World Enduro Championship - round 8 GP of France
By TMX Archives on 14th Sep 06
The end is near. After six months of waiting and seven action packed races taking place on two continents the '06 FIM World Enduro Championship comes to an end on September 23-24 when the GP of France brings this year's WEC series to a close in the small town of Boussac, central France. For KTM it's set to be a memorable race as team riders Ivan Cervantes and Samuli Aro gear themselves up to claim the '06 Enduro 1 and Enduro 2 world titles.
With the hard work now all but finished, and with many exciting championship battles behind him, KTM's defending Enduro 1 class world champion Ivan Cervantes knows that the '06 Enduro 1 crown is all but his. 42 points ahead in the E1 championship race, just a handful of points is all that Ivan needs to claim his second consecutive world title. With no fewer than 10 E1 class day wins to his name this season Ivan has been the dominant rider in the smallest of the three WEC capacity classes and has never looked like doing anything other than win the title. Claiming his first win on day two of the season opener in Sweden Ivan went on to top both days of the second, third and fourth rounds of the series in Portugal, Spain and Italy before winning one day at each of the two North American rounds held in Canada and the US. Claiming a double win in Slovakia Ivan can now claim the '06 Enduro 1 world championship on day one in France needing just a handful of points to secure his, and Spain's, second enduro world championship.
For Cervantes' E1 class team-mate Alessandro Belometti the final race of the season is an incredibly important one. Sitting third in the championship standings, Belometti is just 10 points ahead of Poland's Bartosz Oblucki. With little having separated the two riders all season Belometti's cruel luck on day one in Italy where he badly damaged his rear chain guide on the extreme test while heading for the class win means that in France he will need to pull out all the stops to claim third in the '06 E1 championship.
The end of the '06 FIM World Enduro Championship can't come soon enough for Finn Samuli Aro. The rider entrusted by KTM to bring home the '06 Enduro 2 world title, arguably the most competitive of the three senior WEC classes, Samuli has battled against fierce competition all season to arrive at the final round of the championship 32 points ahead of his closest rival. Starting the season the way he intended to finish it by winning the WEC ‘s first ever winter enduro Samuli took charge of the E2 title race from the first race of the year and hasn't looked back despite constant pressure from some of the world's fastest enduro riders. Failing to stand on the podium on day one in Portugal Samuli quickly found his rhythm again and following two runner-up finishes in Spain claimed five consecutive day wins in Italy, Canada, and the US before netting two important podium finishes at the penultimate round in Slovakia. By far the most consistent rider in the E2 class this season, and on more occasions than not also the fastest, Samuli, like Ivan Cervantes, needs just a handful of points on day one of the GP of France to lift the '06 Enduro 2 world championship title.
For KTM's second Enduro 2 class rider Fabien Planet the final round of the series will be his home race, something he missed through injury last season. Having failed to perform at his best in the earlier rounds of the '06 series Fabien wants to end the season on a high and hopes to claim his first podium finish of the season in front of his home fans. The only factory KTM rider competing on a two-stroke machine in France Fabien currently lies in fifth position in the E2 championship, a position he is determined to secure.
For KTM's Enduro 3 star David Knight the GP of France will be a much more relaxed affair. Having already claimed the '06 Enduro 3 world title at the penultimate round of the series in Slovakia, in France he will be able to enjoy the final race of the season before saying good bye to his team, many friends, competitors and fans as he leaves the WEC, for the time being at least, to begin preparation for his next big challenge — that of trying to win the '07 US Grand National Cross Country Series. But before he goes David wants to finish his brilliant season in style. Having topped the Enduro 3 class on each day of the championship so far Knight wants to finish off the perfect season by claiming two more E3 day wins.
For Marko Tarkkala the final world championship race of the season is an important one. After losing 50 championship points with his double DNF at the GP of Italy Tarkkala sits in third position in the E3 class and trails Frenchman Seb Guillaume by 17 points.