Ivan the terrible!
By TMX Archives on 16th Jun 05
At the start of the '05 World Enduro Championship Ivan Cervantes and his KTM 250 EXC-F were both unproven quantities. At the start of the '05 World Enduro Championship Ivan Cervantes and his KTM 250 EXC-F were both unproven quantities.Ivan - a former GP motocross hopeful who'd quickly transformed himself into one of the WEC's fastest riders - had developed a habit for occasional inconsistent results during '04. That, added to the fact he had an inability to perform at his best in the wet, resulted in serious question marks hanging over the flamboyant Spaniard at the start of the season.Many were asking if he had what it takes to win a championship in a class where he faced tough competition. The other unknown factor at the start of the Spaniard's third full-term as a professional enduro racer was his race bike - KTM's factory 250 EXC-F.The bike (that only he and one other rider in the world would get to race in woods trim in '05) despite being prepped by the mighty Austrian manufacturer and serviced by the hugely professional Farioli KTM team was a machine that was venturing into the WEC for the very first time.Of course, the machine had already proved to be fast enough thanks to Ben Townley claiming the '04 MX2 world championship but it was the new DOHC motor's reliability over two days that had yet to be proved."I guess that it might have looked like I'd have a hard time winning this season," admits Ivan. "But I knew as soon as I first rode the 250cc four-stroke in Spain at the end of last year that I would be able to win on the bike. I learned a lot from '04, I worked hard during the winter and riding a smaller bike really suits the way I ride."Learning from his '04 season meant taking a long, hard look at the way he'd performed and Ivan was forced to come to terms with the fact that he'd gone from dominating the opening two rounds of the series to finishing third in the Enduro 3 championship standings. It was at the third round of the championship in Italy where cracks started to appear."During '03 I realised that I had the speed to win. I battled with Juha Salminen during the season - beating him at some races - and started '04 feeling like I could win the E3 championship. Winning at my home race in Spain was great and winning again in Portugal gave me a lot of motivation to win the championship."But at round three of the series in Italy it rained - spelling disaster for Cervantes. Second on day one to Finn Samuli Aro - the rider that would go on to claim the championship - on day two Ivan placed in a lowly eighth having been well and truly beaten. Not only was he beaten by a number of his lesser-known championship rivals, he showed that he didn't yet have the maturity to win a world title.Instead of opting to finish in third or fourth - a kind of damage limitation exercise in conditions in which he knew he'd never win - he crashed, crashed and crashed some more as he tried to compete with mud specialists Aro and David Knight. In doing so Ivan lost his world championship lead and would never regain it.So when it rained at the opening round of the '05 WEC series in Guadalajara, Spain, it seemed as if Ivan's championship ambitions would become derailed before he reached the first hurdle. With the pressures of the season's opening event, a home crowd to please and the fact that he was debuting KTM's all-new quarter-litre four-stroke to deal with, surely a win was out of the question."The first race of the championship was a very important one for me," recalls Ivan. "I knew I could win, I just had to prove it to myself and everyone else."And prove it he did. Winning both days comfortably to take an early lead in the E1 championship the unproven Cervantes/KTM 250 EXC-F package silenced those who had questioned them. Not only had Ivan produced a winning result, he'd done it in an event that was wet and featured a long, technical cross-country test. Ivan was the rider to beat in the E1 class.But Ivan knew that winning the first round of the series - his home GP - didn't really mean anything in terms of the title race. Sure, he'd proved that he was fast but he'd done that one year earlier and look where that got him.Moving onto Portugal just one week later and Cervantes' confidence was sky high. Faced with dry special tests the former motocross rider again claimed a double E1 class victory to start his '05 season in the best possible way."It was great to win in Portugal," admits Ivan. "The race was very different to Spain so to win again meant a lot to me and the team. I really worked hard before the race in Spain so to win at the first two races gave me a lot of confidence. Winning the world title is what I want to do so to win races is the best way to do that."But again it had all been seen before. Ivan was known to be fast in both Spain and Portugal having won there in '04 - it was beyond the second round of the WEC series he needed to prove himself. With the third round of the championship in Italy - the very same country where his '04 title hopes came unstuck - would the 23-year-old be able to deliver the goods where it really counted?The answer to that was yes. One month on from the second round of the series Ivan arrived in northern Italy knowing that he needed to win. "My friends back home in Spain were saying to me that I wouldn't win in Italy because of what happened last year. I knew that they were joking with me but I also knew that a lot of other people were thinking the same."Claiming 25 championship points for topping the first day's competition, Ivan didn't dominate like he had at the previous two rounds of the series but he still won. And that was all that mattered. A little way down the E1 class leaderboard midway through the opening day, Cervantes rode at his best to claim the win by just six seconds.On day two Ivan again had to ride at his best to ensure he stood on the top step of the podium and again battled with Italian Simone Albergoni. With overnight rain making conditions slippery early on, Ivan found himself a little way down the leaderboard before mounting a spirited come-from-behind performance."I had to take some real chances on day two to win," admits Ivan. "In the morning I found it difficult to be fast because it was wet. As the tests dried I was able to get faster but I was riding on the limit.""Winning on both days in Italy is a very important result for me. It is possibly the most important result of my career so far. If things hadn't been so good then, like last year, then...it would have been hard for me."Winning on both days, making it six wins from six starts so far in '05, helped push Ivan 36 points clear at the top of the E1 championship. But more importantly it showed that the Spaniard has the ability to dig deep, maintain a level head and win a world title. With the fourth round of the series returning to Spain the rider that many dismissed as fast but inconsistent hopes to edge ever closer to his first world title."There are many races still to go but I am feeling confident," reckons Ivan. "I have a lot of motivation, a great bike and team and I just want to keep winning. I want to make '05 my year."For more from Ivan don't miss the July issue of dbr - on sale now!Words and photos by Jonty Edmunds