KTM riders claimed 5 of 6 class victories during the MAXXIS FIM World Enduro Championship’s GP UFO Canada. KTM’s dominance was lead by Great Britian’s David Knight, who rode in the E3 class, and Finnish rider Samuli Aro (E2) who both claimed victories in their respective classes by winning both days of the two-day enduro. The two also set the fastest overall test times in 15 of the enduros 16 special tests. Only Australian Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman (E2) was able to claim the remaining special test victory.
In the E1 class it was Italian Honda rider Simone Albergoni who kept KTM from making a clean sweep. He won Day-two over Spain’s Ivan Cervantes, who took the class victory on day one.
The highlight of the course was the extreme test (XT) which traversed the rocky eastern shore of Lake Huron. David Knight set the fastest time on day one, crossing the finish line three minutes and 32 seconds ahead of second place Marko Tarkkala on day one, and by four minutes and 58 seconds on day two.
“The extreme test was really different,” Knight said. “It evolved throughout the race. My background in trials really paid off.”
In Enduro 2, Aro won four of the special tests on day one, beating Merriman by 54 seconds and France’s Jonny Aubert (Yam) by 1 minute and 23 seconds. Aro’s Day-two efforts gave him a 52-second victory over fellow countrymen Mika Ahola and a one-minute 56-second win over Aubert. Merriman slipped to fifth in class on Day-two after experiencing troubles in the first test of the day.
“The conditions here reminded me of home,” Aro said, “Especially with all of the rocks and sand. It was only the heat that made me realize that I was not in Finland.”
In the E1 class the competition was much closer as both Cervantes and Albergoni swapped wins on Day-one and Day-two while Poland’s Bartosz Oblucki (Hus) finished third each day. Less then 1 minute and 17 seconds separated the top three E1 class riders each day.
In the Enduro Junior classification Day-one was won by Frances Marc Bourgeois (Hus) with Sweden’s Joakim Ljunggren (Hbg) finishing second. On Day-two the riders swapped finishes with Ljunggren taking the class win. Australias Jacob Stapleton (TM) finished third both days.
American riders Kurt Caselli (KTM) and Nathan Kanney (Yam) finished 11th and 12th respectively in the E2 class on Saturday. The two finished in 10th and 11th place on Sunday. Caselli beat out Kanney by 15 seconds on Day-one while Kanney finished within 5 seconds of Caselli on Day-two.
This is the first time that the Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championships (WEC) have been held in North America. Forty-three of the regular WEC riders rode the event out of a total of 79 entrants. The riders have a week to prepare for the GP OXTAR USA next weekend in Hancock New York.
2006 World Enduro Championship Rnd 5
Grand Prix of Canada, Parry Sound , Day 2
Enduro 1
1. Simone Albergoni (Honda) 59:14.26; 2. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 59:53.33; 3. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1.00:37.08; 4. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.00:37.08; 5. Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha) 1.04:09.74; 6. Anthony Roberts (Yamaha) 1.05:14.40; 7. Shane Cuthbertson (KTM) 1.08:54.40; 8. James Skinner (KTM) 1.11:19.82.
Enduro 2
1. Samuli Aro (KTM) 58:27.68; 2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 59:20.33; 3. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1.00:23.90; 4. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1.00:27.00; 5. Stefan Merriman (Yamaha) 1.01:05.39; 6. Nicolas Paganon (Husqvarna) 1.01:33.68; 7. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 1.01:50.34; 8. Alessandro Botturi (Aprilia) 1.02:22.86; 9. Cristobal Guerrero (Gas Gas) 1.02:25.69; 10. Kurt Caselli (KTM) 1.02:53.13; 11. Nate Kanney (Yamaha) 1.02:58.44; 12. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1.03:21.35; 13. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.05:00.33; 14. Klade Glasgow (KTM) 1.05:19.25; 15. Euan MCConnell (TM) 1.06:09.77; 16. Guy Girroux (Suzuki) 1.08:55.71; 17. Dan Watt (Husaberg) 1.11:33.44; 18. Ian McKill (KTM) 1.11:46.88; 19. Tobias Burman (Husaberg) 1.12:18.37; 20. Kelly Graffunder (KTM) 1.12:34.68.
Enduro 3
1. David Knight (KTM) 56:42.97; 2. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1.01:41.66; 3. Seb Guillaume (Gas Gas) 1.02:40.18; 4. Paul Whibley (Honda) 1.02:55.48; 5. Markus Kehr (KTM) 1.03:57.44; 6. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1.04:06.46; 7. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1.04:24.82; 8. Paolo Bernardi (Honda) 1.04:29.83; 9. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1.05:02.65; 10. Alessandro Zanni (Aprilia) 1.05:29.38; 11. Michal Rudolf (KTM) 1.08:59.61; 12. Dylan Debel (Husaberg) 1.15:00.09; 13. Michel Metcalfe (KTM) 1.15:16.63; 14. Dave Neumeister (KTM) 1.17:16.94; 15. Clint Riviere (KTM) 1.24:42.37.
Enduro Junior
1. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.01:54.10; 2. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 1.02:31.05; 3. Jake Stapleton (TM) 1.03:35.62; 4. Ricard Wressel (Husaberg) 1.08:01.82; 5. Cory Graffunder (KTM) 1.09:05.55; 6. Sylvain Lebrun (Husqvarna) 1.09:44.87; 7. Geoff Nelson (KTM) 1.10:15.82; 8. Wallace Palmer (Suzuki) 1.10:19.44; 9. Jakub Horak (KTM) 1.11:44.70; 10. Lucas Sedlacek (Beta) 1.12:39.46; 11. Patrick Wikman (KTM) 1.12:59.87; 12. David Kamo (KTM) 1.15:35.56; 13. Scott Bowes (KTM) 1.16:10.48.
