RISULTATI DA SITO ENDURO-ABC.COM
CLASSIFICHE DA SITO ENDURO-ABC.COMDAY 1:Meo Wins Day One at GP Polisport of PortugalSaturday, 12 April 2014
Tough conditions ensure non-stop race action on day one at the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship GP Polisport of Portugal in Vale de Cambra. With the tough and technical Portuguese terrain challenging the world’s best enduro riders to their limits, it was Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) that won the Enduro 1 category. Antoine MEO (KTM) edged out Pela RENET (Husqvarna) to claim victory in Enduro 2 while Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) led home the highly competitive Enduro 3 class.
Continuing their duel at the front of the Enduro 2 class, France’s Antoine MEO (KTM) and Pela RENET (Husqvarna) fought for the victory. Holding the race lead for the majority of the day, RENET lost out on his chance of winning when MEO attacked hard on the final lap to top the standings. “That was a tough day but a great battle for the victory,” told MEO. “Conditions were difficult and I had to work hard to overcome a slow start in the morning. Pela was riding very strong but luckily I just beat him on the final lap to win.” Unable to hold off the late charge from MEO, RENET was forced to settle for the runner-up result. Slowly recovering from his recently broken thumb, defending champion Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) beat Beta’s Johnny AUBERT (F) to secure his first podium result of the season. With AUBERT fourth, Spain’s Oriol MENA (Beta) completed the top five.
Recording his third victory of the series, Spain’s Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) won the Enduro 3 category. Trailing early pace setters Mathias BELLINO (F-Husqvarna) and teammate Matt PHILLIPS (AUS), CERVANTES gained control of the race lead at the midway point in the day to secure a 28-second margin of victory. “On lap one both Mathias and Matt were riding very fast but once I settled in to the race my speed got better,” explained CERVANTES. “I found some nice lines and got into the lead to win.” Ensuring a KTM 1-2 on day one in Portugal, PHILLIPS finished as runner-up to CERVANTES. Despite getting his day off to a fast start, a couple of mistakes dropped BELLINO back to third overall. Missing out on a top three result by just six tenths of a second, Finland’s Matti SEISTOLA (Sherco) was fourth. Sixteen seconds adrift of Seistola, Estonia’s Aigar LEOK (TM) took fifth.
Forced to overcome a costly mistake on the opening extreme test, France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) fought his way back into contention to win the Enduro 1 class. Marching on to record a comfortable victory, NAMBOTIN remains the rider to beat in 2014. “Of course I’m happy to have won but I also made a lot of mistakes,” commented NAMBOTIN. “I crashed too many times on the first two laps and just wasn’t feeling comfortable. The victory is great but I need to work on a few things for day two.” Behind NAMBOTIN the battle for the remainder of the podium was fought out between Finland’s Eero REMES, Cristobal GUERRERO (S-KTM) and France’s Anthony BOISSIERE (Sherco). Beating his rivals on the final extreme test, REMES was rewarded with the runner-up result while GUERRERO narrowly finished ahead of BOISSIERE to snatch third. With the Sherco rider forced to settle for fourth, Jeremy TARROUX (F-Sherco) rounded out the top five.
Maintaining his 100 per cent winning streak in this year’s championship Britain’s Danny MCCANNEY (Beta) secured his third victory in the Enduro Junior class. Ending his day as runner-up to MCCANNEY, Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (Beta) was second. Visiting the podium for the first time this season, 2013 125 Youth champion Jamie MCCANNEY (GB-Husqvarna) beat Loic LARRIEU (F-Husqvarna) by three seconds to finish in third. Close behind LARRIEU, Italy’s Nicolo MORI (KTM) was fifth. In the 125 Youth class a new winner emerged with Italy’s Nicolas PELLEGRINELLI (KTM) topping the classification. France’s Jeremy MIROIR (Yamaha) delivered a solid result to take second while Chile’s Benjamin HERRERA (TM) was third.
The GP Polisport of Portugal continues Sunday April 13, with day two.
DAY 2Meo, Cervantes and Nambotin Deliver The Goods On Day Two In PortugalSunday, 13 April 2014
Day two of the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship GP Polisport of Portugal delivered yet another scorching day of race action. Snatching victory from Pela RENET (F-Husqvarna) in the final moments, KTM’s Antoine MEO (F) took a thrilling victory in the Enduro 2 category. Ivan CERVANTES (KTM) won the Enduro 3 class to remain unbeaten so far this series while Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM) was the runaway victor in the Enduro 1 category.
Continuing their epic battle from day one, both MEO and RENET set a stunning pace out front in the E2. Leading for the majority of the race, RENET appeared set to take the victory. But by delivering a stunning time in the final extreme test, MEO bettered his rival by four seconds to record the win. “I gave it everything I had on that final test and it worked out for me,” laughed MEO. “That was an unbelievable race with Pela – we pushed each other so hard. It’s been brilliant to win both days here in Portugal because this was such a tough race.” Despite his best efforts, RENET was unable to hold the hard charging MEO at bay and was pushed back to the runner-up result. In the fight for the final step of the podium Italy’s Alex SALVINI (Honda) beat Beta’s Johnny AUBERT (F) by 10 seconds to secure third. With AUBERT in fourth, Spain’s Jonathan BARRAGAN (Husqvarna) recorded his second top five result of the season with fifth.
Firmly establishing himself as the rider to beat in Enduro 3, Ivan CERVANTES (S) recorded his fourth consecutive victory. Building his advantage as the race passed the halfway point, the Spaniard claimed a healthy 17-second margin of victory. “Winning my fourth victory is incredible. I never expected this before the season started,” commented CERVANTES. “The conditions were really tough so to come away with the win is fantastic.” Behind CERVANTES, Matti SEISTOLA (FIN-Sherco), Matt PHILLIPS (AUS-KTM) and Portugal’s Luis CORREIA (Beta) fought for the final steps of the podium. Edging early leader PHILLIPS out by just over one second, SEISTOLA secured the runner-up result. With PHILLIPS third, CORREIA frustratingly placed less than one second behind the Australian in fourth. France’s Mathias BELLINO (Husqvarna) completed the top five.
In the Enduro 1 category, the day belonged to France’s Christophe NAMBOTIN (KTM). Growing in confidence, NAMBOTIN recorded a massive 80-second win over runner-up Eero REMES (FIN-TM). “Today was much better for me,” told NAMBOTIN. “I was disappointed with how I rode yesterday and wanted to improve. It’s still only my fourth race in E1 but already things are coming good. It was nice to win by a big margin today.” Unable to respond to NAMBOTIN’s pace, REMES instead battled with Spain’s Cristobal GUERRERO (KTM) for the runner-up result. Holding off the Spaniard, REMES took second with GUERRERO third. Placing a further one-minute behind, France’s Anthony BOISSIERE (Sherco) was fourth with his teammate and countryman Jeremy TARROUX fifth.
For the fourth time in a row, Britain’s Danny MCCANNEY (Beta) remained the rider to beat in the Enduro Junior class. Fastest in six of the day’s 12 special tests, MCCANNEY comfortably recorded the victory. Claiming his second runner-up result of the weekend, Italy’s Giacomo REDONDI (Beta) was second with France’s Loic LARRIEU (Husqvarna) completing the top three. Unable to repeat his podium result from day one, Britain’s Jamie MCCANNEY (Husqvarna) finished fourth with Italy’s Nicolo MORI (KTM) rounding out the top five. Proving unpredictable as ever a new winner emerged in the 125 Youth Cup with Sweden’s Mikael PERSSON (KTM) taking his debut EWC victory. Ensuring a Swedish 1-2, Husqvarna’s Albin ELOWSON was second with Italy’s Davide SORECA (Yamaha) third.
The FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship continues with round three in Greece on May 10/11.
