The opening round of the '07 World Enduro Champion saw Finland's Juha Salminen claim a double Enduro 1 class win in Ostersund, Sweden where the five-time WEC champion and two-time US GNCC series winner claimed two commanding day wins. With the snow covered special tests expected to favour the Scandinavian riders Juha placed ahead of Swede Niklas Gustafsson on day one with Poland's Bartosz Oblucki third. On day two Salminen was followed home by Fredrik Georgsson from Sweden with Finn Tomi Peltola third.
For the three UFO Corse Yamaha team riders competing in Sweden the event proved to be a difficult one. With conditions playing right into the hands of the Scandinavian competitors it was the team's newest member, former Enduro Junior World Champion Cristobal Guerrero from Spain, who recorded the best results. Despite his lack of experience in the winter conditions Cristobal placed in eighth on day one and then a highly impressive sixth on day two.
Italian UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz had a hard time of things in Ostersund with reigning E1 class runner-up Albergoni struggling to master the frozen conditions placing just inside the top 10 on day one in ninth before dropping to 13th on day two following numerous crashes on the one-lined special tests. Picking up a five minute penalty on day one after receiving help untangling a track banner from his rear wheel, Micheluz dropped from ninth to 14th before going on to finish seventh on day two.
Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 eighth, Day 2 sixth:"It has been a very hard race. The enduro test on day one was incredibly long, and because of the conditions very difficult also. Finishing eighth on day one was ok, but I made a few small mistakes. Finishing sixth on day two is really good. I crashed twice on the motocross test and then in the last test my chain came off. I think that with out my problems I could have finished sixth overall or even fifth. The next race of the championship is my home race in Spain, which I'm looking forward to."
Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 ninth, Day 2 13th:"I've had too many crashes this weekend. On Saturday I was crashing a lot and again on Sunday I found it really difficult in the frozen conditions. I just couldn't find a good rhythm. If I pushed too hard then I crashed if I tried to ride smooth I was just too slow. It is so difficult riding a special test when it is just one long frozen rut from the start to the finish. I'm really disappointed with my results."
Maurizio Micheluz
Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 14th, Day 2 seventh:"Day one wasn't good. I finished ninth but I was penalised five minutes because someone helped me take some track marking banner out from my rear wheel. It was a stupid penalty and I dropped to 14th. "Day two was better because I finished seventh. I only crashed once, which I was happy with considering the conditions. I haven't enjoyed the race. The conditions were really difficult with the snow and mud on day one and then the cold and snow on day two."
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Race 1 - 2007 Enduro 1 Sweden 19/03/2007:1, Juha Salminen - KTM - FIN 103'35.490
2, Niklas Gustafsson - KTM - SWE 2'53.910
3, Bartosz Oblucki - Husqvarna - POL 3'51.880
4, Tomi Peltola - Suzuki - FIN 3'59.600
5, Alessandro Belometti - KTM - ITA5'4.720
6, Marc Germain - Yamaha - FRA 5'16.970
7, Frederik Georgsson - KTM - SWE 5'38.310
8, Cristobal Guerrero - Yamaha - ESP 5'47.920
9, Simone Albergoni - Yamaha - ITA 7'22.000
10, Mike Hartmann -KTM - GER 8'6.130
11, Tobias Burman - KTM - SWE 8'19.190
12, Per Korsell - Husqvarna - SWE8'59.250
13, Anthony Roberts - Honda - AUS 10'47.280
14, Maurizio Micheluz - Yamaha - ITA 11'0.490
15, Juraj Dozsa - KTM - SVK13'10.500
Race 2:1, Juha Salminen - KTM - FIN 71'43.690
2, Frederik Georgsson - KTM - SWE 2'53.150
3, Tomi Peltola - Suzuki - FIN 2'56.160
4, Bartosz Oblucki - Husqvarna - POL 3'39.970
5, Alessandro Belometti - KTM - ITA 3'49.320
6, Cristobal Guerrero - Yamaha - ESP 3'59.090
7, Maurizio Micheluz - Yamaha - ITA 4'7.030
8 ,Marc Germain - Yamaha - FRA 4'23.430
9, Niklas Gustafsson - KTM - SWE 4'31.340
10, Tobias Burman - KTM - SWE 5'13.760
11, Torbjorn Back - Honda - SWE 5'15.850
12, Per Korsell- Husqvarna - SWE 5'48.560
13 ,Simone Albergoni - Yamaha - ITA 6'5.590
14, Mike Hartmann - KTM - GER 7'3.310
15, Anthony Roberts - Honda - AUS 8'56.930
Rider Standings - 17/03/2007:1. Juha Salminen- KTM - FIN 50
2. Tomi Peltola - Suzuki - FIN 38
3. Bartosz Oblucki - Husqvarna - POL 38
4. Frederik Georgsson - KTM - SWE 36
5. Niklas Gustafsson - KTM - SWE 34
6. Alessandro Belometti - KTM - ITA 2
7. Marc GermainYamaha - FRA - 28
8. Cristobal Guerrero - Yamaha - ESP 28
9. Maurizio Micheluz - Yamaha - ITA 21
10. Tobias Burman - KTM - -SWE 21
11. Simone Albergoni - Yamaha - ITA 20
12. Mike Hartmann - KTM - GER 18
13. Per Korsell - Husqvarna - SWE 18
14. Anthony Roberts - Honda - AUS 14
15. Juraj Dozsa - KTM SVK 11
Manufacturer Standings - 17/03/2007:1. KTM 50
2. Suzuki 38
3. Husqvarna 38
4. Yamaha 30
5. Honda 18
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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