Round seven of the 2006 World Enduro Championship, the GP of Slovakia held in Krompachy 380km from the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, saw Spaniard Ivan Cervantes move closer to his second Enduro 1 world championship title after the KTM rider topped the E1 class on both days in Slovakia having performed faultlessly during the weekend. Finishing 42 seconds ahead at the end of the opening day's competition Ivan upped his pace on day two and extended his wining advantage to just over one minute.
In claiming two class wins Cervantes is all but assured of winning the 2006 E1 world championship crown on day one at the series' final event in France. Placing as runner-up on day one was Cervantes' KTM team-mate Italian Alessandro Belometti. With Belometti looked in a day long battle with countryman Simone Albergoni just two seconds separated the pair, in favour of Belometti, at the end of day one. On day two it was Albergoni who placed in second position to Cervantes as Belometti had to fight his way back to third from fifth having crashed on the day's second enduro test.
With UFO Corse Yamaha rider Arnau Vilanova unable to compete in Slovakia due to suffering a form of hepatitis, Italian Maurizio Micheluz was again the team's only competitor in the Enduro 1 class. Again performing consistently against more experienced WEC competitors aboard his WR250F Micheluz finished the opening day in sixth position having struggled to get on the pace early in the day. On day two, having started well, Maurizio made a small mistake during the second extreme test and after getting rope wrapped around his rear wheel lost five minutes. Placing in an eventual ninth position Maurizio finished as high as second on one special test, indicating that had it not been for his misfortune he might well have placed close to, or even on, the E1 class podium
Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) - Day 1: Sixth, Day 2: Ninth"Day one went pretty good for me. I finished in sixth position but didn't ride so well on the first three special tests, I don't know why. At the end of the day I was just three seconds behind the fifth place rider, which I was happy with after my poor start to the day. Day two started much better than day one and I was confident that I could finish fifth or better. On the second extreme test I lost five minutes when I got some rope wrapped in my rear wheel. I was extremely disappointed because after my problem I was fast enough to finish fourth and I finished in second on some special tests. This is racing and apart from that I am really happy with the way I was riding."
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Race 1 - 1 Laps: 2006 Enduro 1 Slovakia 03/09/2006 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 41'57.650
2 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 0'42.160
3 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 0'44.520
4 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 0'50.940
5 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 1'12.270
6 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 1'16.050
7 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 2'20.000
8 Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 2'59.730
9 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 3'4.970
10 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 3'8.810
11 Peter Podhorsky Yamaha SVK 7'29.510
12 Peter Katai KTM HUN 8'39.550
13 Rostislav Ondracka Husqvarna CZE 19'28.550
Race 2 - 1 Laps: 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 49'5.740
2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 1'2.030
3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 1'22.220
4 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 1'42.230
5 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 1'50.960
6 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 2'12.360
7 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 2'12.830
8 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 2'21.220
9 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 6'33.670
10 Peter Katai KTM HUN 11'9.010
11 Peter Podhorsky Yamaha SVK 15'25.940
Rider Standings 03/09/2006:1. Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 338
2. Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 296
3. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 254
4. Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 244
5. Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 222
6. Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 166
7. Mike Hartmann KTM GER 139
8. Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 121
9. Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 102
10. Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 74
11. Anthony Roberts Yamaha AUS 58
12. Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 52
13. Shane Cuthbertson KTM CAN 49
14. Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 43
15. Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 41
40. Arnau Vilanova Yamaha ESP 10
Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006: 1. KTM 338
2. Honda 296
3. Husqvarna 254
4. Yamaha 228
5. TM 166
6. Suzuki 90
7. Kawasaki 41
8. GasGas 23
9. Christini 19
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