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By - Lexy Thorogood:
Check out - STEFAN`S W/SITE: for photos, profile, calendar, etc.
Mission Jamsa - Deep Sand and Mosquitoes
Preparations are well underway for the final two rounds of World Enduro Championships in Jamsa. Merriman arrived in Finland 10 days ago and has been training daily at nearby sand tracks in Tampere and Hameelina. Stefan has made a few changes to the bike set up to prepare for the difficult and typically Finnish sand tracks. The three specials in Jamsa are the same tracks where the previous World Champs tests were in \'91, \'94 and \'99.
For the Finnish round there will be three specials per lap, and three laps on Saturday and two on Sunday. Despite one being called an enduro test, all the tests are quite the same.
The two cross tests are in motocross tracks and the terrain is very fine sand. In fact the sand tracks in Jamsa are famous amongst enduro riders as being the most difficult sand in the world, due to it\'s powdery texture.
Thus it is no surprise that World Champion, Petteri Silvan who hails from this small lakeside town and has come first in the overall classification of every World Enduro Championship here since 1994. The terrain is very specialised and sand riding is something the Finnish pride themselves on being the best at.
The weather here has been mostly dry and warm (15 degrees) but Thursday night brought heavy rain, which continued on Friday. This should be good for the race as it makes the sand tests more \'grippy\' and keeps dust down. The biggest concern before the race is the strange layout of the race itself.
The organisers have the trail making three different laps, instead of the usual format of three laps of the same trail. The problem is that the organisers have nominated fueling areas different to the service areas, which would cause chaos and may make it so riders may be susceptible to breaking the strict guidelines as to when they can recieve assistance.
However the jury members are currently debating the problems which should be sorted out before the race starts tomorrow.
After victories in both the class and overall classification in both Italy and France, Merriman is enroute to winning his third World title. He is leading the 250cc 2 stroke class by 44 points from KTM rider Samuli Aro and is nudging Juha Salminen for the overall title, only 7 points behind.
After training here in Finland for the last two weeks, Merriman feels prepared for the race, both mentally and physically and is looking forward to some fierce competition
