Day two in Serres saw more of the same for ISDE riders. The course was exactly the same as yesterday, but even more beat up and silty. There were many air filter changes throughout the day and still a lot of jetting challenges with the vast elevation changes in the course.
Trophy team standings remained largely the same today with France still leading the World Trophy followed by Italy and the US. Italy continues to dominate the Junior World standings followed by Australia and France. In the Women’s World Trophy, France holds the number one position led by Ludivine Puy while the US is in second followed by Sweden.
With the new starting order, riders are now seeded according to their overall finish from the previous day – regardless of class. So KTM’s Kurt Caselli, the overall leader from day one, got clear air all day. Ricky Dietrich, Nathan Kanney, Destry Abbott and Jimmy Jarrett were all not far behind, making for some busy pit stops at the checks.
Caselli kept his overall lead throughout the day, but has been penalized one minute for allegedly cutting the course. As Caselli explains the incident, he came into a turn and lost the front end in some chatter, laying the bike down under the ribbon. He picked up the bike and rather than re-entering the course facing the wrong direction, he paralleled the course for a few feet until the next turn. The U.S. team is currently trying to overturn the penalty.
Nathan Woods is rebounding quite well after a disappointing first day. He set the fastest overall times on the opening motocross test both times on Day Two and is climbing back up the ranks.
The silty, beat-up course required a lot of air filter changes throughout the day.
In the overall ranks, Juha Salminen made big strides today, boosting himself from ninth overall and fifth in the E2 class to second in class and second overall. First in the overall currently belongs to Cristobal Guerrero of Spain, who had another great day, setting the fastest time in the final special test by a landslide.
The dust continues to be an issue in Serres, Greece and safety concerns were raised regarding the enduro test. The thick dust isn’t as bad of an issue in the open areas and moto-style tests, but in the thick trees, the dust hangs and light is dim, making it even more of a challenge.
Riders are definitely looking forward to a change of pace tomorrow with a less beat up course. Riders will still be heading in the same general direction – up into the mountains and back down, completing two loops in one day.
Day Two Results (unofficial)
USA rider Maria Forsberg moved up a spot to second overall in the Women’s class today.
Overall:
1. Cristobal Guerrero ESP
2. Juha Salminen FIN
3. Sebastien Guillame FRA
4. Ivan Cervantes ESP
5. Kurt Caselli USA
6. Marko Tarkkala FIN
7. Ricky Dietrich USA
8. Stefan Merriman AUS
9. Alessandro Belometti ITA
10. Christophe Nambotin FRA
11. Rodrig Thain FRA
12. Fabrizio Dini ITA
13. Julien Gautier FRA
14. Simone Albergoni ITA
15. Alessandro Botturi ITA
16. Nicolas Deparrois FRA
17. Maurizio Micheluz ITA
18. Nathan Kanney USA
19. Joakim Ljunggren SWE
20. Bjorne Carlsson SWE
33. Destry Abbott USA
34. Jimmy Jarrett USA
World Trophy:
1. France
2. Italy
3. USA
4. Finland
5. Spain
Junior World Trophy:
1. Italy
2. Australia
3. France
4. Finland
5. Spain
Women World Trophy:
1. France
2. USA
3. Sweden
4. Germany
Former GNCC Champion Juha Salminen made a lot of progress on Day Two.
E1:
1. Ivan Cervantes ESP
2. Ricky Dietrich USA
3. Julien Gautier FRA
4. Simone Albergoni ITA
5. Maurizio Micheluz ITA
E2:
1. Cristobal Guerrero ESP
2. Juha Salminen FIN
3. Alessandro Belometti ITA
4. Rodrig Thain FRA
5. Fabrizio Dini FRA
E3:
1. Sebastien Guillame FRA
2. Kurt Caselli USA
3. Marko Tarkkala FIN
4. Stefan Merriman AUS
5. Christophe Nambotin FRA
Women:
1. Ludivine Puy FRA
2. Maria Forsberg USA
3. Alice Geneste FRA
4. Nicole Bradford USA
5. Vanja Kollman SWE
