TURKEY, the unknown eventTuesday, 31 August 2010
Just after the Grand Prix of Greece, the
MAXXIS FIM EWC will be in Turkey for the first time. On
September 4/5, Fethiye will welcome in the South West of Turkey the 7th and just before the last event of the 2010 season.
Not much information were given to riders about this event who will discover the track during the training this week.
Around this seaside resort on the Mediterranean a track of 90 kilometers long will have to be covered three times each day. The tradition of Enduro in Turkey is still recent but the organizer and the Turkish Motorcycling Federation are really enjoyed to welcome the Enduro World Championship and its riders. On the sporting side, the Greek event has really changed the Championship future.
Antoine MEO (FRA-HVA)
hoped to win the title in Fethiye but his abandonment delayed his plan. The Husqvarna rider has only 22 points ahead at the standing, error is forbidden: “I have to ensure, quite simply, explains Antoine Meo. I cannot attack as I did during the season. My goal is not to fall and score points.”
The 3 first men of the Enduro 1 class have also abandoned during the season, and also the Meo successor,
Eero REMES (SF-KTM) will certainly regret for a while his engine break-in during the opening of the Championship. In any case, he is one of the Top riders of the MAXXIS FIM EWC, and he also has 11 points ahead of the leader
Johnny AUBERT (FRA-KTM). The French rider announced his goal for the next event; the rank of his co-rider. The battle will be difficult for next ranks in Enduro 1.
3 riders have only 4 points between them at the standing:
Matti SEISTOLA (SF-HVA),
Cristobal GUERRERO (ESP-YAM) and
Nicolas DEPARROIS (FRA-KAW).
Mika AHOLA (SF-HM) has 30 points ahead of the Enduro 2 class just before the Turkish event. The pleasant Finish is
dreaming, and he benefits of his Enduro chief statute in order to increase his value for a possible transfers. “I am debating, announces Ahola. I just hope to stay in my team, HM Honda. And why not in Enduro 3 class to win my last title that it misses.”
On the Enduro 2 title way, and already in 2011, Ahola is not at the mercy of a mechanic problem. But the Finish, always at the best level, has actually an important psychological asset on his rival
Ivan CERVANTES (ESP-KTM), with his problem in Greece. “My day race has well begun, I was ahead of Ahola, and then I did this big checking error”, explains the Spanish. “I have my share of responsibility but my team too. I am aware that it is for me impossible to win legitimate the Championship. But who knows, there are 2 events, in Turkey and in France. Mathematically, it is possible. The Championship remains opened.”
The other battle is for the 3rd rank in Enduro 2 class, with the Crossman
Pierre-Alexandre RENET (FRA-KTM) who has only 2 points ahead of the Bergamasc
Tomas OLDRATI (ITA-KTM). In Turkey, these 2 men will fight on an unknown and neutral track, before the Final in France, where Renet (already 2010 E2 French Champion) has an important asset, the French audience.
Finally, in Enduro 3 class,
David KNIGHT (GB-KTM) could already be in Turkey the 2010 Champion. This year of redemption for the British also seems as his return in grace. Relaxed, and already promoted as 100% official rider for the 2011 season, Knight found the support of his fetish team which he congratulates after each win. The ex Bad Boy of the Isle of Man is finally become the giant of this class. If he does not concede some points to
Christophe NAMBOTIN (FRA-GAS) in Turkey, he could win on September 5th his 3rd World Title.
A junior rider has to score. And he has also to be brilliant on mental arithmetic because the supplementary regulation of this class, scoring only the 12 best results of the season, is a real brainstorming for the two riders
Lorenzo SANTOLINO (ESP-KTM) and
Jérémy JOLY (FRA-HM). According to the standing, the French is more regular while the Spanish has more wins but also 2 abandonments. Indeed, Santolino has a certain advantage thanks to his self control than his rival who made a checking error in Greece.
The Grand Prix of Turkey will be the last chance for
Jérémy JOLY. Fethiye is not only a seaside resort.
The history of this old Greek city was particularly destroyed because of seisms in 1856 and 1957. And the ground is already quaking with the venue of the World Enduro, and the first
GRAND PRIX OF TURKEY of the MAXXIS FIM EWC story.
