World Enduro Championship - Rnd 4 Turkey
By TMX Archives on 16th Jun 11
Due to national elections in Turkey, the World Enduro Championship was held on a Friday and Saturday for the first time. In stark contrast to the weather blighting the UK, the fourth round proved to be a hot, dry and dusty event.
Husqvarna were again the team to beat in the Enduro 1 class where team riders Juha Salminen and Matti Seistola claimed a day win each. Spain's Cristobal Guerrero aboard his KTM and Husqvarna's Antoine Meo claimed a day win each in E2 while Mika Ahola stepped further ahead in the E3 Championship thanks to two wins and a day two DNF from his closest rival Christophe Nambotin.
Returning to Turkey for a second consecutive year the fourth round of the 2011 Enduro World Championship delivered some of the series' closest racing to date with little to separate most of the top riders in all classes. With two new for '11 special tests all riders were pleased to find a not overly difficult course as four laps of the one-and-a-half hour lap added to blisteringly hot temperatures proved challenging enough.
As expected, a smaller than normal number of competitors took to the start of the event that marked the mid-way point of the series, with only a handful of privateer riders making the long journey to Fethiye.
Just as they did at the third round of the championship in Italy, Husqvarna team-mates Juha Salminen and Matti Seistola locked out the top two spots in the Enduro 1 class, with Salminen claiming the top spot on day one just two seconds ahead of Seistola.
Day two saw the two Finns separated by almost the exact same amount as on day one, but with Seistola getting the upper hand. Putting himself in the lead following a great start to the day, he had to work his way back into the lead following a crash on the enduro test. Joining the Husqvarna riders on the podium to claim his best results of the season so far was Honda mounted Frenchman Rodrig Thain. Just six seconds behind runner-up Seistola on day one, Rodrig wasn't able to remain quite as close on day two but nevertheless claimed his best results of the championship to date.
Spain's Cristobal Guerrero enjoyed his first taste of victory as a KTM factory rider on day one in Turkey, topping the Enduro 2 class by a little under seven seconds. Pushed hard by Gas Gas-mounted countryman Ivan Cervantes who claimed the eventual runner-up spot, Cristobal finished as the day's overall fastest rider. Third went to E2 championship leader Antoine Meo.
With mistakes and small crashes preventing him from finishing higher than third on day one, on day two Meo came out on top of a four-rider battle for the win. Making it a French one-two Husaberg's Pela Renet got the closest to Meo placing just four seconds behind. Third went to day one winner Guerrero while his KTM team-mate Johnny Aubert ruled himself out of any possible victory when he lost three minutes after his fuel pipe disconnected itself from his bike's fuel injector. Johnny eventually placed eighth.
While victories were shared in E1 and E2 in E3 one rider – Mika Ahola – not only claimed a double win but notable strengthened his grip on the big bike championship standings. A deserved winner on day one when he placed close to half-a-minute up on Husaberg's Joakim Ljunggren, on day two Ahola not only claimed his sixth day win of the championship but thanks to the DNF of his closest rival Christophe Nambotin found himself comfortably ahead at the top of the championship standings.
On day one Nambotin had rounded out the podium behind Ahola and Ljunggren and while headed for another top three result on day two suffered a costly mechanical problem that realistically ends his hopes of picking up a first World title in '11. Over half a minute behind Ahola on day two, Marko Tarkkala got the better of Joakim Ljunggren as the two two-stroke mounted riders rounded out the podium.
Spain's Mario Roman claimed a double win in the Enduro Junior class finishing close to eight seconds up on championship leader Antti Hellsten on day one and then ahead of Frenchman Romain Dumontier on day two. Third went to Benoit Fortunato on day one and Jeremy Joly on day two.
Results: World Enduro Championship Rd 4 – Fethiye, TURKEY
DAY ONE
ENDURO ONE: 1 Juha Salminen (Husqvarna), 2 Matti Seistola (Husqvarna), 3 Rodrig Thain (Honda), 4 Eero Remes (KTM), 5 Lorenzo Santolino (KTM), 6 Nicolas Deparrois (Kawasaki), 7 Julien Gauthier (Honda), 8 Fabien Planet (Sherco), 9 Paulo Felicia (Yamaha).
ENDURO TWO: 1 Cristobal Guerrero (KTM), 2 Ivan Cervantes (Gas Gas), 3 Antoine Meo (Husqvarna), 4 Johnny Aubert (KTM), 5 Pela Renet (Husaberg), 6 Hans Vogels (Husaberg), 7 Aigor Leok (TM), 8 Antoine Basset (Yamaha), 9 Simone Albergoni (Husqvarna), 10 Jeff Goblet (Yamaha).
ENDURO THREE: 1 Mika Ahola (Honda), 2 Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg), 3 Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas), 4 Marko Tarkkala (Husaberg), 5 Seb Guillaume (Husqvarna), 6 Oriol Mena (Husaberg), 7 Jordi Figueras (Gas Gas), 8 Alex Salvini (Husqvarna)2, 9 Maurizio Facchin (Honda), 10 Fabio Mossini (Beta).
ENDURO JUNIOR: 1 Mario Roman (KTM), 2 Antti Hellsten (KTM), 3 Benoit Fortunato (Yamaha), 4 Romain Dumontier (Yamaha), 5 Jeremy Joly (Honda), 6 Victor Guerrero (Yamaha), 7 Jonathan Manzi (KTM), 8 Mathias Bellino (Husaberg), 9 Edoardo D'ambrosio (Honda), 10 Roni Nikander (Husqvarna).
DAY TWO
ENDURO ONE: 1 Matti Seistola (Husqvarna), 2 Juha Salminen (Husqvarna), 3 Rodrig Thain (Honda), 4 Eero Remes (KTM), 5 Lorenzo Santolino (KTM), 6 Nicolas Deparrois (Kawasaki), 7 Julien Gauthier (TM), 8 Fabien Planet (Sherco), 9 Paulo Felicia (Yamaha), 10 Ismail Ozgul (KTM).
ENDURO TWO: 1 Antoine Meo (Husqvarna), 2 Pela Renet (Husaberg), 3 Cristobal Guerrero (KTM), 4 Ivan Cervantes (Gas Gas), 5 Aigor Leok (TM), 6 Jeff Goblet (Yamaha), 7 Simone Albergoni (Husqvarna), 8 Johnny Aubert (KTM), 9 Antoine Basset (Yamaha), 10 Goncalo Reis (Honda).
ENDURO THREE: 1 Mika Ahola (Honda), 2 Marko Tarkkala (Husaberg), 3 Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg), 4 Alex Salvini (Husqvarna), 5 Fabio Mossini (Beta), 6 Oriol Mena (Husaberg), 7 Seb Guillaume (Husqvarna), 8 Jordi Figueras (Gas Gas), 9 Maurizio Facchin (Honda), 10 Jonas Karlsson (KTM).
ENDURO JUNIOR: 1 Mario Roman (KTM), 2 Romain Dumontier (Yamaha), 3 Jeremy Joly (Honda), 4 Benoit Fortunato (Yamaha), 5 Jonathan Manzi (KTM), 6 Mathias Bellino (Husaberg), 7 Deny Philippaerts (Beta), 8 Calle Sjoo (Honda), 9 Roni Nikander (Husqvarna), 10 Kevin Benavides (Husaberg).
NEXT ROUND: June 18/1 – Meteora, GREECE.
