Eight rounds into the 16-round Enduro 1 world championship John Salminen of the KTM Factory Team has a perfect score card – 200 points from eight consecutive victories. It doesn't get any better than that. The Finnish supremo's two clear victories this weekend in the GP Leovince of Italy give him a stranglehold on the championship standings as he continues to underline his total dominance in the E1 class. Half way through the season its difficult to imagine that another rider can close the gap on the outstanding Finnish rider who returned this season from the USA to compete again in the world championship circuit.
Salminen in fact lost about 20 seconds at the start of Sunday's race but he was able to make it up and eventually won by around 40 seconds, team boss Fabio Farioli reported.
Salminen's Italian teammate in the class, Alessandro Belometti also fulfilled the wishes of team boss Fabio Farioli by taking third place, thus securing the factory team five of six podiums in all three classes on Sunday.
Crowds came out in large numbers to watch the riders compete over tough mountainous terrain but rain that fell in the morning cleared by the afternoon.
Results :
1. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM, tests 55:42.72
2. Simone Albergoni, Italy, Yamaha, 56:23.52
3. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM, 57:30.01
4. Maurizio Micheluz, Italy, Yamaha, 57:40.12
5. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha 57:48.83
Aro Samuli Second Again In Italy In E2
Aro Samuli would up a good weekend in the Italian province of Lombardy when on Sunday he succeeded in repeating his second place finish from day one of the GP Leovince of Italy.
Aro of Finland, a key rider in the KTM Enduro Factory Team, may have again had to concede victory to his rival countryman Mika Ahola but his consistency this weekend vaults him into second place on the championship standings and narrows the gap between him and the leader.
Samuli put in a solid day's racing scoring very well in the last tests of the day and putting in some excellent speeds over the rocky terrain of the area.
"The riders did a great job today, "team boss Fabian Farioli said at the close of the race. Farioli had expressed a wish that ll of his riders would be on the podium this weekend and on Sunday five of the six KTM Enduro Team in the three classes e1, E2 and E3 made his wish come true.
The second E2 factory ride in the KTM Enduro Team, young Frenchman Fabien Planet again performed consistently following his fourth palce from Saturday with a fifth on Sunday.
Results:
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda, Tests 54:44.82
2. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM, 56:06.06
3. Stefan Merriman, Australia, Aprilia, 56:08.72
4. Andrea Belotti, Italy, KTM, 56:41. 13
5. Fabien Planet, France, KTM, 56 :59.53
Cervantes Exacts E3 Revenge On Sunday In Italy
The battle of attrition between KTM Enduro Factory Team riders Marko Tarkkala and Ivan Cervantes ended in a draw on Sunday when Cervantes of Spain snatched victory from his Finnish teammate rival to exact revenge for the result the previous day.
The two KTM factory riders are locked in battle for dominance in the big bike class and both showed their style in the two days just completed at the GP of Leovince in Italy.
Cervantes adds Sunday's victory to his brilliantly dominant performance on the Iberian peninsular where he won all four races in Spain and Portugal.
Tarkkala got the edge on Cervantes on Saturday but Sunday's result only indicates there is the narrowest of margins between the two riders and guarantees that the remainder of the rounds in the championship will be a succession of nail biters.
The race was a test of endurance for the riders, with challenging terrain in the Italian countryside, but the weather stayed clear in the afternoon and they were well supported by an enthusiastic and large crowd of Italian fans.
Results:
1. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM, 52:39.44
2. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM Tests 52:05.18
3. Alessandro Botturi, Italy, Honda, 58:13,24
4. Vita Kuklik, Czech Republic, 58:13.29
Images by Edmunds J.
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