KTM World Enduro News

Samuli Aro wins E3 World Championship title; Manufacturer’s title to KTM
KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Samuli Aro on Sunday secured the E3 World title with a weekend that yielded him a second and fourth place in the final round of the 2008 racing season.
The Finnish KTM factory rider picked up an additional 40 points from his two rides, vaulting his total to 328 ahead of teammate and countryman Marko Tarkkala with 317 points, making it a great weekend for the team. The final round also secured a strong victory in the Manufacturer’s title in E3 for KTM’s ‘Made in Austria’ Enduro motorcycles.

Aro and Tarkkala end season on high note
‘Samuli was really back in form this weekend,’ said team boss Fabio Farioli. ‘He was really fast and he wanted to win the title very much. Also Marko did a great job this weekend with a first place on Saturday and a third on Sunday to finish second in the championships.’ Farioli expressed his pleasure in the KTM factory team’s result and said he was looking forward to the 2009 hunt for titles in this exciting offroad sport.

The Grand Prix AMV of Europe, the final of the eight round season was held in Mende, in the south of central France where Enduro sport is followed with great enthusiasm and the terrain offers a range of challenges to the riders.

E3 Results Day One
1. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM
2. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
3. Fabien Planet, France, KTM
4. Antoine Letellier, France, Aprilia
5. Markus Kehr, Germany, KTM

Day 2 Results
1.Stefan Merriman, Australia, Aprilia
2. Antoine Letellier, France, Aprilia
3. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM
4. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
5. Alessandro Botturi, Italy, Honda

Final Championship standings
1. Samuli Aro, Finland KTM, 328 – World Champion
2. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM, 317 – Vice World Champion
3. Sebastien Guillaume, France, Husqvarna, 298
4. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas Gas, 297

Manufacturer’s Title
1. KTM, 355 Points
2. Husqvarna, 298
3. Gas Gas, 297


Samuli Aro E3 World Champion 2008
Marko Markkala E3 Vice World champion 2008
Superb final round action from Aro to seal championship title
Tarkkala tops podium on Day One in Round Eight
12.10.2008
Salminen and Belometti 2-3 in E2 World Championship; KTM wins Manufacturer’s title
Juha Salminen of the KTM Enduro Factory Team wound up the E2 season on a high note this weekend when he rode two superb and victorious races to finish his season in second place in the title race. KTM also won the Manufacturer’s title in E2.
The Finnish rider, among the most decorated in the sport, turned up the heat and the gas to snatch a double-headed victory in the final eighth round in Mende France. With KTM Factory teammate Alessandro Belometti finishing in third place in the overall standings and a win for KTM in the Manufacturer’s Title it was a great conclusion to the season for the Austrian manufacturer.

Speedy Salminen domiantes E2 in France
Team boss Fabio Farioli paid tribute to his team and to the superb ride by Juha over the weekend saying: ‘Juha was incredible this weekend. He was so fast and his times were so good. He was a little unlucky this season but he certainly showed how good he was with this result this weekend. It was also great to see Alessandro Belometti finish in third place overall. He is a rider who works hard, particularly on his preparation.’ Belometti was twice fourth in the final two races.

Salminen left no doubt about his skills in being able to master any offroad terrain and to do it with speed in the final two races and had to concede the title to Frenchman Johnny Aubert by a mere eight points.

E2 Results Day One
1. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM
2. Johnny Aubert, France, Yamaha
3. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna
4. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
5. Joakim Lundggren, Sweden, Husaberg

E2 Day Two Results
1. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM
2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna
3. Johnny Aubert, France, Yamaha
4. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
5. Rodrig Thain, France, TM

Final Championship standings
1. Johnny Aubert, France, Yamaha, 361 points
2. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM 353
3. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM, 259

Manufacturer’s Title
1. KTM, 378
2. Yamaha, 361
3. Husqvarna, 248


Two brilliant races by Salminen to conclude the season on a high note
Salminen in action in France
Alessandro Belometti finishes third overall in world championship
12.10.2008
Cervantes second in E1 World Championship at close of season
KTM Enduro Team factory rider Ivan Cervantes wrapped up the E1 season in Mendes, France on Sunday with a 3-2 result in two days of racing that gave him second place overall in the 2008 World Championship title.
The Spanish rider finished his season with 346 points, 29 shy of the title winner Mika Ahola who had wrapped up the overall victory on Saturday. Ahola was a strong competitor but Cervantes has been constantly in the forefront of the race results in a season that gave him five individual race wins and five seconds and three third places.

KTM team boss Fabio Farioli said Ivan had been fast and consistent during the season and said he must be congratulated for securing second place in the title fight. ‘Ivan was very fast this weekend. He is perhaps a little disappointed that he did not win the title but he is a professional and he will be back strong next season.’

Cervantes finished in confident form with a third place in Saturday’s race at the southern central French venue and followed that with a second place on Sunday. Cervantes teammate Tom Sager of Britain completed his rooke year as a factory rider in a creditable eighth place.

E1 Results Day One
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda
2. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha
3. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
4. Simone Albergoni, Italy, Yamaha
5. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
10. Tom Sagar, Britain, KTM

E1 Results Day Two
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda
2. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
3. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha
4. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
5. Simone Albergoni, Italy, Yamaha
9. Tom Sagar, Britain, KTM

Final Championship Standings
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda, 375 points
2. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM, 346
3. Simone Albergoni, Italy, Yamaha, 302
4. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha, 284
5. Maurizio Micheluz, Italy, Yamaha, 224
8. Tom Sagar, Britain, KTM, 164

Manufacturer’s title
1. Honda 375 points
2. KTM, 351
3. Yamaha, 338


Cervantes second in E1 World title
Cervantes with two solid results in final round of season
Tom Sagar of Britain completes his rookie year in the KTM factory team
12.10.2008
KTM congratulates Thomas Oldrati: World Junior Enduro Champion
KTM congratulates Italian KTM rider Thomas Oldrati who has won 2008 FIM Junior Enduro World Cup, securing the title at the close of the seventh of eight rounds run parallel to the senior world championship E1, E2 and E3 categories.
The 19-year-old Italian, who won eight individual races in a season that saw him increasingly dominate the competition sat out the final round, opting to ride in the E1 category instead s the season drew to a close in round eight in Mendes, Spain.

The efforts of the young rider from Bergamo, Italy, were praised by KTM Enduro Factory team boss Fabio Farioli. ‘He’s a very positive young guy. He’s very fit and he learns quickly. I think that in two or three year’s time he will be one of the top Enduro riders.’ Farioli said that Oldrati closely follows Alessandro Belometti of the KTM Enduro Factory Team who is a kind of mentor to his younger countryman. ‘Oldrati follows the actions of Belometti very closely. Alessandro is a very good role model for younger riders. He works extremely hard and he pays a lot of attention to his preparation.’

Oldrati, who Farioli says is a typical high spirited young guy who ‘likes the nightlife and going out with his friends’, finished the season with 276 points in front of KTM rider Oreol Mena of Spain with 261.

KTM’s Thomas Oldrati Junior World Champion
Oldrati expected to be a future Enduro top rider