World Enduro Report - Robert Lynn

13 Apr 2010
Enduro World Championship

Valverde del Camino

10th/11^th April

 

After a five month winter break, the opening round of the 2010 Enduro World Championship finally came to life at the sleepy Spanish town of Valverde del Camino nestled in the Andalusian province of southern Spain. With sunny weather and unforgiving terrain it would be a daunting challenge for all of the 105 competitors to see the finish of each day.

 

E1 – A French Invasion

A lot of anticipation surrounded the field of E1 riders. Reigning E2 champion; Jonny Aubert had dropped down to the small bore class and with little or no previous experience on the quarter litre machine, many wondered how he would fair against the spectacular Antoine Meo who had become a revelation in the class towards the end of 2009. Meo proved unfazed by the hype surrounding his fellow Frenchman topping the class at the end of Day 1 while also posting fastest times through each of the daunting Extreme Tests. Aubert literally lost his way mid day after missing an arrow out on the check dropping him down the running order but his time was later reinstated promoting him to second just ahead of home hero Christobal Guerrero.

Day 2 and once again the same three riders would fill the podium positions at the end of the day, however Aubert would make amends for his schoolboy error by staying on track. Topping six of the day's 15 Special Tests opened Aubert a comfortable cushion to control the race lead from. With a win a piece between the duo of Aubert and Meo it'll be an exciting year in E1.

 

E2 – Old Rivalry Resumed

HM Honda mounted Mika Ahola has stepped up to E2 after clinching his second E1 crown in 2009, while the current E3 champion Ivan Cervantes has stepped down. They last went head to head in 2008 when Ahola came out on top by taking E1 glory. With pride at stake neither will want to come out second best this time around. On Day 1 it was Ahola that drew first blood beating the Spaniard into submission on home ground. Matching each other like for like on the Cross and Enduro tests, Ahola was handed the advantage when Cervantes suffered on the rocky climb in the Extreme Test due to clutch problems. Ahola maintained the advantage to win the opening day with Cervantes second. BMW's Juha Salminen almost capitalised on Cervantes misfortune to finish just three seconds behind the KTM rider in 3^rd, pipping TM's Rodrig Thain by 0.75 of a second.

Come the end of Day 2 both sets of results were reversed although the leading quartet remained the same. Cervantes claimed the home victory he so desperately wanted in front of his adoring fans demoting Ahola to second, while Thain claimed his first silverware of the season with third.

 

E3 – A Knight's Tale

Farioli KTM's David Knight has returned to E3 with a bang by firing a warning shot to the rest of his competitors that he's far from willing to play second fiddle in a class he once made his own. Winning nine of 15 special tests on Day 1, it was a dream start to the season for the Manxman that laid to rest an doubts onlookers may have had regarding his will to win. Using the Extreme Test hillclimb to his advantage, Knight was able to stretch a comfortable lead over Gas Gas's Christophe Nambotin. With Nambotin unable to match Knight's pace through the Extreme, he could only equal it across the eight minute Cross Test and had to be content with second. KTM's Simone Albergoni move to E3 proved to be a profitable one as he powered his KTM 300EXC into third.

Day 2 ended a carbon copy of the opening day with the leading trio holding station. Knight again topped the E3 standings after being gifted a sizeable advantage when Nambotin fell victim in the Extreme on the opening lap. With over a one minute advantage, Knight rode a calculated race to ensure he emerged from Spain with a maximum points haul.

 

Dad's Army

With Paul Edmondson a non starter due to work commitments it was left to Tom Sagar in E2 to fly the flag for the Putoline Fast Eddy Suzuki Racing team. Having not competed in World Enduro competition for over 12 months Sagar rode a steady opening day to regain a feel for International competition. Riding the highly competitive E2 category, Sagar worked his trials skills to his advantage on the Extreme and Enduro tests to finish both days 12^th.

Following the Friday night Prologue both Electraction TM UK riders got off to a flying start with Phillip McLaughlin 4^th in E1 while Josh Green was 1^st in Juniors (EJ). Running inside the top seven on Saturday, Green's day came to a premature end with a broken front wheel. With the situation rectified for Day 2, Green rode home to a highly respectable 8^th in his début World Championship appearance. McLaughlin dropped outside the top ten to 16th on Day 1 after a faulty battery worked loose in Enduro test. The problem rose it's ugly head again on Sunday causing his TM it cut out at high speed, crashing out of the event.

Manxman Alex Rockwell is MPS Husqvarna's latest signing and is proving himself a promising find. Competing in only his second timecard enduro, the opening round in Spain should have proved a daunting prospect. Nevertheless he acquitted himself well posting some highly impressive test times on Day 1 until a broken rear brake line ended his day early. Treating the weekend as a learning process to ensure a finish, Rockwell rode safely to a 19^th overall position in EJ while also posting the second fastest time on the opening Cross Test.

 

 

The Enduro World Championship resumes next weekend in Fafe, Portugal on April 17^th and 18^th

 

 

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