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Photo - Stefan Merriman, Janow Gorny Cross Test 1:
Check out the WEBSITE: of Stefan Merriman, the Kiwi born Enduro ace (across the ditch they claim him as an Aussie) for photos (including this event) his profile, events calendar, etc.
By Lexy Thorogood
Day four of the 2004 ISDE covered the same ground as Day 3. The main difference was the weather.
The rainclouds from yesterday dried up and revealed clear blue skies. The tests were in good form in the morning with the damp weather overnight providing some grip on the bumpy ruts. As the day wore on the sun dried the track out considerably and by the third lap it was dusty and dry again. Whilst Merriman was victorious in the first test, Salminen set fast times on the following two tests on the first lap.
Merriman made some changes with his suspension to accomodate the rougher track and then won the remaining three tests of the day finishing 4 seconds ahead of Juha on Day 4, and now holds a lead of more than one hour. Merriman remains vigilant in his quest for victory at these Six days - aiming for a good result in not only the Enduro Two class classification, he also leads the Individual overall classification by more than 39 seconds from Finnish E3 rider, Samuli Aro. In addition to these titles the Team Yamaha UFO Corse Team of Merriman, Oblucki and Rinaldi lead the manufacturers classification at the end of Day 4 and the Australian Team of which Merriman is a part of, is runing 5th in the World Trophy Teams classification.
About Day 4, Merriman said,"I had a great day today, I am very satisfied with my results. I have been making adjustments to the bike and suspension today to get it better in these bumpy conditions and it really paid off. The bike (WR450F) handled well today and it shows in the results. It was very sad to pass the place on the track where the German rider had the accident yesterday. It was an absolute tragedy what happened and I wish his team and family my condolences."
(Ed.) Anita will be back later this morning with her report and dissection of results to date.
