Aro and Tarkkala 1-2 in E3 in Sweden in opening GP
 KTM
Enduro factory riders Samuli Aro and Marko Tarkkala started
the world championship season in style on Saturday with a
1-2 victory in the first race at Oestersund, the GP held in
the heart of Sweden.
The two Finnish riders were at home in the deep snow conditions,
the only 2-race series ridden in winter conditions and using
spiked tyres. Aro moved up from E2 last year to the big bike
category where he fought a tough battle with fellow Finn Mika
Ahola and the stage has now been set for the two KTM riders
to lock horns in the 2008 season.
Good fight
"Aro and Marko fought a great battle for the lead all
the way and they were only a couple of seconds apart going
into the second last test," team boss Fabio Farioli said
after the race. "It was a good race and a good fight."
Finns at home in snowy conditions
KTM's two Finnish riders were really at home in the snowy
conditions at Oestersund. Temperatures varied between 2- and
minus 2 decrees Celsius on a day where there was no wind,
conditions that are expected to prevail for the second race
on Sunday. This is the third year that the Enduro season has
opened in Sweden and the winter conditions have now become
a standard challenge.
Results:
1. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
2. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM
3. Bjorne Carlsson, Sweden, Husaberg
4. Sebastien Guillaume, France, Husqvarna
5. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas Gas
15.03.2008
Salminen makes E2 podium in season's opener
KTM factory rider Juha Salminen finished third in the season's
opening E2 Enduro race on Saturday in Sweden's Oestersund,
the first of two races held in winter conditions.
Salminen of Finland, who moved from E1 where he was the dominant
rider and title winner to take up new challenges in the E2
class in 2008. He was lying between sixth and eighth position
in the early stages of the race but in characteristic form,
worked his way up through the order as the race progressed.
Close to victory
"Salminen was very close to victory in the final stages
of the race but then he stalled the bike and had to settle
for third place," said team manager Fabio Farioli. Salminen's
teammate Alessandro Belometti of Italy rode consistently and
finally finished in seventh place.
Winter conditions suit Scandinavian riders
Although temperatures were only around two degrees Celsius
and there was a lot of snow on parts of the course, conditions
that were well suited to the Scandinavian riders in the field,
there as no wind. Similar conditions are expected for Sunday's
race at the same venue. Parts of the course were covered in
very heavy snow and the motocross test will be run in reverse
on Sunday.
Results
1. Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg
2. Johnny Aubert, France, Yamaha
3. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM
4. Valtteri Salonen, Finland, Husaberg
5. Antonio Meo, France, Husqvarna
7. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
15.03.2008
Cervantes sixth in first E1 race of season
KTM factory rider Ivan Cervantes came home in a creditable
sixth place in the season's Enduro 1 world championship opener
in Sweden's Oestersund with team mate Tom Sager taking a heavy
tumble on the opening day of competition.
Deep snow
Cervantes, from Spain, who won the E3 title in 2007 lost a
minute riding in the unfamiliar deep snow in the early part
of the race and found himself in eighth position. He managed
to move up two positions riding in the winter conditions in
the first of two races that launches the 2008 season.
Sagar crashes at jump
Cervantes teammate Britain's Tom Sagar came unstuck in the
latter part of the race but fortunately suffered no serious
injury. "He took a hard fall," said team boss Fabio
Farioli, speaking from the hospital where Sagar was being
checked over." He came off a jump too fast and hit a
bump." Farioli said he expected Sagar would "at
least try" to start in the second race on Sunday. The
British rider finished in the top three in the junior competition
last season and is expected to learn a lot from the more experienced
Cervantes during the 2008 season.
Spiked Tyres
To add to the unusual winter conditions of the races, the
only ones contested using spiked tyres, riders had to cross
part of the frozen lake and this year had to detour around
breaks in the ice. For Sunday the motocross test will be held
in reverse and parts of the course covered in heavy snow will
be eliminated.
Results E1
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda
2. Simone Albergoni, Italy, Yamaha
3. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
4. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha
5. Bartosz Oblucki, Poland, Husqvarna
6. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
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