KTM's E1 maestro Ivan Cervantes of Spain put in a winning final day on his KTM machine to snatch overall victory from teammate Juha Salminen of Finland who deprived of the overall individual leadership because of a race incident.
A win in the overall individual World Trophy for Salminen looked like a formality at the end of Day Five of the 2008 ISDE in Northern Greece but the Finn had to swallow disappointment and concede to Cervantes following the race incident that left him without a serviceable machine in the final stages.
Orange Success at ISDE
It was again a very successful Six Days event for the KTM lineup and reason for the Austrian manufacturer to celebrate. As well as the overall individual, Ivan Cervantes clinched the E1, Salminen's teammate Alessandro Belometti sealed the E2 and their mutual KTM factory teammate Marko Tarkkala was first in E3. Thomas Oldrati, who leads the Junior Enduro World championship Standings on his KTM also finished in a highly creditable fourth place in E1 proving that he is definitely a rider to watch in the future. Team KTM1 made up of Salminen, Tarkkala and Cervantes was also victorious in the Manufacturer's Trophy
Bad luck for Salminen on last day
Salminen had dominated this extreme endurance event from day two to five but the top place on the podium was not to be his. Tackling the final motocross test on the motocross track inside the Serres Circuit, Salminen started strongly and was in front of the field when the race was halted due to an accident that required medical assistance for an injured rider. Salminen also got away well when the race was restarted. He snatched the holeshot and was in the top three when he crashed after the first corner. He was remounting ready to rejoin the race when he was struck by another rider and the resulting damage to his KTM machine did not allow him to continue.
KTM riders successfully fend off last day attacks
The all important final day proved that the ISDE is never over until it's over and the final stages can still shake up the standing order. Cervantes managed to fend off promised attacks by second placed American Ricky Dietrich, Belometti stepped into the breach after Salminen's untimely exit and finished the Six Days with a ride that gave him first place on the day and victory in the final class classification. Marko Tarkkala also rode superbly in E3 to take day's honours and finish the leader in the class, successfully putting paid to the challenge made by Australian Stefan Merriman on Day Five.
The ISDE took riders through a whole range of different terrain and some superb scenery and challenges. It was six days of man and machine versus mountain and tough terrain with as much stiff competition between amateur riders as with the world's elite. A field of nine women also completed the entire six days of competition, with KTM riders picking up places 2-7 inclusive in the final count. Approximately half the field contested this ultimate offroad challenge onboard KTM offroad motorcycles.
Overall World Trophy Individual winner: Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
Results E1 after Day Six:
1. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
2. Ricky Dietrich, USA, Kawasaki
3. Julien Gautier, France, Honda
4. Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM
5. Maurizio Micheluz, Italy, Yamaha
Results E2 after Day Six:
1. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
2. Rodrig Thain, France, TM
3. Fabrizio Dini, Italy, Yamaha
4. Fabio Mossini, Italy, Honda
5. Oscar Balleti, Italy, Honda
14. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM
E3 after Day Six:
1. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM
2. Sebastien Guillame, France, Husqvarna
3. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
4. Stefan Merriman, Australia, Aprilia
5. Alessandro Botturi, Italy, Honda
Official Manufacturer's Team Award Classification:
1. KTM 1 (Salminen, Tarkkala, Cervantes)
2. Honda HM Zanardo
3. Team Husqvarna 1
4. Husaberg 1
5. KTM 3 (Oldrati, Cominotto, Kanney)
Other KTM:
7. KTM Deutschland 1
9. KTM Deutschland 2
12 KTM Deutschland 3
14. KTM 2 (Belometti, Sagar, Caselli) - Caselli retired
photos courtesy of Edmunds J. KTM Images
