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/128329
me I' enjoyed the ial t id. "W it h t here being no race in f.ioland is year, this has been my home ce, so wanted to make sure I performed well ." Finishing as runner-up to Salmine n on both days was Finnish yo ungste r Valneri Salo ne n ab oard his 250cc two - roke Honda. Known to be fast in S3/ldy Scandinavian cond it io ns, alonen also proved fast on the event's two motocross tests. .~ Despite finish in well behind Salminen , alonen placed comfortabl ahead of the third -placed ri ers on each day. On day one the third-place s dreas to Husaberg-mounted Swede Toresson. Producing a stronger result than at any other round of the se ries so far, 'Ioresson's good fortune didn't last long, as he dropped to eighth after several crashes on day two. Claiming third o n day two, after a disappointing seventh on day on e, was Paul Edmondson. In the Enduro 3 class , KT~ Racing ride r Aro matched teammat Salminen 's double class -topping result to extend his .I.e ad at the top of the WEe's most compe titive class, placing 24 seconds ahead o f .....- - - - - Kflign · on day o ne and then 25 seconds Silvan. clear of the Manxman on day two. Aro Merriman again topped the E I class on had an eventful weekend : He injured his the second day, w ith Honda HM Zanardo left arm in a crash and was forced to ride r Simone A1bergoni taking second change his rear shock on da y one. after placing sixth o n the first day. Silvan Finishing as the second rider in the again placed third on his KTM. event to claim two ru nne r-up finishes, Being the heavy favorite to top the Knight proved to be t he most consistent Enduro 2 class , KTM Racing rider E3-c1ass rider behind Aro as he moved Salminen was simply in a class of his own ahead of Mar ko Tark kala in the later in Sweden, winning by over one minute stages of day one. On day two Knight on both days . aga in proved consistent despite having to change a rear shock. With Tarkkala claiming the third-place spot ahead of Husqvarna's Mika Ahola and Spaniard Ivan Cervantes on day one, it was Cervantes who claimed the final po d ium position on day two. O n d ay two Ahola failed to finish the event after brea king his suspension linkage, and Tarkkala failed to finish due to engi ne problems. eN WORLD ENDURO GP SKOVDE, SWEDEN RESULTS: JUNE 5,6, 2004 (ROUND 5 OF 8) Day I ENDURO I: I. Stefan Merriman (Yam); 2. Bartosz Oblucld (Yam); 3. Perteri Sitvan (KTM); 4 . Mario Rinaldi (Yam); 5. Rickard Larsson (TM); 6. Simone Albergon l (Hon); 7. Roberto Buzurri (Hus ): 8. Alessandro Belomenl (KTM); 9. Fabien Planet (KTM); 10. )." M.tbla (GG). ENDURO 2: I. Juha Salminen (KTM); 2. Valtteri Salonen (Hon) ; 3. Andreas Toresson (Hbg); 4. Arnau Reigning 250cc four-stroke World Champion-wmed-struggling Enduro I-class rider Pe ter Bergvall ioo ks set to miss the next round of the WEC series after crashing out of the Swedish event on day one and failing to start day two . Riding with a pin in his right collarbone - the result of a crash at the Greek round of the WEC series last year - Bergvall is now expecting to have the metal work removed before "taking a break" and starting pre parations for either the final two rounds of the '04 serie s or the '05 season . The World Enduro Champio nshi p looks likelyto see two events held in the same country for the first time ever next season , as the proposed opening round of the '05 series in Morocco looks likelyto be ditched in favor of a IDO-percent European-based World Championsh ip Series. Morocco was set to hold the opening round, but it now looks likely that in order to avoid the event from being boycotted by the teams, as it was in '03, it simply won 't take place. Instead, an event may well be held in its place in Spain, to be followed one week later by the second round of the series in Portugal. Spanish manufacturer Gas Gas gave its new '05 4s0cc four-stroke its WEe debut in Sweden with Thierry Klutz placingsixth and 10th in the Enduro 2 class. The bike looked similar to Gas Gas' existing 4sOcc thumper, but it is radically different to the Spanish marque's '04 model. "The only part of the engine that is the same as this year's bike is the casting of the cylinder head. The machining of the head is different , as is the rest of the engine," Brian Gillen, Gas Gas' head engineer, explained. "The chassis is also completely new, and the bike is actually narrower than our existing two-stroke models. The fuel tank is new, as is the seat, the shock, the linkage and the swingarm. The engine's completely new as well with new cams, a new crankshaft, a new wiring harness. exhaust system and clutch." VHanova (Hon); 5. Mika Saarenkoski (Hus): 6. Thierry Klutz (GG) ; 7. Paul Edmondson (Hon); 8. Paul Whibley (Hon); 9. Petri Pohjamo (GG); 10. jcakim Lunggren (KTM ) . ENDURO l: I . Samutl Ara (KTM); 2. David Knight (KTM); 3. Marko TarkkaJa (Hbg );". Milla Ahola (Hus) ; S. Ivan Cervantes (KTM); 6. Anders Eriksson (Hus); 7. Bjorne Carlsson (Hbg ); 8. Sebastien Guillaume (GG) ; 9. Swen Enderlein (KTM): 10. [ani Luksonen (GG) . Day 2 EN DU RO I: I. Stefan Merriman (Yam); 2. Simone Albergool (Hen): 3. Petter! Silvan (KTM); .... Barton Obluckl (Yam); 5. Mario Rinaldi (Yam); 6. Alessandro Belomettl (KTM); 7. Rickard Larsson (TM); 8 . Roberto www.cyclenEWs.com 8azzurri (Hus) ; 9. Simone Tonelli (Yam); 10 . Jar! Mattila (GG). ENDURO 2: I. Juha Salminen (KTM): 2. Valuen Salonen (Hon) ; J . Paul Edmondson (He n): 4. Alessandro Bottur! (KTM); 5. Paul Wh ibley (Hon): 6 . Amau Vilanova (Hon); 7. Mika Saarenkoski (Hus); 8. Andreas Toresson (Hbg); 9. Joakim Ljungren (KT H ): 10. Thie rry Klutz (GG). ENDURO J: I. Samuli Aro (KTM): 2. David Knight (KTH) ; J. Ivan Cervantes (KTM); 4 . Bjome Carlsson (Hbg) ; S. Anders Eriksson (Hus); 6 . Sebastien Guillaume (GG); 7. Jani Laaksonen (GG); 8. Swen Enderlein (KTM); 9. Ch ristoph Seifert (KTM): 10. larry Gustafsscn (Hbg) . CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 23, 2004 43