The UFO Corse Yamaha team claimed their best results of the 2006 World Enduro Championship at round three of the series, the GP of Euskadi staged at Gernika, Spain, where team riders Stefan Merriman and Johnny Aubert claimed a day win each in the highly competitive Enduro 2 class. Having both performed well at the GP of Portugal, where they also claimed a day win each, it was Merriman who was first to top the E2 class podium in Gernika after a consistent and incident free performance on day one. On day two Aubert claimed the win and moved to the top of the 2006 Enduro 2 world championship standings.
With conditions wet and slippery on day one Merriman claimed the E2 class win and 25 important world championship points largely due to making fewer mistakes than his rivals. Remaining upright on all tests Stefan finished 15 seconds ahead of team-mate Johnny Aubert to make it a Yamaha one-two. Finishing third was Finn Samuli Aro.
On day two WEC debutant Aubert simply proved too fast for his Enduro 2 class rivals and placed 47 seconds ahead of Merriman who claimed the runner-up spot. Despite having reversed their finishing order from day one Aubert's and Merriman's performances again ensured that Yamaha claimed a decisive one-two result with Aubert also moving to the head of the E2 world championship standings. Placing third, as he did on day one, was Samuli Aro.
Johnny Aubert Enduro 2 class - Day 1 Second, Day 2 First:"I know that I am fast in muddy and rutted conditions but when I heard that the race was going to be difficult I thought that I would struggle, especially in the time checks. Finishing second on day one and winning day two is much better than I ever thought I could do. I am so happy to have won again, especially now that it puts me in the lead of the Enduro 2 world championship.
I made one big mistake on the extreme test on day one, which cost me some time, but apart from that it went well. I did also make one mistake on one of the difficult up hills on the enduro test but I was pushing hard at the time so mistakes happen when you are riding hard. Despite my errors I wasn't so far behind Stefan so I knew that if I could ride well on day two I could win.
Day two went really well for me. I felt good all the day, although a little tired at the end, and put in some really good test times. I didn't make any big mistakes, in fact my only mistake was hitting neutral once on the motocross test on lap two. I am really, really happy with the way the race has gone for me. Leading the world championship is fantastic."
Stefan Merriman Enduro 2 class - Day 1: First, Day 2: Second:"It's been a good weekend for me finishing in first and second in the Enduro 2 class, which I'm pleased with. Obviously I would have liked to have won on both days but Johnny Aubert was really fast on day two. Mika Ahola was actually a little faster than me on day one but he made a big mistake on the enduro test, which lost him a lot of time. I rode consistent on day one and that really helped me. I didn't have any problems and things went really well.
On day two I found things really hard. Not being the biggest of riders it takes every bit of my energy to hold on to the bike when I'm pushing hard, especially on a long enduro test like we had. The race was a little too hard, I think. All the riders were really tired at the end of the first day and then at the end of the second day they were absolutely exhausted. We were lucky with the weather really because if it had rained hard on either day then it would have been extremely difficult."
Race classification Enduro 2:Circuit: Gernika
Date: 14 May 2006
Crowd: 6000
Temp: 24ºC
Weather: Sunny
Race: 1 Laps:1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 39' 58.620
2 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +40' 13.180
3 S. Aro KTM FIN +40' 36.810
4 M. Ahola Honda FIN +41' 43.410
5 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +41 ' 43.410
6 F. Planet KTM FRA +41' 50.300
7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +42' 15.530
8 X. Galindo KTM ESP +42' 23.910
9 A. Belotti KTM ITA +42' 34.130
10 A. Beconi Beta ITA +42' 53.710
11 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +42' 57.500
12 E. McConnell TM GBR +43' 19.960
13 C. Nambotin Husqvarna FRA +43' 25.640
14 E. Albepart Honda FRA +43' 39.360
15 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +43' 51.510
16 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +43' 58.500
17 J. Curvalle Kawasaki FRA +44' 30.900
18 E. Memmi Sherco FRA +45' 31.110
19 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +46' 23.360
20 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +46' 43.080
Race 2: 1 Laps: 1 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA 51' 41.940
2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +52' 29.600
3 S. Aro KTM FIN +52' 55.990
4 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +53' 11.890
5 M. Ahola Honda FIN +53' 11.500
6 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +53' 50.290
7 X. Galindo KTM ESP +54' 50.570
8 A. Belotti KTM ITA +54' 27.520
9 C. Nambotin Husqvarna FRA +55' 21.260
10 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +55' 2.510
11 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +55' 21.260
12 E. McConnell TM GBR +55' 23.440
13 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +55' 31.660
14 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +56' 44.240
15 F. Planet KTM FRA +56' 52.920
16 F. Mancinelli Beta ITA +59' 52.920
17 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +59' 45.060
Championship Standings Enduro 2: 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 130
2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 128
3 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 123
4 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 122
5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 83
6 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 81
7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 73
8 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 62
9 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 52
10 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 49
11 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 47
12 Euan McConnell TM GBR 44
13 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 43
14 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 41
15 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 31
16 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 28
17 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 27
18 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 21
19 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 20
20 Riku Rihelainen HusaBerg FIN 19
Manufacturers Standings Enduro 2:1 Yamaha 140
2 KTM 128
3 Honda 122
4 GasGas 85
5 Beta 52
6 HusaBerg 49
7 TM 43
8 Aprilia 41
9 Husqvarna 39
10 Sherco 31
11 Suzuki 13
12 Kawasaki 10
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