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By - Lexy Thorogood:
Check out the WEBSITE: of Stefan Merriman, the Kiwi born Enduro ace for photos (including this event) his profile, events calendar, etc.
The newly re-organised World Enduro Champs got off to a good start on the weekend in the small village of Puerto Lumbreras in south eastern Spain. The nation was in mourning following the atrocious terrorist attacks in Madrid on Thursday, where 200 were killed and another 1000 injured. All riders worn black armbands as a mark of respect for the victims and their families. The race went ahead in very wet and slippery conditions. The newly appointed promoter ABC Communication, headed by Alain Blanchard, worked with the organisers - moto club Nolgate to create a presence in the paddock and around the race as enduro enters a new era of popularity. The classes have now been reduced to three - Enduro I (125cc 2T and 250cc 4T), Enduro II (250 2T and 450 4T) and Enduro III (300cc 2T abd 500cc 4T). This season in Enduro I, Merriman will face three other former World Champions - Petteri Silvan (FIN), Peter Bergvall (SWE) and Mario Rinaldi (ITA) in competition for the victory in the class.
The starting order for this race is organised by class, with the Enduro I class first, followed by Enduro II and Enduro III. The starting order within each class was determined by the overall classification of the riders from 2003. Thus Merriman was the first rider out of the paddock on Saturday morning and first through the tests throughout the day. After sunny weather all week, the race started on Saturday with constant light rain and strong winds. There were two cross tests - one near the town with bulldozed up supercross jumps and one in a grassy field with loose stones hidden amongst the long grass. The enduro test was set in an open 500cc motocross track with a couple of added obstacles - two very steep hillclimbs and downhills.
Merriman was first through the Grassy cross test with loose stones and was cautious looking ahead for hidden obstacles. By the time the second lap came around the top layer had been taken off revealing dry, powdery ruts beneath. Light rain which continued for most of the day, played havoc with riders vision as they struggled to keep their goggles fog free. Merriman got off to a flying start winning the first cross test dispite the disadvantage of being first one through the track, acting as a \'sweeper\' to clear the rocks for the riders who followed. He then went on to win every test from the opponents in his class, with the exception of the first loop through the enduro test where he overjumped a jump and missed the following corner. This was the only test he didn\'t win by a hefty margin as he went on to take the day win by more than one minute from Silvan.
At the press conference on Saturday, Merriman said, \" I am really happy to have won the first race of the season. It is a big adjustment changing teams and changing bikes, and so I am pleased that we have these results after the work we have done. I liked the special tests, they were better with the rain as they would have been too dusty otherwise. The first grass test was tricky going first as there was many loose rocks hidden in the slippery long,wet grass.\"
Day Two:
The rain continued non stop on the second day of racing at the WEC in Puerto Lumbreras. Stefan got off to a great start winning all the tests on the first loop. He ran into difficulties as the rain became very heavy at the end of the second loop, when he arrived at the Enduro test with the two steep hill the climbs. Cut up with ruts it was difficult to tell the best line up the hill. The ground was wet and slippery as there was no one before him, to turn over the wet surface and expose the dry ground beneath. Stefan got halfway up the hill and started losing speed, he tried to track across the hill but only stalled the bike and was left pushing the bike up the remainder of the hill. He lost almost thirty seconds from his previous times through this test. The other riders were able to benefit from his experience, \'Seeing where not to go\'! Disappointed he continued to the next lap still leading the class by 1 second from Honda rider, Albergoni.
The rain eased but left the ruts full of water and being first through the next two cross tests, Stefan\'s bike removed all the mud, leaving a smooth dry line for the latter riders. Merriman lost his balence and fell in the cross test losing more valable time to Albergoni. Albergoni was running 50th and so by the time he went through the next two cross tests he had a dry run and got a seven second lead on Merriman. Then unfortunately the organisers decided to cancel the last lap, which left Merriman with no more time to catch up. He finished the second day second in the Enduro I class, not bad considering the crashes and losing 30 seconds on the hill climb.
After Day 2, Merriman said, \"I am so disappointed about stopping in the Enduro test. I lost a lot of time and was unable to make it up as the organisers cancelled the last loop. I didn\'t feel like myself today the tests were slippery and I struggled.\"
RESULTS:
Scratch (outright)
1 Cervantes - 50
2 Salminen - 42
3 Aro - 38
4 Knight - 36
5 Merriman - 31
Class Enduro 1
1 Simone Albergoni ITA Honda 41:54.89
2 Stefan Merriman AUS Yamaha +0:07.52
3 Petteri Silvan FIN KTM +0:15.32
4 Roberto Bazzurri ITA Husqvarna +0:53.00
5 Bartos Oblucki POL Yamaha +0:58.52
6 Alessandro BelomettiITA KTM +1:03.48
10 Helder Rodrigues POR KTM +1:23.70
11 Xavier Puigdemont SPA KTM +1:27.9
13 Fabien Planet FRA KTM +1:41.70
20 Homero Diaz MEX KTM +3:18.31
Class Enduro 2
1 Juha Salminen FIN KTM 41:03.72
2 Arnau Vilanova SPA Honda +0:57.13
3 Petri Pohjamo FIN Gas Gas +1:17.09
4 Paul Edmondson GBR Honda +1:26.42
5 Alessandro Botturi ITA KTM +1:32.65
6 Giovanni Sala ITA KTM +1:49.44
12 Marcus Kehr GER KTM +2:59.93
14 Vita Kuklik CZE KTM +3:07.82
16 Edward Jones GBR KTM +4:07.72
18 Olivier Pain FRA KTM +4:47.78
20 Lucas Puerta SPA KTM +5:12.31
Class Enduro 3
1 Ivan Cervantes SPA KTM 40:37.55
2 Samuli Aro FIN KTM +0:18.55
3 David Knight GBR KTM +0:51.64
4 Marko Tarkkala FIN Husaberg +0:53.67
5 Anders Eriksson SWE Husqvarna +0:59.00
9 Niklas Gustafsson SWE KTM +2:42.07
11 Jordi Duran SPA KTM +2:46.55
12 Werner Müller AUT KTM +2:48.48
13 Christoph Seifert GER KTM +3:55.35
14 Swen Enderlein GER KTM +3:55.80
15 Laurent Bouffioux FRA KTM +5:29.52
