With the start of the ’03 World Enduro Championship Series just two weeks away, many of the world’s top enduro riders and teams traveled to Sicily for round one of the Italian Enduro Championship last weekend. Renowned as being ‘the’ most important enduro series after the World Championship, those that place near the front of the Italian series are the riders that normally dominate on the World stage. Here is a combined report of the first Italian race won by Stefan Merriman (pictured) and preview of the upcoming World Enduro Championship Series.
HM Zanardo Honda
A small team with a big truck in ’02, the HM Zanardo team had plenty to smile about at the end of the opening round of the Italian Enduro Championship as the team’s new signing Stefan Merriman topped the event on both days. Proving that he means business in ’03, and that he will be a hard rider to beat come the start of this year’s WEC series, Stefan’s double event topping performances was all the more impressive because he beat reigning 250cc World Champion Samuli Aro comfortably.
With nearly all of the team’s eggs placed securely in Merriman’s basket for ’03 solid performances by young Italian rider Andrea Beconi in the 250cc two-stroke class and former MX GP rider Alex Zanni in the 450cc four-stroke class meant that the HM Zanardo Honda team was well represented on the first page of the events results sheets.
Farioli KTM
With reigning 250cc World Enduro Champion Samuli Aro joining new signing Helder Rodrigues and Italian Giovanni Gritti aboard KTM’s prototype ’04 EXC 250cc two-stroke machines the opening round of the Italian Enduro Championship should have been a good one for the Farioli KTM squad. Instead it was a weekend hampered by mechanical problems and bad luck. For Aro the weekend that should have seen him compete against Merriman in a pre-WEC head-to-head failed to materialize after the Finn’s luggage was lost on arrival in Sicily. Losing his suspension, carburetor, handlebars, etc., Samuli spent much of the weekend trying to ‘adjust’ to an alien-feeling machine and as a result wasn’t in any real position to challenge for the class win. Despite his set back the laid back Finn produced two spirited rides.
Worse still were the results of Giovanni Sala. Mounted aboard the Austrian marque’s 250cc four-stroke, the experienced Italian failed to finish either day’s competitions after suffering three mechanical breakdowns within three days – he also broke his training bike on the Friday before the event. DNF’ing on a factory-prepared machine on day one, and then on a production machine on day two, Gio’s Italian Championship campaign now lies in tatters. The arrival of KTM’s new 250cc thumper in enduro trim is expected to be the third round of the WEC series.
Adding to the team’s bad fortune, Giovanni Gritti DNF’ed day one after a heavy fall, 450cc four-stroke rider Alessandro Botturi and Helder Rodrigues hit a car while riding to watch one of the special test prior to the start of day two and luckily escaped unhurt, while the team’s graphics read TMK instead of KTM on the left side of the bikes after a mistake made by the teams graphics sponsors.
UFO Corse Yamaha
For the UFO Corse Yamaha team the event proved to be much more successful. With David Knight topping the over 500cc Four-Stroke class, and very nearly the scratch, despite the participation of VOR’s three-time ISDE winner Mika Ahola, the team also finished top in the 125, 250 Four-Stroke and 450cc Four-Stroke classes.
Faced with real World-class competition Paul Edmondson’s first competitive ride for the team was a huge success as he comfortably topped the eighth-litre class on both days ahead of TM’s Rickard Larsson (second in the ’02 125cc WEC), Simone Albergoni and Husqvarna’s official riders Mika Saarenkoski and Roberto Bazzurri. Edmondson also finished inside the top six overall on both days and just five seconds behind third-placed Samuli Aro on day two.
“I’m really pleased with the way things have gone this weekend,” Edmondson said after the race. “With the exception of Petteri Silvan and Petri Pohjamo all the class’ top riders were here, to beat them proves that I’m on the pace and ready for the start of the World Championship.”
Topping the 250cc Four-Stroke class comfortably, reigning World Champion Peter Bergvall failed to make any real impression in the overall classification but proved that as in ’02 he’ll start this year’s WEC Series as the man to beat. The only other results of note in the 250cc four-stroke class were those of Yamaha-mounted Guiseppe Gallino and Giorgio Grasso who finished in second and third, respectively.
Having moved down from the Over-500cc thumper class to the 450cc class Mario Rinaldi came away from the event with two class wins and knowing that barring any injuries, he’s almost assured the title. Looking much more like the rider of old than the de-motivated riders of ’02, Rinaldi – despite being up against some seriously tough opposition in the WEC – will be a rider to watch during ’03. The team’s best result though was that of David Knight. Not really sure what to expect from either his new machine or classmates, “Knighter” proved with out a shadow of a doubt that he is more than capable of winning the Over-500cc Four-Stroke World Championship this year having convincingly, and almost easily, beaten VOR’s Mika Ahola on both days. Leading day one overall until the very last test of the day (his team told him that he was leading by half a minute when he was in fact just a handful of seconds ahead) Knight would certainly have topped day two had his bike not mysteriously stopped on the day’s penultimate test, losing him around 30 seconds. Despite that, he still finished a solid second overall, just three seconds behind Stefan Merriman.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season,” Merriman said. “I knew that I was riding well but to have very nearly topped the event overall is more than I was expecting. I just hope that I can ride as well in the world Championship, because I know that I’ve got the speed to win.”
CH Racing Husqvarna
Having lost the services of Petteri Silvan, Samuli Aro, Paul Edmondson and Stefan Merriman for ’03, the CH Racing Husqvarna team’s presence within the paddock was a much-reduced one with 125cc riders Roberto Bazzurri and Mika Saarenkoski having to fly the Husqvarna banner as the team’s only official riders.
Also riding, but only as a course marshal, was the team’s new 250cc two-stroke rider Paul Whibley. After flying from his home in New Zealand to Milan, where he was expecting to be collected by the team, the rider that is replacing Samuli Aro in the eight-litre two-stroke class had to then get on another flight to Sicily where, after nearly 24 hours on a plane, he finally got to meat his new team. The team has also decided not to enter a rider into the 250cc Four-Stroke class in this year’s WEC series and will instead enter both Bazzurri and Saarenkoski in the 125cc class.
TM
TM riders Rickard Larsson (125cc) and new signings Oblucki Bartosz (250cc Four-Stroke) and Daniel Persson (400cc Four-Stroke) all had far from successful weekends with only Bartosz managing to finish both days competition. For Larsson day two ended prematurely after his TM lost compression having struggled, like many, to jet the eighth-litre machine. For Persson, who was riding the new fuel-injected machine, day one saw him fail to see the finish before he placed fifth in class on day two. For Bartosz, who was riding a ’03 250cc four-stroke machine with a cable-operated clutch and not a hydraulic unit as is standard, the lack of a ‘race bike’ (he blew it up during the week prior to the race) meant that he to struggle to find a set-up that he was happy with.
VOR
One of the biggest surprises prior to the event was the signing of former 250cc four-stroke World Champion Mateo Rubin as an official member of the VOR team. Having been kept off a bike for much of ’02 after shattering his ankle during a pre-season KTM photo-shoot, Rubin lined up alongside Roman Michalik as the team’s 450cc riders. Still unable to walk properly, Rubin’s results weren’t overly impressive as he struggled to adjust to his new machine. Michalik however posted a solid ride on day one before exiting day two after just one special test.
For Ahola finishing second in the Over-500cc Four-Stroke class to David Knight on both days was a bit of a shock but having started last season with a serious shoulder injury the tall Finn was just happy to be fit and ready for the start of the WEC Series. The bikes ridden by the team’s riders featured a new-for-’04 fuel tank and air box design. Deciding to do away from the fuel tank under the seat design, the bikes featured a more conventional fuel tank at the front, air-box-under-the-seat set-up. Made from aluminum, and in the early stages of development, the only problem the team has is that the bikes at present hold just six litres (1.56 gallons) of fuel.
The event’s three special test (two motocross and one cross-country) proved demanding for all riding – especially the shorter of the two MX tests, which was held on a nearby beach. Causing jetting problems for many of the two-stroke-mounted riders – especially those on 125s – the three-minute long test made even the World’s best look like beginners on occasions, as the rutted and rough conditions required smooth, aggressive riding and 100% concentration – something that many found hard especially at the end of a long day’s riding. The cross-country test however was deemed dangerous by many of the riders due to its high speeds and rocky terrain. It also proved a little too difficult for many of the ‘hobby riders’.
One of the more noteworthy changes made to the rules of the Italian Enduro Championship for ’03 was that stating that mechanics are now allowed to work on the bikes during the event – a rule that will be used in World Championship competition during ’03 and the ISDE. Much-hyped before the race, come the end of the first day’s competition, the new rule proved to be a bit of an anti climax, as riders still had to change tires themselves while the mechanics simply changed filters, re-fitted the wheels and generally checked the bikes over. So how did the mechanics view the rule change? Well, most were in favor of the change as it helped clear up the grey area of passing tools to riders. It also removed the need for mechanics to constantly be looking over their shoulders to check if officials are watching them. It also meant that riders were being much more fussy about how their bikes were running – especially those riding two-strokes. Where as last year the need to change a rear sprocket by one tooth would only be considered in extreme cases, during the event many riders were requesting gearing and especially carburetion changes left, right and center – something that didn’t overly please some of the mechanics.
