T
he '06 World Enduro Cham-
pionship reached the halfway
point of the series in Rovetta,
northern Italy, where KTM
f a c t o r y r i d e r s I v a n C e r -
vantes, Samuli Aro and David Knight
claimed double wins in their respective
classes at the Moto Club Bergamo -
organized GP Valli Bergamasche. The
hot, dusty and extremely rocky event
proved to be the hardest round of the
series so far with all riders having to
complete four laps of a 34.1-mile course
and over one-and-a-half hours of special
test action. As a result of the unforgiving
conditions, several top riders failed to fin-
ish the event, including championship
front-runners Marko Tarkkala and Johnny
Aubert, who both crashed out with
injuries.
Starting the opening day with guns
blazing, Italian Alessandro Belometti
looked set to claim his first Enduro One
class win of '06 at his home event and set
a pace that neither the Cervantes nor
championship contender Simone
Albergoni could match. But with just two
special tests to go before the end of the
day, "Bello" struck a rock on the extreme
test, which bent his rear sprocket. Losing
seven minutes straightening the bent part,
the KTM rider eventually finished in 15th.
With Belometti's hopes of a home win
ended, Cervantes and Albergoni battled it
out for the class win with Cervantes
claiming victory by just under seven sec-
onds. With Albergoni a close runner-up,
UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio
Micheluz claimed his first-ever World
podium in third.
On day two, Belometti failed to repro-
duce his pace from day one, but still man-
aged to finish in second position. But it
was Cervantes who topped the day, fin-
ishing 40 seconds ahead, and in doing so,
edged further closer to his second world
title. Admitting that the conditions had
simply gotten the better of him, Albergoni
claimed the third-place spot.
Aware that he hadn't ridden at his best
at either round two or three of the '06
WEC Series, Aro, of Finland, found what-
GP Valli Bergamasche
Rovetta, Italy
Round 4
June 17-18, 2006
JULY 5, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S
46
2006 World Enduro Championship
KTM riders dominate World Enduro in
Italy; USA's Kurt Caselli returns
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JONTY EDMUNDS
Kurt Caselli used the World
Enduro round in Italy to
prepare for this year's ISDE
in New Zealand.
David Knight
led a KTM
sweep it Italy.
