Meo wins again•dominates WEC GP of Greece

Following on from their many successes at the GP of Mexico the CH Racing Husqvarna team have once again enjoyed impressive results in the ’09 World Enduro Championship with Antoine Meo claiming a second consecutive Enduro 1 class double victory, this time dominating both days of the penultimate round of the WEC series. Determined to continue his recent run of good form, Meo produced his best ever WEC performances to date as he blitzed the E1 class on both days. The fastest outright performer on both days aboard his TE250, the Frenchman made next to no mistakes on any of the event’s demanding special tests. Joining Meo in delivering good results for Husqvarna was Seb Guillaume who came agonisingly close to topping the Enduro 3 class on day one yet still claimed podium results on both days.

While for many the opening day’s competition in Greece proved to be extremely challenging due to the many hours of competition and blistering heat Meo made the dry and dusty conditions look relatively simple as he clocked up special test win after special test win. Having posted the fastest time of any rider during the Friday night Super Test Antoine went on to record the fastest E1 class time on the opening seven tests on day one. Come the end of the day Meo had failed to win just one test and placed over one-minute ahead of Finn Mika Ahola.

On day two Meo was equally dominant. Pushing no harder than he needed to he quickly moved to the top of the E1 class as well as setting a pace faster than any other rider, irrespective of class. Making no mistakes Meo ended the second day’s competition with a 40 second lead to claim a well deserved win. Next up for Meo is his home round of the WEC series – a race he is well placed to win.

In the Enduro 2 class Husqvarna’s lone competitor Bartosz Oblucki was forced to retire on day one after he injured his foot on the enduro test. Breaking bones in his left foot Bartosz understandably took no part in the second day’s competition and will likely miss the final round of the season in France, in two weeks. Finn Matti Seistola was not competing in Greece for the CH Racing Husqvarna team due to recovering from recent knee surgery.

In the Enduro 3 class Husqvarna enjoyed podium success as Seb Guillaume finished as runner-up on day one and in third position on day two. Just 23 seconds behind eventual day one winner Ivan Cervantes, Seb performed well on all tests. Despite not quite being able to match his day one result at the end of the second day’s competition Seb nevertheless secured a second podium finish with third in the E3 class.

The CH Racing Husqvarna team will now prepare themselves for the final round of the ’09 World Enduro Championship in France on September 12-13.

Antoine Meo – Enduro 1: “I’m really, really happy with my results and performances. This win means much more to me that my first victory on Mexico. I felt that I was really the fastest rider here. I think I surprised Mika with my speed on day one. I pushed hard from the start and never stopped pushing hard throughout the day. On day two I was expecting Mika to fight back a little more, but I guess he is thinking about the championship a little now. Anyway, I pushed hard and again, from the start of the day, I was faster than him. I was the fastest overall rider on both days, which is great for everyone within the team. I feel really, really confident with my bike now. Competing in the first indoor Endurocross race in the States a few weeks ago really opened my eyes. I saw just how fast it was possible to go. Since then I have been working hard on all aspects of my racing.”

Seb Guillaume – Enduro 3: “The first day was very good for me, but it was a hard race because of the heat. You had to keep drinking, and drinking, all day. It was really hard. I made one small mistake on the enduro test, which cost me the win. That was disappointing but generally I was pleased with my speed and the way I rode. Day two wasn’t so good. It just didn’t happen for me. I made quite a lot of small mistakes, especially in the enduro test where I didn’t have a good feeling. I finished on the podium again, which is good. But I wasn’t fast enough like I was on day one. I’m looking forward to the GP of France now.”

Results – 2009 World Enduro Championship

Grand Prix of Greece – Day 1

Enduro 1

1. Antoine Meo (CH Racing Husqvarna) 54:41.58; 2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 55:48.09; 3. Julien Gauthier (Honda) 56:37.01; 4. Eero Remes (KTM) 57:24.91; 5. Simone Albergoni (KTM) 57:42.67; 6. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 58:02.84; 7. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 59:00.60; 8. Maurizio Micheluz (TM) 59:02.22; 9. Felipe Zanol (Yamaha) 59:22.51; 10. Vasilios Siafarikas (Honda) 1.02:04.17; 11. Maurizio Gerini (KTM) 1.02:41.26; 12. Jordan Curvalle (Sherco) 1.03:23.29; 13. Jakub Horak (KTM) 1:05.09.09; 14. Georgios Kinonas (TM) 1.08:36.89; 15. Apostolos Zviderikos (KTM) 1.17:22.18; 16. Andreas Gklavas (KTM) 1.24:00.14

Enduro 3

1. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 55:31.34; 2. Sebastien Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 55:55.10; 3. Samuli Aro (KTM) 56:13.97; 4. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 56:17.09; 5. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 56:55.70; 6. Oriol Mena (Husaberg) 56:57.82; 7. Marko Tarkkala (BMW) 57:44.91; 8. Alessandro Botturi (KTM) 58:06.51; 9. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 58:35.87; 10. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 59:44.49; 11. Jordi Figueras (Gas Gas) 1.00:31.44; 12. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1.01:08.60; 13. Michal Kadlecek (TM) 1.01:23.52; 14. Georgios Manolidis (Husaberg) 1.08:18.10; 15. Adamos Prasos (KTM) 1.10:56.66

Enduro Junior

1. Benoit Fortunato (Yamaha) 58:05.28; 2. Victor Guerrero 58:06.29; 3. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 58:07.75; 4. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 58:26.25; 5. Calle Sjoo (Husaberg) 58:37.93; 6. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 59:11.94; 7. Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna) 59:18.73; 8. Edoardo D’Ambrosio (KTM) 1.00:23.70; 9. Philip Mclaughlin (TM) 1.00:32.04; 10. Marc Sola (Gas Gas) 1.01:40.83; 11. Armand Monleon (Gas Gas) 1.01:44.14; 12. Guillem Pares (Gas Gas) 1.02:41.54; 13. Milan Engel (KTM) 1.03:42.83; 14. Arnau Sola (Gas Gas) 1.12:22.80; 15. Kimon Karampelas (KTM) 1.13:32.60; 16. Jonathan Manzi (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.26:36.96

Results – 2009 World Enduro Championship

Grand Prix of Greece – Day 2

Enduro 1

1. Antoine Meo (CH Racing Husqvarna) 50:22.86; 2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 51:03.42; 3. Julien Gauthier (Honda) 51:42.88; 4. Eero Remes (KTM) 51:44.83; 5. Simone Albergoni (KTM) 51:51.35; 6. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 52:16.66; 7. Jordan Curvalle (Sherco) 54:21.12; 8. Maurizio Gerini (KTM) 54:26.48; 9. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 55:29.04; 10. Vasilios Siafarikas (Honda) 57:02.34; 11. Felipe Zanol (Yamaha) 57:37.66; 12. Jakub Horak (KTM) 58:42.32; 13. Georgios Kinosnas (TM) 1.02:22.05; 14. Apostolos Zviderikos (KTM) 1.11:47.72

Enduro 3

1. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 50:37.33; 2. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 50:40.21; 3. Sebastien Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 51:25.05; 4. Marko Tarkkala (BMW) 52:38.08; 5. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 52:45.50; 6. Oriol Mena (Husaberg) 52:51.16; 7. Alessandro Botturi (KTM) 53:05.77; 8. Bjorne Carlsson 54:18.40; 9. Jordi Figueras (Gas Gas) 54:33.07; 10. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 55:12.92; 11. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 55:32.02; 12. Michal Kadlecek (TM) 56:17.01; 13. Adamos Prasos (KTM) 1.04:22.37; 14. Gergios Manolidis (Husaberg) 1.04:30.72;

Enduro Junior

1. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 52:46.29; 2. Benoit Fortunato (Yamaha) 52:58.37; 3. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 53:33.57; 4. Victor Guerrero (Yamaha) 53:40.80; 5. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 54:05.75; 6. Edoardo D’Ambrosio (KTM) 59:39.24; 7. Calle Sjoo (Husaberg) 54:41.70; 8. Jonathan Manzi (CH Racing Husqvarna) 54:55.13; 9. Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna) 55:07.31; 10. Armand Monleon (Gas Gas) 56:11.40; 11. Marc Sola (Gas Gas) 57:17.49; 12. Milan Engel (KTM) 57:47.78; 13. Daniel Carracedo (Gas Gas) 58:15.92; 14. Guillem Pares (Gas Gas) 58:37.93; 15. Kikon Karempelas (KTM) 1.11:26.25