Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128211
r~~1 ! i ! n 'I l " idJ World Enduro Championship Series Round 3: Greece Two-Day qL.f;r~ jamo said. "Last year I wasn't able to put two good results together, so [to] have won twice makes me very happy." Finishing as runner-up to the Finn on both days, Frenchman Marc Germain proved that he's determined not to let the 125cc title chase become an all Scandinavian affair. Posting consistently fast test time throughout the weekend, the UFO Corse Yamaha rider found himself battling for the class win despite struggling to get to grips with the events extreme test. "Everything has been very good this weekend," Germain said. "I had one small crash on the motocross test on day two, but it was the extreme test that I was having problems with. I was also a little too cautious of the jumps on the enduro test. Apart from that, I'm happy to have been battling for the win." Finishing third on day one and then in fourth on day two was CH Racing Husqvarna rider Mika Saarenkoski. "It's so close in the 125 class that the smallest mistake means that you STORY AND PHOTOS BY JONTY EDMONDS Australian Stefan Merriman dominated the 250cc Two-Stoke cia. . by winning both days. KALAVRITA, GREECE, APR. 12-13 -("1 our-time World Enduro Champion J Juha Salminen extended his lead in both the 500cc Four-Stroke and Scratch World Championships by winning both days of the third round of the 2003 WEC Series in Kalavrita, Greece. Finishing less than one second ahead of KTM teammate Ivan Cervantes in the overall classification on day one, Salminen again put his name at the top of the events results on day two, having had to battle every inch of the way once again to overhaul the young Spaniard. Third overall on both days was Hondamounted Australian Stefan Merriman. Following his strong performances at the opening two rounds of the WEC series, Gas Gas rider Petri Pohjamo topped the 125cc class on both days, having managed to stay ahead of on-form Frenchman Marc Germain. Claiming the day-one win by less than one second and the day two victory by just two seconds, Pohjamo extended his lead in the eighth-liter class to 26 points. "I'm really happy with the way things have gone this weekend," Poh- 22 APRIL 30, 2003' cue • e n e _ s lose positions," Saarenkoski said. "I found it hard in the extreme test, but apart from that, everything else was okay for me this weekend." Reigning 125cc World Champion Petteri Silvan claimed the final podium position on day two. Just one second behind Germain in second, who in turn was only one second behind Pohjamo, Silvan's improvement from fifth in class to third was one that not even the experienced Finn could explain. "I don't understand why I was faster today," Silvan said. "I had the same feeling with the bike on both days, but my results are better today." In the 250cc Two-Stroke class, Honda-mounted Stefan Merriman put his name at the top of the class on both days, helping him move ahead of class rival Samuli Aro in the quarterliter title chase. The Aussie won day one by a massive 42 seconds, despite crashing on the second lap, and then topped day two by 18 seconds. "It's been a great weekend for me," Merriman said. "Apart from one mistake on the first day, everything has gone well. It's taken me a little while to build up the confidence in my new front tire [Merriman is using Pirelli rubber for the first WEC season after five years on Michelins], but now it's working really well for me. I could have been a little more aggressive on day two, but Samuli did me a favor by finishing third." Despite dropping to third on day two, reigning class champion Aro finished as runner-up to Merriman on day one, having struggled all weekend with minor bike problems. "I've been thinking too much about the bike and not enough about my racing this weekend," Aro said. "I had carburetor and suspension problems on day one, and today I had some track-marking plastic melt on my rear disk. Trying to ride the extreme test with no rear brake wasn't very nice." Finishing in third on day one and then in second on day two was KTMmounted Frenchman Freddy Blanc. A newcomer.-to th.,- WEe ironers' cir-e-/e-;-rn-e KTM France rider put his years of motocross experience to good use to end the weekend as the highest-placed French rider. With series leader Peter Bergvall crashing out of the event on day one,