Finland’s Mika Ahola was one of five different riders who came away with class wins at the Grand Prix David Knight Poland, round four of the FIM World Enduro Championship, June 12-13. However, the Honda-mounted Ahola was the only double winner, taking victories both Saturday and Sunday in the Enduro 2 (450cc) division. Ahola edged out KTM’s Ivan Cervantes both days – especially day two when he beat Cervantes by less than a second.
In Enduro 1 (250F), KTM’s Eero Remes and Husqvarna’s Antoine Meo traded class wins. Remes topped Husqvarna rider Matti Seistola by nearly a minute on day one, while Meo, who finished fourth on day one, came back to win day two by nearly a minute over Remes. KTM’s Johnny Aubert finished third both days.
In the big-bore class, Enduro 3, Taddy BlazusiakKTM’s David Knight got it started with a victory on Saturday, when he beat fellow KTM rider Simone Albergoni by 20 seconds.
Knight, however, could not match his opening-day performance on Sunday, saying he struggled to find his speed all day. “The second day was really frustrating,” Knight said. “No matter what I tried I just couldn’t get the times I wanted. I tried all sort – I tried riding smoother, harder, more aggressively – but nothing seemed to work.”
Knight fell in the final test and ended up finishing third on the second day behind Sunday winner, Gas Gas rider Christophe Nambotin and Albergoni. However, Knight still leads the E3-class standings by 23 points over Nambotin.Marko Tarkkala
Nambotin had a tough day one when his chain came off and bound up around the countershaft sprocket, ending his ride.
Extreme enduro star and recent Erzberg winner Taddy Blazusiak competed in the E1 class and finished sixth both days. “I was really happy with my riding all weekend…but I was really tired,” the Pole admitted. “Racing here so soon after Erzberg has been tough. It’s [also] been hard for me to change from racing over huge rocks at Erzberg on a two-stroke to racing special tests here on a four-stroke. It’s not so often I get the chance to race in front of my fans here in Poland, so I didn’t want to miss that opportunity.”
Finn Marko Tarkkala, riding the 450cc BMW-powered Husqvarna, which made its WEC debut last month, went 8-10 over the weekend. Tarkkala’s teammate Juha Salminen did not ride in Poland. The seven-time World Enduro Champion is still recovering from a broken ankle and is not expected to return until the GP of Greece scheduled for late August.
