CH Racing Husqvarna rider Seb Guillaume claimed his best results of the ’07 World Enduro Championship so far claiming two podium finishes in the Enduro 3 class at the GP of Portugal, staged in Marco de Canaveses. Competing aboard his WR290 Seb came extremely close to winning the opening day claiming an eventual second place to Spain’s Ivan Cervantes. On day two Seb again rode well finishing in third place. Also finishing on the podium for Husqvarna was E1 class rider Bartosz Oblucki. Despite a frustrating opening day where he placed sixth Bart’ then claimed a hard fought third place on day two. Although a good weekend for Seb and Bart’ the GP of Portugal wasn’t a good one for US racer Nate Kanney who crashed on day one injuring his knee, which forced him to miss the second day’s competition.
With the GP of Portugal a much harder race than the GP of Spain that took place one week earlier dry, dusty and extremely rough special tests ensured a demanding race for all competitors. But one rider who enjoyed the conditions was Husqvarna’s Seb Guillaume. Winning three of the opening four special tests in the E3 class on day one.
Seb opened up an early lead ahead of KTM team mates Ivan Cervantes and Marko Tarkkala and looked to be heading towards his first win of the ’07 season. Frustratingly for Seb two crashes in the final lap saw him drop behind Cervantes but nevertheless he still claimed a well deserved runner-up finish.
On day two Seb wasn’t as fast during the opening lap as he was on day one and in finishing third on the first four tests of the day he placed behind Cervantes and Tarkkala, the two riders he’d battled against on day one. Increasing his pace as the day went on Seb managed to win the final two tests of the day but a fall on the enduro test on lap two saw him claim third at the end of the day. Despite having failed to finish the opening day of the series in Sweden Seb’s strong results in Portugal have lifted him to fifth position in the Enduro 3 world championship standings.
For Anders Eriksson the GP of Portugal was another frustrating event. With day one going well the seven-time world champion placed sixth and was pleased with the way he’d performed. Disappointingly on day two Anders’s bike stopped unexpectedly on the second enduro test, which resulted in the Swede losing one minute trying to re-start his bike.
With competition fierce on day one in the Enduro 1 class at the GP of Portugal Husqvarna’s Bartosz Oblucki found himself locked in a five-way battle for the runner-up spot. With little to separate Marc Germain, Cristobal Guerrero, Alessandro Belometti, Simone Albergoni and Oblucki the Pole ended the day in sixth position, but less than 15 seconds behind eventual runner-up Germain. Fast on both the extreme an d enduro tests Oblucki lost time on each of the motocross tests, which ultimately stopped him from finishing higher. But on day two Oblucki put right what he’s been doing wrong on day one and claimed a strong third place finish having been fast and consistent on all of the tests.
Third on the first five tests on Sunday Bart’ then topped the enduro test on lap two to place less than two seconds behind runner-up Cristobal Guerrero. Oblucki now holds third in the E1 world championship standings, just four points behind runner-up Guerrero. With French rider Nicolas Deparrois failing to finish the opening day in Portugal and with US racer Nate Kanney not starting day two due to injuring his knee it wasn’t a successful weekend for Husqvarna in the Enduro 2 class. Re-starting day two Deparrois placed ninth in class.
Looking to record his first podium finish of the season Husqvarna’s Enduro Junior class rider Marc Bourgeois came close to crashing out of the first day when he parted company with his WR125 in spectacular fashion mid-way through the opening day. Continuing to a 19th place finish Marc was feeling the effects of his crash on day two yet came close to finishing on the podium claiming an eventual fourth.
Seb Guillaume:“It’s been a great race for me, I am really happy with my results. The first day was especially good. I was putting in really good times on the special tests and was able to open up a lead at the front of the class. On the last lap I crashed on two special tests, which allowed Ivan to pass me but I was happy with my result."
“On day two I struggled a little bit on the first lap. I was riding to tense and I made myself tired. After that things got better and better. Ivan and Marko were very fast in the beginning of the day but as I got into my rhythm I was able to get some really good tests. I’m really pleased with the way the GP of Portugal has gone for me.”
Bartosz Oblucki: “On Saturday I was really disappointed because I pushed really hard and only finished in sixth. There was only 15 seconds separating me from second place but I wasn’t able to make good times and catch the riders ahead of my. I tried many things to try and improve my speed but it didn’t work. Every lap I lost time on the motocross test, which was frustrating."
“For the second day we made some small changes to the bike and fitted a different front tyre, which made things a little bit better. I pushed hard all day. In fact I pushed like I could win a world championship on every test. I was expecting to run out of energy because I was pushing so hard but I managed to keep up my speed. I did fall on the last test and lost a few seconds, which meant that I finished third.”
Marc Bourgeois: “I had a very big crash early on the first day and banged my head hard. I lost three minutes and didn’t feel so good after that. On the second day I had a problem with one of my mousses. I had to change it on the second lap and then push really hard. I was 14th after the first lap and managed to get up to fourth, which I was happy with but after my crash on day one I didn’t feel 100 per cent.”
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