikkeli, Finland
Overall
1. Samuli Aro (Husqvarna) 29.26:50
2. Juha Salminen (KTM) 29.28:48 3. Petri Pohjamo (GAS) 29.39:70
125cc 2T
1. Petri Pohjamo (GAS) 29.39:70
2. Mikko Pihlajavesi (KTM) +00.06:64
3. Petteri Silvan (HUS) +00.07:78
250cc 2T
1. Samuli Aro (HUS) 29.26:50
2. Helder Rodrigues (HON) +00.18.59
3. Jarno Boarno (HON) +00.19:46
250cc 4T
1. Peter Bergvall (YAM) 30.35:83
2. Bartoz Oblucki (HUS) +00.12:13
3. Niklas Gustavsson (KTM) +00.15:27
400cc
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 29.28:48
2. Marko Tarkala (HBG) +00.26:04
3. Roman Michalik (VOR) +00.49:12
500cc
1. Mika Ahola (VOR) 29.59:24
2. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) +00.16:21
3. Giovanni Sala (KTM) +00.19:23
