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P112 Feature MANUFACTURERS DISCUSS WORLD ENDURO CROSSROADS of some manufacturers, and when the manufacturers get the changes, he leaves the series," Curvalle continued. Beta's Fabrizio Dini notes posi- tive changes in recent years, but also points out that not everything has been a step in the right direc- tion. "I think we were able to ac- tivate at an excellent level, but on the last two years, wrong choices check how WESS influences it, if it really takes away this protago- nism, and if we are able to update ourselves from the FIM and from the promoter of the EWC to give the necessary standards of communication, quality, location and payback to the EWC. So far, some steps have been taken in this direction, but we believe that today they are not enough. "The changes that the EWC has made are remarkable and positive, of course," Arilla contin- ued. "They respond to a series of demands from all the actors involved as manufacturers, riders and sponsors. We under- stand the promoter hasn't great economical resources and we appreciate the steps made. But we still have a long way to go to "THIS IS A KTM CHAMPIONSHIP; THIS IS NOT A REAL ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP." -Jordan Curvalle, Sherco What will it take to bring amateur participation back to EnduroGP? perative that the organizing clubs can find themselves financially in order to have the will to organize great events. The third problem is image and communication as today, the Enduro World Cham- pionship is sorely lacking. Efforts are made by the promoter of the championship, but today we should send these images to a powerful media partner that would give a fair return to the brands that are investing in this field." Curvalle of the Sherco camp agrees, touching on the same points. "When I begin in enduro, the EWC was full of riders, lot of private teams and riders," Curvalle said. "Step by step the championship lost riders and or- ganizers. All the people need to work to have more riders, more visibility and help the organizers. "The EWC made a lot of changes due to the pressure have been made and now we are trying to find alternative solutions. It is not easy to find the correct solution, but we try step by step. "The FIM and promoter are trying to make small changes to give the EWC more appeal and to attract more riders and spectators, but we do not want to change the philosophy of enduro—no extreme race or something similar. "Last year we have tried with dif- ferent race format (sprint enduro) and we have a very positive sensa- tion and… we agreed to continue in this direction." From the GasGas perspective, the recent changes to the EWC have been generally positive, but too limited in scope. "Obviously the World Enduro Championship is the premier world champion- ship," said Arilla. "It has been for many years and still maintains its prestige as a global enduro title. In any case, it will be necessary to

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