UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert claimed his second consecutive double Enduro 2 class win of the '07 World Enduro Championship season by twice topping the podium at the GP of Portugal, staged in Marco de Canaveses. With his confidence running high having claimed two impressive E2 class wins at the GP of Spain one week earlier Aubert opened up an early lead on day one, which was never headed.
Winning the first five tests of the opening day Aubert never looked like being beaten on his WR450 and despite constant pressure from reigning E2 world champion Samuli Aro, Finn Mika Ahola and Australian Stefan Merriman the former motocross racer remained in control and claimed a deserved win finishing just under 12 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Putting his aggressive riding style to good work Aubert showed, as he did at the GP of Spain, that he has the speed to win the Enduro 2 world championship in '07. Placing second behind Aubert was Finn Mika Ahola who placed close to 30 seconds ahead of Merriman with Aro fourth.
On day two Aubert had to work a little harder for his victory, despite going on to win by close to 40 seconds. Placing eighth on the day's opening special test he then set about his winning ways topping seven of the day's 10 tests. Setting a pace that no other rider could match Aubert made light work of the rough, rutted and demanding special tests and finished the second day, as he had the first, as the fastest overall rider in the event.
As he did on day one Finn Mika Ahola placed in second to Aubert on day two with Samuli Aro claiming third. The UFO Corse Yamaha team's second E2 class rider Italian Fabrizio Dini placed in eighth on day one before moving one place higher with a seventh place result on day two.
Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 First, Day 2 First:
"At the beginning of the race I was a little bit nervous. I was looking forward to the race after winning last weekend and although I didn't feel 100 per cent relaxed from the start on the first day after a few special tests I felt good. I opened up a good lead and began to ride smooth. I crashed once in the motocross test, but I only lost a few seconds.
"Day two also went well but I crashed twice in the extreme test, which cost me some time. I had to push hard all day and from the second lap on I felt good. It was a hard race though because the special tests got really rough. Winning both days in Spain was great and winning both days here in Portugal is just fantastic. I'm so happy, and a little surprised. I'm really looking forward to the Italian GP now."
Circuit Length: 4555
Crowd: 6500
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - Enduro 2 Portugal:1. Johnny Aubert - Yamaha - FRA 43'55.040
2. Mika Ahola - Honda - FIN 0'11.190
3. Stefan Merriman - Aprilia - AUS 0'37.750
4. Samuli Aro - KTM - FIN 1'4.290
5. Rodrig Thain - Suzuki - FRA 1'22.640
6. Xavier Galindo - KTM - ESP 1'31.530
7. Fabien Planet - KTM - FRA 1'47.960
8. Fabrizio Dini - Yamaha - ITA 1'57.170
9. Valtteri Salonen - HusaBerg - FIN 2'15.520
10. Emmanuel Albepart - Honda - FRA 2'26.360
11. Thierry Klutz - Sherco - BEL 3'3.170
12. Jari Juha Mattila - Beta - FIN 3'11.140
13. Nathan Kanney - Husqvarna - USA 4'16.300
14. Victor Oliveira - HusaBerg - POR 8'54.850
15. Vito Carvalho - HusaBerg - POR 11'7.910
Race 2:1. Johnny Aubert - Yamaha - FRA 54'19.390
2. Mika Ahola - Honda - FIN 0'37.540
3. Samuli Aro - KTM - FIN 0'46.770
4. Stefan Merriman - Aprilia - AUS 1'26.430
5. Fabien Planet - KTM - FRA 2'3.350
6. Xavier Galindo - KTM - ESP 2'23.580
7. Fabrizio Dini - Yamaha - ITA 2'37.320
8. Valtteri Salonen - HusaBerg - FIN 2'44.220
9. Nicolas Deparrois - Husqvarna - FRA 3'19.390
10. Emmanuel Albepart - Honda - FRA 3'53.020
11. Patrick Caps - GasGas - BEL 4'7.830
12. Jari Juha Mattila - Beta - FIN 4'15.470
13. Thierry Klutz - Sherco - BEL 4'39.290
14. Felipe Zanol - Yamaha - ESP 10'16.420
15. Victor Oliveira - HusaBerg - POR 13'47.130
Rider Standings:1. Mika Ahola - Honda - FIN 133
2. Johnny Aubert - Yamaha - FRA 132
3. Samuli Aro -KTM - FIN 123
4. Stefan Merriman - Aprilia - AUS 100
5. Fabien Planet - KTM - FRA 92
6. Jari Juha Mattila - Beta - FIN 77
7. Xavier Galindo - KTM - ESP 75
8. Valtteri Salonen - HusaBerg - FIN 67
9. Fabrizio Dini - Yamaha- ITA 63
10. Rodrig Thain - Suzuki - FRA 55
11. Nicolas Deparrois - Husqvarna - FRA 51
12. Thierry Klutz - -Sherco - BEL 51
13. Emmanuel Albepart - Honda - FRA 37
14. Nathan Kanney - Husqvarna - USA 35
15. Patrik Wicksell - KTM - SWE 33
Manufacturer Standings:1. Honda 133
2. Yamaha 132
3. KTM 125
4. Aprilia 101
5. Beta 77
6. HusaBerg 67
7. Husqvarna 62
8. Suzuki 55
9. Sherco 51
10. GasGas 32
11. BMW 12
12. TM 9
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