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Paul Whibley is campaigning the 2004 season with HONDA RACING FAST EDDY:
If you would like to send Whibs your support he is @: paulwhibley@hotmail.com
Paul Edmondson surpassed even his own wildest expectations at the third round of the World Enduro Championship when he claimed a double Enduro 2 class win to move to the front of the E2 WEC standings for the first time this season.
Making the most of a DNF by Finn Juha Salminen on day one, Edmondson rode consistently to claim his first WEC E2 win of the year before going on to top the class, and beat Salminen, on day two.
Paul Edmondson:
“I think I’m still in shock. Day one started the weekend well and on day two I managed to finish the weekend off well. Obviously winning is what all riders work for but to have won twice here in Italy has taken me completely by surprise, I’m so happy. I’m shocked, surprised, happy, it hasn’t sunk in yet.
“It’s been a weird weekend. Like normal Juha was the fastest rider in the Enduro 2 class on day one but I kept plugging away and with him not finishing I got the win. I knew I’d have to ride well to finish second, which I felt I did, and I had put myself in a position where I was able to take advantage of his mistake.
“To be honest I knew that if it rained I could win. I felt good on day one and the way the bike was working I felt really confident that I could take the fight to Juha, which I did. When I won the first test I knew that I could win the day. I lost a lot of time to Juha on the cross-country test but I managed to pull it all back, which I’m really happy about. I thought I’d blown it there for a while. To be leading the world championship is incredible.
“It’s been a great weekend for the team as well. Whib’s has also ridden well and claimed his highest ever WEC finish, which shows that he’s improving almost with every race. I’m really looking forward now. I’ve worked as hard as I ever have to prepare myself for this year, and it’s starting to pay off. It’s just been a great weekend.”
Making it a truly memorable weekend for the HRFE team was the fact that Paul Whibley claimed a fine fourth place finish in the Enduro 2 class on day one – his highest ever WEC class finish. Also claiming his highest ever overall finish of 14th, Whibley proved, as he had in Portugal he now has the pace to consistently challenge for top six E2 class finishes.
Despite finding the conditions on day two difficult, Whibley again recorded a strong result, despite dropping a few positions to seventh in class.
Paul Whibley:
“Day one looked as if it was going to be a complete disaster but getting fourth was great. Things are really starting to come together for me now. I really liked the conditions on day one. It was pretty wet to start with but then it dried out pretty well. I got my highest ever overall position on day one as well with 14th, which I’m really pleased with. I went for a hard terrain tyre for day two but with the change in the weather it didn’t really make things easy for me. There were some pretty nasty ruts on the test; finishing seventh on day two wasn’t too bad either.
Saturday Enduro I
1. Stefan Merriman, AUS, Yamaha 59:44.98
2. Roberto Bazzurri, ITA, Husqvarna +1:18.48
3. Bartos Oblucki, POL, Yamaha +1:19.09
4. Mario Rinaldi, ITA, Yamaha +1:23.78
5. Petteri Silvan, FIN, KTM +1:59.74
6. Alessandro Belometti, ITA, KTM +2:07.92
7. Richard Larsson, SWE, TM +2:11.66
8. Alessio Paoli, ITA, TM +2:37.96
9. Helder Rodrigues, POR, KTM +2:41.81
10. Peter Bergvall, SWE, Husqvarna +2:42.66
Enduro II
1. Paul Edmondson, GBR, Honda 1:00:48.19
2. Alessandro Botturi, ITA, KTM +0:00.14
3. Alessandro Zanni, ITA, Honda +0:31.49
4. Paul Whibley, NZL, Honda +0:44.65
5. Andrea Beconi, ITA, Yamaha +0:49.86
6. Giovanni Sala, ITA, KTM +1:08.52
7. Mika Saarenkoski, FIN, Husqvarna +1:11.05
8. Maurizio Micheluz, ITA, Sherco +1:18.65
9. Andreas Toresson, SWE, Husaberg +1:28.46
10. Fausto Scovolo, ITA, GasGas +1:30.64
Enduro III
1. Samuli Aro, FIN, KTM 1:00:13.29
2. Ivan Cervantes, SPA, KTM +0:29.06
3. David Knight, GBR, KTM +0:47.25
4. Anders Eriksson, SWE, Husqvarna +0:58.23
5. Marko Tarkkala, FIN, Husaberg +1:01.02
6. Sébastien Guillaume, FRA, GasGas +1:12.47
7. Mika Ahola, FIN, Husqvarna +1:37.82
8. Jani Laaksonen, FIN, GasGas +1:42.26
9. Bjorne Carlsson, SWE, Husaberg +1:50.46
10. Werner Mueller, AUT, KTM +2:45.67
Sunday
Enduro I
1. Silvan 1:04:09.79
2. Larsson +0:40.90
3. Simone Albergoni, ITA, Honda +0:57.67
4. Bergvall +1:05.64
5. Merriman +1:48.54
6. Oblucki +1:54.75
7. Bazzurri +2:03.57
8. Belometti +2:13.65
9. Fabien Planet, FRA, KTM +2:43.12
10. Rodrigues +3:12.39
Enduro II
1. Edmondson 1:04:32.05
2. Juha Salminen, FIN, KTM +0:14.25
3. Arnau Vilanova, SPA, Honda +2:03.65
4. Petri Pohjamo, FIN, GasGas +2:21.41
5. Botturi +2:55.08
6. Edward Jones, GBR, KTM +3:46.23
7.Paul Whibley NZL +4:04.92
8. Valtteri Salonen, FIN, Honda +5:07.07
9. Miki Arpa, SPA, Husqvarna +5:39.05
10. Saarenkoski +5:44.15
Enduro III
1. Aro 1:01:51.72
2. Knight +0:39.97
3. Ahola +1:21.04
4. Eriksson +1:28.78
5. Laaksonen +2:20.20
6. Carlsson +2:24.15
7. Guillaume +3:50.60
8. Cervantes +4:25.92
9. Niklas Gustafsson, SWE, KTM +6:18.28
10. Federico Mancinelli, ITA, KTM +6:23.65
Point Standings
Enduro I
1. Merriman 138
2. Silvan 120
3. Albergoni 113
4. Oblucki 107
5. Larsson 82
Enduro II
1 Paul Edmondson Honda 124
2 Juha Salminen KTM 122
3 Allessandro Botturi KTM 116
4 Arnau Vilanova Honda 106
5 Mika Saarenkoski Husqvarna 83
6 Paul Whibley Honda 71
Enduro III
1. Aro 122
2. Cervantes 116
3. Knight 109
4. Ahola 101
5. Eriksson 97
