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Enduro 2 : Merriman wins day two in Finland
Round: 7 - Grand Prix of Finland
Circuit: Heinola
Date: 28 August 2005
Crowd: 6000
Temp: 17ºC
Weather: Clear Sky
Finn Valtteri Salonen and Australian Stefan Merriman were the two official winners in the Enduro 2 class at the GP of Finland. But on day one it was Merriman who topped the class's results before he was excluded by the international jury. Having comfortably topped the E2 class on day 1 the reigning E1 world champion was disqualified for refuelling at a road-side petrol station and not one of the event's designated fuelling areas. The UFO Corse Yamaha team have appealed against the decision.
With Merriman out of the results, home rider Salonen (Honda) claimed his first ever WEC victory finishing ahead of countrymen Petri Pohjamo and E2 championship leader Samuli Aro. On day two WR450F mounted Merriman claimed the class win after a day long battle with Aro. Separated by 13 seconds Merriman and Aro finished over one-minute ahead of the third placed rider Alessandro Botturi from Italy.
Yamaha Ufo Corse rider Andrea Beconi reached two top ten finishes in Heinola, coming home respectively eighth and ninth. Four time world champion is still second in provisional standings. Merriman has 244 points, Aro leads with 312 points, and Alessandro Botturi claimed third from Frenchman Fabien Planet. Italian Beconi is eighth.
The teams now move onto the ISDE in Povaszka Bystrica, Slovakia taking place from 12 to 18 september.
Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1:DSQ, Day 2: First "I'm really happy with the way things went on Sunday. I had some difficulties on the motocross test where Samuli was 10 seconds faster than me on each lap. I made some changes to my bike's suspension and that made it a lot better. I was putting in some good times on the enduro test though, which helped me open up a lead. What happened on day one was really disappointing. The UFO Corse Yamaha team has appealed against the jury's decision so we will know more in five days."
Race classification Enduro 2
Round: 7 - Grand Prix of Finland
Circuit: Heinola
