TEAM HUSQVARNA READY FOR 2013 WORLD ENDURO

Husqvarna Ready For 2013 Enduro World Championship

The 2013 Husqvarna Enduro Team by CH Racing squad is ready for the start of the Enduro World Championship, which begins this weekend in Talca, Chile. Following a five-month break since the closing round of the 2012 series, the team, once again lead by eight-time world champion Juha Salminen, will be a four-rider effort, with riders in the Enduro 1, Enduro 2, and Enduro Junior classes.

Juha Salminen will join Matti Seistola for the coming season in the Enduro 1 class, forming Husqvarna’s two-pronged Finnish attack. Following a hard fought challenge for Enduro 2 title in 2012, Salminen returns to one of his favoured categories for 2013. As the 2011 Enduro 1 World Champion, the now eight-time world champ is hoping to add yet another title to his already impressive plethora of EWC #1 plates. During his visit to South America last year, the Juha secured two impressive victories. Clearly enjoying the unique and varied terrain that the GPs of Chile and Argentina offer, Salminen will be eager to use his past experience to his advantage, and do all he can to deliver a winning start to his season.

Last year was a difficult time for Seistola. Failing to find the winning form he is capable of, the Finn struggled during the early part of the season. But after some intensive testing, Seistola soon found his form and began to challenge for both podium results and race wins. With a four-month winter break to prepare for the new season Seistola is focused on getting his 2013 EWC championship campaign off to a strong start.

Spain’s Lorenzo Santolino will fly the flag for Husqvarna in the Enduro 2 class as the former Enduro Junior World Champion starts his second year in the senior ranks. Looking to challenge the many top-flight competitors in the ultra-competitive Enduro 2 class, Lorenzo will also be focused on defending his E1 Spanish Enduro Championship title.

Australian Matt Phillips – one of the stand out performers at the International Six Days Enduro in both 2012 and 2011 – joins the Husqvarna Enduro Team by CH Racing for an assault on the Enduro Junior World Championship. Despite his EWC rookie status, Phillips will undoubtedly be an exciting addition to both the Husqvarna team, as well as the world championship. Using 2013 as a learning year as the young Aussie adapts to the demands of the EWC, Phillips also hopes to end the year with a top-three championship result.

The 2013 Enduro World Championship starts this weekend, March 16/17 March, in Talca, Chile.

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Fabrizio Azzalin – Team Manager: ‘The start of the 2013 Enduro World Championship is a race that the team has been looking forward to for a long time. We have new riders, riders in new classes, and very motivated riders. Last year no one knew what to expect from the races in Chile and Argentina, this year we are very well prepared and all team riders are looking forward to the start of the series. We have four official riders this year.

‘In the Enduro 1 class we have the two Finnish riders Juha Salminen and Matti Seistola. Juha returns to the Enduro 1 class, where we won the title the last time he raced in the class. Juha showed in 2011 that he is extremely fast on the TE250, so we hope that this year he will fight for the title. Matti had a difficult season last year, only showing his true potential on a few occasions. He’s been working hard in the last few months, so he is also looking for a good year.

‘In the Enduro 2 class we have Lorenzo Santolino. We want Lorenzo to steadily improve his performances, and hopefully reach the podium on occasions. He is in a very competitive class, but we believe he will rise to the challenge ahead. We return to the Enduro Junior class in 2013, with Australian rider Matt Phillips. 2013 will be a learning year for Matt, but in the last two ISDE races he has shown that he is very fast. We believe he can fight for the EJ title but he has to learn and adjust to the EWC style of racing. It’s going to be an exciting season for the Husqvarna Enduro Team by CH Racing.’