KTM News from Europe

Team boss Fabio Farioli praised Aro saying the Finnish rider was ‘very impressive’ on Saturday over the hard and dusty Spanish circuit. ‘It was not such a difficult race, today,’ Farioli said. ‘But the surface was hard and it was extremely dusty’. Similar conditions are expected for Round Six tomorrow.
 
Aro’s KTM teammate and countryman Marko Tarkkala made some mistakes but still came home in fourth place, a position that he hopes to improve on in Sunday’s race here at Signes, near Barcelona.
 
Aro has amassed 122 points so far and has a 22-point lead over second placed KTM teammate Tarkkala. He has now proved to be a winner on a range of terrain from the snow in Sweden to the dusty dry surface in Spain.
 
Results E3 Round Five
1. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
2. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
3. Sebastien Guillaume, France, Husqvarna
4. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM
5. Fabien Planet, France, KTM  

The Italian rider, quite at home on the dry and dusty conditions in Spain came close to victory but sacrificed 2.5 second in the last test and had to settle for the minor podium place.
 
Teammate Juha Salminen, who has won two of the four previous rounds and taken podiums in the other two led the E2 race on Saturday into the ninth of eleven tests then had to retire because of technical difficulties. Team boss Fabio Farioli said the problems had been resolved and he expected Salminen, who dominated the E1 season last year, to be up with the front runners in round Six on Sunday at the Spanish track.
 
Salminen is now second in the standings behind Jonny Aubert, trailing him by 22 points.
 
Results E2 Round Five
1. Jonny Aubert France, Yamaha
2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna
3. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
4. Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg
5. Valtteri Salonen, Finland, Husaberg
Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM (retired Test 9)

‘It was a big fight between Ivan and Ahola,’ reported KTM team boss Fabio Farioli. Ivan lost five second in the beginning stages of the race then both of them were making the same times in the other tests and he wasn’t able to make it up.’ Cervantes was riding in front of his home crowd which showed their enthusiastic support for him. Tom Sager, who came up from the junior class in 2007 to join Cervantes in the KTM team finished in ninth place.  Farioli said he is still adjusting to riding in the senior division and is yet to show what he can really do.
 
The race, held just 50 km from Barcelona attracted a large crowd on Enduro enthusiasts who will be out in force again on Sunday for round six over the same hard and dusty terrain.
 
Cervantes now has 110 world championship points and is in third position in the standings behind Mika Ahola and Simone Albergoni. He will be out to satisfy himself and his many fans with a solid podium on Sunday.
 
Results Saturday (Round Five)
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda
2. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
3. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
4. Simone Albergoni, Yamaha
5. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha
9. Tom Sagar, Britain, KTM

 
The three team members all performed well on the sandy track at Valkenswaard, the Netherlands on Saturday and are looking good for Sunday’s GP.
 
Tyla Rattray topped the results list in the first MX2 qualifier coming in ahead of Antonio Cairoli, the 2008 title holder.
 
‘I already thought I could beat Toni (Cairoli) today when I was third after the start and he had taken the holeshot. The track was not so good after all the rain but I have been training a lot in these types of conditions so I am quite used to it. The engine and the bike are both very strong and I am really confident for tomorrow. I think I have a good chance to be in the front but Tommy (teammate Tommy Searle) and Cairoli will be pushing. But I am confident both in the bike and mentally.’
 
Tommy Searle was first in the second qualifying race putting him in second slot on the grid after Tyla’s pole position.
 
‘The track was not so good. There were lots of ruts and at times it was quite hard going and slow. It was good to win the second race even though it was not the strongest heat. We must have a good setup for the race tomorrow, because if these wet and muddy conditions so we will work on the bike tonight. I am not a sand specialist like Tyla and Cairoli but I have been training a lot in sand lately and that gives me confidence.’
 
Rui Goncalves was fourth in the second qualifying heat which was a solid result for the Red Bull KTM Factory Team rider.
 
‘I had quite a good start today but I tried to overtake in the first part of the race and I lost a lot of positions. Towards the end I got my rhythm back and made some good lap times. Tomorrow I am hoping for a good start and we will see what happens.’
 
Shaun Simpson of Team KTM UK did well to finish in third place in the second MX2 qualifier as did Jeremy van Horebeek riding for the KTM supported GP Juniors Team Champ who was fourth in the first qualifier.
 
More rain and even the possibilities of some snow is forecast for Sunday’s race on the Dutch circuit,
 
 
 
 
 

Nagl said he was satisfied with his seventh position in timed practice o Saturday and was looking forward to Sunday’s race, his first as a full factory rider with the Red Bull KTM Team.
 
Max Nagl: ‘I have a very good feeling. With such a difficult track conditions I am happy to be seventh, because I am not usually so good in qualifying. Tomorrow I would like to take the holeshot, to stay up with the front riders and to finish in the top five. I used to prefer hard tracks but I have been training a lot on sand and now I think I am even faster on sand.’
 
More rain and even the possibilities of some snow is forecast for Sunday’s race on the Dutch circuit.