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FIM 2-day Maxxis World Enduro Championship:
Round 8: GP of Germany, Zschopau
Edmondson finishes second in ’04 Enduro 2 world championship
Honda Racing Fast Eddy rider Paul Edmondson achieved his season long goal of finishing as runner-up to Finn Juha Salminen in the ’04 Enduro 2 world enduro championship by claiming two podium finishes at the final round of the series in Zschopau, Germany.
Knowing that realistically it would take a serious mistake on Salminen’s behalf to enable him to claim the title, Edmondson did exactly what he had to do in Germany and collected enough points at the end of day one to secure the runner-up spot in the E2 championship.
But Edmondson’s result of third and second in the E2 class would have been better had the international jury not decided to scrap time check penalties from day one. Despite losing time himself, Edmondson lost much less time that his closest championship rival Arnau Vilanova and should have finished second on both days.
Despite his frustration Edmondson proved why he managed to claim second in the E2 championship on day two as he finished as runner-up to Salminen by just 12 seconds. Having proved himself in wet conditions earlier in the season, where he placed his Honda Racing Fast Eddy machine on the top step of the WEC podium in Italy, Edmondson again rode well to place second in the day’s overall Scratch results.
Making it two Honda Racing Fast Eddy team riders within the top six of the Enduro 2 world enduro championship, New Zealander Paul Whibley had a somewhat disappointing weekend placing in 12th and ninth respectively. Despite not managing to repeat the form that saw him place on the WEC podium in France earlier in the season, Whibley’s end of year result of sixth ensured a strong championship end for the HRFE squad.
Paul Edmondson: “Day one was pretty good really. There was loads of hassle but we all know now that scrapping the penalties from tight checks is the way the sport has gone – it’s absolutely crazy. You just have to try and get on with it and not worry about it too much, but it is wrong to scrap penalties from tight checks. I felt that I rode well on day one but Salminen is riding so well it is impossible to beat him. I’ve ridden really well again on day two. I felt really confident with the bike, and I guess the technical going really suited me. To finish the season well is really good.
“It was always going to be an uphill struggle to win the Enduro 2 world championship and beat Juha but finishing second is a result that I’m really pleased with. To still be as competitive as I am at my age is great, I feel that I have really achieved something this season. There are several fast, young riders in the E2 class and I have consistently outpaced them this year, which I’m pleased about.”
Paul Whibley: “It’s not been my best weekend. I struggled a little bit riding the 450, the bike was handling ok but I’m just not really used to it and I didn’t feel comfortable on it. The race was pretty tough, the hills weren’t too bad but I made a mistake on one of the time controls and went in early, which messed things up. The way they edited the results yesterday didn’t go in my favour either.”
Results - Day one
Enduro 2 class
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 59:14.49; 2. Arnau Vilanova (Honda) 1:00.41; 3. Paul Edmondson (Honda Racing Fast Eddy) 1:00.58; 4. Giovanni Sala (KTM) 1:02.40; 5. Andrea Beconi (Yamaha) 1:02.54; 6. Valtteri Salonen (Honda) 1:03.47; 7. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1:03.48; 8. Edward Jones (KTM) 1:05.41; 9. Alessandro Botturi (KTM) 1:07.09; 10. Jean-Francois Goblet (Gas Gas) 1:07.35; 11. Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 1:08.07; 12. Paul Whibley (Honda Racing Fast Eddy) 1:08.55; 13. Marco Strauble (KTM) 1:11.29; 14. Andreas Toresson (Husaberg) 1:11.59; 15. Dieter Wiegl (KTM) 1:12.04; 16. Udo Grellman (KTM) 1:13.54; 17. Fredrik Georgsson (KTM) 1:15.01; 18. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1:23.40; 19. Paolo Bernardi (Honda) 1:26
Results – Day 2
Enduro 2 class
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 36:01; 2. Paul Edmondson (Honda Racing Fast Eddy) 36:14; 3. Arnau Vilanova (Honda) 37:52; 4. Giovanni Sala (KTM) 38:11; 5. Andrea Beconi (Yamaha) 38:18; 6. Valtteri Salonen (Honda) 38:26.35; 7. Pete Pohjamo (Gas Gas) 38:36; 8. Alessandro Botturi (KTM) 39:03; 9. Paul Whibley (Honda Racing Fast Eddy) 39:24; 10. Mika Saarenkoski (Husqvarna) 39:31; 11. Marco Straubel (KTM) 39:52.20; 12. Edward Jones (KTM) 39:55; 13. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 39:56; 14. Andreas Toresson (Husaberg) 40:37; 15. Jean Francois Goblet (Gas Gas) 40:58; 16. Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 41:30; 17. Maurizio Micheluz (Sherco) 42:19; 18. Dieter Weigl (KTM) 43:45; 19. Udo Grellman (KTM) 45:04; 20. Jens Pester (Yamaha) 45:22; 21: Enrico Metzner (Yamaha) 52:07; 22. Sven Bretscheider (Husqvarna) 53:31; 23. Fredrik Georgsson (KTM) 54:38.61
Issued on behalf of the Honda Racing Fast Eddy team.
