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By - Lexy Thorogood:
Stefan Merriman won both days of the first round of the Italian Enduro Championships with his new Honda CRE 250 on the weekend. It was the first major event of the European Enduro season and was held in Noto, Sicily in unusually cold and wet conditions. There was three different special tests, which were ridden several times throughout the day. One motocross test was tight and twisty set on the beach amongst the sand as the waves lapped up against the ruts. The second motocross test was more like an enduro test on a steep terraced slope. The constant rain made this test very slippery and difficult as the conditions varied throughout the course of the race. The enduro test was a very fast, rocky, steep uphill track in the mountains.
Stefan said, \"It was quite a hard race for the start of the season both for the bikes and the riders. The weather here in Sicily has been unusually cold for this area. Rain on both days made it quite wet and slippery. The trail was quite difficult with many difficult rocky, trials sections which were tricky with slippery mud on the surface. Those riders with a trials background had a distinct advantage, as you were able to minimise the effort used on the trail, to put in maximum effort during the special tests. The race was hard going on the bikes as it was hard to get the carburation right, with the variance in altitude and terrain. The sand test required the bike to be a little richer than normal, to prevent the engine from siezing. Whilst the bike runs richer at a higher altitudes, an adjustment was required to make the bike leaner for the rocky, enduro test in the mountains.\"
\"The difficulty of Saturdays race was a good test on my fitness and I am pleased with my results today. Overall I felt very comfortable with the handling of my new Honda and enjoyed riding a lighter bike.\"
\"I don\'t think the change in starting order is a good idea. The Italian Enduro Champs has gained a lot of credibility over the past few years, attracting many foreign riders. Last year the top riders (both foreign and Italian) were at the start of the pack in class order. This year they have arranged the riders where the Italian seniors and juniors go first in the class before the foreigners. Which means the trail and tests have many riders of different skill levels on at once and the foreigners that are competing for the overall results can be up to one hour apart. The tests can change dramatically over time with this number of riders, making it difficult to fairly compare the overall result.\"
About the race on Sunday, Merriman said, \"When I went through the mud test it was starting to rain quite hard and I chose some bad lines on the uphill ruts. Then in the next special in the sand, I lost the front end in a corner and went over the handlebars. After you crash in the sand it is hard to get going again and regain the momentum you had before the crash. However David Knight also had some bad luck and stalled his Yamaha in the second last test, I was able to make up the time I lost on him in the sand and win the second day.\"
Overall Results Assoluti D´Italia:
Day 1
1. Stefan Merriman, AUS, Honda 31.06.43
2. David Knight, GBR, Yamaha 31.09.98
3. Mario Rinaldi, ITA, Yamaha 31.47.29
4. Samuli Aro, FIN, KTM 31.49.60
5. Stefano Passeri, ITA, Yamaha 32.15.70
Day 2
1. Merriman 26.43.54
2. Knight 26.46.42
3. Aro 26.51.49
4. Paul Edmondson, GBR, Yamaha 26:56.72
5. Mats Andreasson, SWE, Yamaha 27.11.68
