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;' E D R N U O:, W.orld.Enduro Champioilship. : Round 1: Spain (Left)A crash late on the seco nd day cost former champ Sven-Erlk Jonsson. He tied with Arnaldo Nicoli for second In the Ughtwelght Four-Stroke class. (Above) Tullio Pellegrlnelll put in a strong second-day ride to finish fou rth In the Heavyweight division. By Geoff Meyer TORTOSA, SPAIN, APRIL 16-17 . ith the opening round of the world two-day enduro cire cuit now co mplete, it is already becoming crystal clear that the series will be one of the mos t competitive ever. Both tw o-st ro ke classes had different Winners each d ay, and while the four-stroke divisions were dominated by one rider each, those winners aren't the de fending class champions. The World Enduro ro unds differ fro m m ost American off-road championships in that the emphasis is on class finishes, as opposed to the overall placings . Each d ivision has its own points chase, and the days are counted separa tely : Litt le emphasis is placed on the overall winner, with class winners, instead, drawing the m ajorit y of th e h eadli n es . In To rtosa, Italian Mario Rinaldi and Finland's Kari Tiainen were the top. 1jders, winning thei r respective classes on each of the two days of competition. Rina ld i con tes ts the lightweight Four-Stroke class, while Tianen is a heavy h it ter in the Heavyweight Four-Stroke division. The event brought many surprises, the major one being the early misfortune of 125cc World Champion Paul Edmondson. The pl ucky Englishman failed to finish the second day when his Gas- Gas expired. Ed mo ndson won his title on a H usqvarna, and received internati onal attention when he switched to the Spanis h company during the off-seaso n. Gas- Gas entries filled three of the top five tid d ler-class positions after day one, but not one was in d ay two's top five. Also finding the going tough was 350cc title cha llenger Anders Eriksson, w ho had been preparing for the season in his Swedis h homeland. Appare ntly, the trees, rocks and mud of Scandinavia did no t prov ide good practice for Spain's d ry and dusty trails. The first day go t underw ay in a set- ting tha t would do a holida y reso rt proud, with palm trees and towering mo u n tains dominating the s cen ery . Leading the field of riders into the surrounding hills was Edmondson, who seems equally at home on any type of terrain. Also vying for the Lightweight class win was Italian Giorgio Grasso, last year's champ in the no w-defunct 250cc division. Mounted on a Yamaha, Grasso chased Edmondson all da y, finishing second ahead of local Span iard Xavier Puigdemont. The course w as becoming quite difficul t, with spectators and marshals routinel y he lping the riders out of trouble. Had it not been for their assistance, many riders would have had to retire early. By the end of day one, Edmondson was a relieved man. "We made it today, b u t it was not easy," he sa id . " This course will take its toll. I picked the GasGa s because I th ink it is th e b ike that will win me another championship." Edmondson's words would haunt hi m on d ay two, when his bike had a major transmission failu re. "I lost all bu t fifth gear: ' he explained . "Wi th such a problem, I couldn't continue." With the defending champ ou t of the running, Grasso posted an other secondplace finish behind fellow Italian Maurizio Carminati on day tw o, taking the ove rall class win. Carminati was second, followed by Silvan Petteri of Fin land. Former 125cc title-holder Jeff Nilsson was back in fifth in his Honda debut. With the competitors in the old 250 and 500cc classes now joining together in the Heavyweight class, the new divisio n is consi dered the most exciting of all. Th e firs t round did not disappoint, and it appears tha t Giovani Sala - the '93 500cc champion; and Cyril Esquirol winner of this year's Gilles !.alay Classic - will be the top guns. Esquirol started the round w ith a faul tless da y, winning every test and looking sure to take a strong lead into ro und two in his homeland of Fra nce. Spa niard Alex Llobe t finished second on the day, while Sala completed th e top three. Esquirol was happ y w ith his showing. "I needed a strong sta rt, but that was better than I could have imag ined," he sa id . "Still, Sala is still there." Sala was indeed still there, the Italian making his presence felt even more on Sunday when he scored wins in every test . "I need ed to get back a few points, and this w as the best way, " h e said afterwards. Another Italian, Tullio Pellegrinelli, took his Husqvarna to second on day two, with Esquirol in third place. Headin g in to round two, Esquirol and Sala are tied on points for the class lead. Italian Mario Rinaldi was in brilliant form at Tortosa, winning both days of the event in the Lightweight FourStroke cla ss on his KTM . It appeared that mu lti-time World Champion SvenErik Jonsson would give Rinaldi some trouble until a crash only minutes before the end of the weekend cost him valuab le p oints an d a possible first p lace. Rinaldi had been expected to do well at Tortosa, and Jonsson's troub les helped him even more. "I ha ve as good a chance as anyone (for the title): ' said Rinaldi. " It will be d ifficult; Jonsson will be the re all year long, and it is up to me to keep him from taking another title." "The crash cost me, but I still have many roun ds to go:' said Jonsson. Third in the class for the weekend was Italian Arnaldo Nicoli, riding for the same EI Campero Husqvama squad as Jonsson. He finished with two strong da ys, and could be a dark h orse for the title at the final round in H ungary this Ju ly. In the H eavyweight Four-Stroke clas s, Finland's 1992 World Champion Kari Tiainen m ad e u p for scoring no points at the same race one year earlier. Tiainen spent much of '93 recovering from injuries, and lost his title to Fabio Farioli, but the tables were turned at this season 's in a u g u ra l even t . Farioli is recovering from k nee surgery, and Tiainen w on his class on both days. Farioli put his KTM into second place for the two days, saying simply, "My knee is no t good enough." Thir d place wen t to Swede Kent Karlsson, the Husaberg pilot scoring 4-3 positions on the weekend . Like h is countrymen, Karlsson had spent his offseason exclusively in his h ome country , a decision tha t hurt all the Swedes. . With the firs t round now over, the leading riders appear to have no roo m for error. Round two will be in France, and French and Sw ed ish pilots should prevail. If Tortosa is any indication, it spells trouble for Edmondson, who will be desperate for points over the next t:N few rounds. Tortosa, Spa in Resu lts: April 16-17, 1994 (Round 1 of 6) DAY 1 UW : 1. Paul Edmondston (G-G) England ; 2. Giorgi o Grasso (Yam ) Italy; 3. Xavie r Puigdemont (G-G) S~iJ:t; 4. j osep Rov ira (G-G) Spa in; 5. Fausto Scovolo (TM) Italy; 6. Silvan Pett eri (H us) Finland. HIW: 1. Cyril Esquircl (H us) France; 2. Alex Uobet (KTM) Sp a in ; 3. Gio vanni Sal a (KTM) Ita ly; 4. Eric Bernard (Yam) France; 5. La urent Bouffioux (H us) France; 6. Paolo Fellegara (Yam ) Italy. IJW 4-S: 1. Mari o Rinaldi (KTM) Italy; 2. Sven-Erik Jonsson (H us) Sweden; 3. Arnaldo Nicoli (lius) Italy; 4. Christian Boulet (Hu s) Fra nce; 5. Anders Eriksson (Hbg ) Sweden; 6. Bjome Carlsso n (Hbg) Sweden. HIW 4· 5: 1. Kar i Ttalnen (Hu s) Finland; 2. Fabio Farioli (KlM) Ital y; 3. Peter Jansson (Hb g) Sweden; 4. Kent Karlsson (Hbg) Sweden; 5. Dirk von Zitzewitz (KTM) Genna ny; 6. Jaraslav Katrinak (H us) Slovakia. D AY 2 UW: 1. Maurizio Carminati (KTM) Italy; 2. Grasso ; 3. Pett eri ; 4. Jeff Nilsson (Hon) Sweden; 5. Scovo lo: 6. Rovira . HIW : 1. Sala; 2. Tullio Pellegrinelli (Hu s) Italy; 3. Esquirol; 4. Uebel; 5. Joachi m Hedenah1 (Suz) Sweden; 6. 'FeUeg ara.· UW 4-S: 1. Rina ldi ; 2. Nicoli; 3. Jonsson; 4. Eriksson; S. Boulet; 6. John Deacon (KlM) England . H /W 4-S: 1. TUlinen; 2. Farioli; 3. Karlsson; 4. von Zitzewitz; 5. Katrinak; 6. Martin Macek (Hus) Czech Republic. WO R LD ENDURO CH AMPI ONSHI P POINT STAND INCS (Afte r 1 of 6 ro u n ds) 1JW: 1. Giorgio Grasso (34); 2. Maurizio Criminati (28); 3. Silva n Petteri (25); 4. Iosep Rovira (23); 5. fil E) Faust o Scovclo/Ieff Nilsson (22). HIW : 1. filE) Glovanl Sola /Cyril Esq uirol (35); 3. Alex U ob et (30); 4. Tullio Pe llegrenelli (26); 5. Eric Bernard (21); 6. Paolo Fellegara (20). UW 4· S: 1. Mario Rinaldi; 2. (TIE) Sven·Erik Jo nsso n / Arnaldo Nicoli (32 ); 4. (T IE) Christian Boule t/ Anders Eriksso n (24); 6. John Deacon (18). HIW 4-S: 1. Karl Tiai nen (40); 2. Fabio FarioH (34); 3. Kent Ka rl sson (24 ); 4. D irk vo n Zitzewitz (24 ); 5. Iaraslov Katrinal: (21); 6. Martin Macek (19). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 • Servieres Ie Chateau, France, May 15 Round 3 . Bergamo. Italy, May22