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/128318
The reasonfor ItalianmanufacturerVor's not par - ticipati ng in the '04 World Enduro Championship became apparent in Portugal- the company has decided to concentrate itsefforts and financeson developing the 2005 model range. Feeling that it would be difficult to improve on its '02 and '03 results, and as its '04 model machinesare essentially the same as those raced duringthe past two seasons, the factorydecided that it would be pointless spendingvast amounts of moneyfor lesser results. Vorhas insteadput its direct promo budget into racing in the ItalianSupenmotoChampionship instead. The planis that Vor will retum to the WEC in '05 with new bikes. nail right up until the final test of day two, Aro got th e better of t he Spaniard and WO n t he day by less than one second. Despite not managing to make it d ou ble-class-topping weekend, Cervantes finishe d as the most co nsiste nt E3 rider, having finished on the po d ium On bo t h days - so met hing no other E3 rider managed to do . Only claim ing One to p-th ree finish, and not two like he did in Spain o ne Whilethe paddock in Portugal was based outside, the Park Fenne was housed withina large exhibition hall, dose to both the paddock and start area. With all the competitors' bikes placedin the middleof the hall, an Enduro Expowas held around the outside. With both road and off-road bikesand accessorieson display, as well as road-going and rally cars, the aimof the organizerswas simple - to attract the public and givethem somethingmore than just mud-covered bikesto lookat. Seven-time World Enduro Champion,Husqvama's Anders Eriksson, fOund himself awoken inthe early hours of Saturdaymoming by two men tryingto steal histraining bicycle. Chained to the inside of hiscaravan awning, Eriksson was forced to leavehis bed at 2 a.m. and chase the men out of the paddockwearingonlyhis underwear. Eriksson was then awoken halfan hour later as they tried again to take the bike. Needlessto say Eriksson wasn't , pleasedat beingwoken on the eve of the race, and the incident highlighted the need for tightersecurity at WEC events, especially now that the race promoters are tryingto encourage the public to check out what isgoingon. championship rival Simone Albergoni on day one, Merriman fou nd himse lf making o ne too many mistakes on day two, which drastically reduced his win ning margin. Wh ile Menriman remained the EI class' dominant rider in Po rtugal, Honda Ita ly rider Albergoni and Finn Silvan claimed a runner-up finish each aboard their respective four-stro ke and tw o-stroke mach ines . Making a name for himself as Italy 's " ne xt big th ing," Albergon i finishe d ahead of Fre nc hman Marc Germain on day one to make it an all-four-st roke top-three. W ith Germain having struggled at the o pen ing round of th e season in Spa in, and with it be ing unlikely that he will ta ke any furt her part in the '04 series, KTM ride r Silvan bounced bac k from a disappointing day-one result to claim a reasonably close second t o Merriman on Sunday. With Germain having place d t hird on day one, Albergon i proved that he has both th e sp eed and consiste ncy to run for an EI class top-three championship finish by finishing th ird on day two . Just as at the first ro und of t he se ries , t he battl e to top the Enduro 3 class in Portugal w as red ho t. With Aro loo king like t he rider who wou ld top day one, it was Span ish winne r Cervantes who eve ntually topped Saturday afte r Aro made three costly mistakes. W ith th e pa ir again battling tooth and The Portuguese event, like the season opener in Spain, didn't feature a true cross-country special test. Whileboth events c1airned to havecross-country tests, there was no wayof tellingthe difference between the motocross and cross-country test in Portugal. Infact most thought that the motocross test was more likean enduro or cross-countrytest and the cross-country test more likea typical motocross test. With the traditional single-lined cross-country special test that starts and finishesin two completely different placesnow seemingly a thingof the past, it seems that mosteventsare now decided on various types of motocross and extreme tests. Finn Petri Pohjamo saw hishopes of daiminga topthree championship position inthe Enduro3 dass disappearin Portugal when the reigning 12Scc World Championfailed to finish day one. Having spent 4 If, months sidelineddue to a serious knee injuryat the end of '03, the Gas Gas rider decided to call it a day in Portugalafter he seriously tweaked his already weak knee. FomnerMotocrossWorldChannpion, U.S. AMA Supercrossand MotocrossChampion-turnedMoto GP racer FrenchmanJean-Michel Bayle will ride the next round of the WECSeriesin Italy. A regularcompetitor in Frenchoff-road and enduro events aboard a 450cc Honda, Bayle will lineup against Enduro2 regularsJuhaSalminen and classmates for what is expected to be a one-offWEC ride in '04. www.cyclenews.co m CYC LE N EWS • APRIL 7, 2004 45