World Enduro Championship ’07 – Round 1, Ostersund

World Enduro Championship ?07 ? Round 1, Ostersund

Success for Oblucki in Sweden aboard Husqvarna?s pre-production 250cc four-stroke

CH Racing Husqvarna team rider Bartosz Oblucki claimed a well deserved third place podium finish on day one of the first round of the ?07 World Enduro Championship aboard a pre-production version of Husqvarna?s new 250cc four-stroke enduro bike. In doing so the Pole proved the bike?s reliability and competitiveness despite relatively little time spent testing and setting-up the all new machine prior to the race. On the pace from the start of day one Oblucki placed as the first non-Scandinavian rider in the Enduro 1 class before going on to finish fourth on day two following two big crashes.

With a full squad of six riders competing in the ?07 WEC series US racer Nate Kanney made his debut for the CH Racing Husqvarna team and in doing so became the WEC?s first ever full-time American competitor. Seven-time World Enduro Champion Anders Eriksson also returned to full-time competition following the serious injuries he sustained in ?05, while French riders Marc Bourgeois, Nicolas Deparrois and Seb Guillaume also made their WEC debuts for the team.

Despite the snow covered special tests and frozen conditions giving the Scandinavian riders competing in Sweden an early season advantage Bartosz Oblucki was determined to start ?07 with a strong result and did just that by finishing third in the E1 class on day one. Performing well on each of the event?s three special tests by placing on the podium Bartosz gave Husqvarna?s pre-production 250cc four-stroke an extremely encouraging debut result. One day two Oblucki again started well as he battled for the runner-up position during the opening special tests. But crashing on the second timed enduro test Bartosz was unable to hold his early position and following two further falls dropped to fourth. Despite missing the podium by one position on day two Bartosz made an extremely promising start to his ?07 Enduro 1 world championship.

In the Enduro 2 class American Nate Kanney and Frenchman Nicolas Deparrois found the slippery conditions challenging and like many non-Scandinavians saw their results suffer as a result. With Nate competing aboard Husqvarna?s 450TE, the WEC newcomer steadily improved his speed on day one placing just outside the top 10 in 12th. On day two, with conditions a lot colder than on day one, Nate simply couldn?t adjust to the conditions as well as he hoped he would and finished in 18th. Despite his on paper result not being as good as his day one result, Nate finished as the 11th placed non-Scandinavian rider in class.

            Nicolas Deparrois placed as the team?s highest finishing rider in the E2 class with a 15th placed result on day one and a 13th place finish on day two. Like Kanney Deparrois also struggled to master the very specialist ?winter? conditions.

Competing in his home round of the ?07 WEC series seven-time World Enduro Champion Anders Eriksson placed fourth and fifth in the Enduro 3 class on his return to full-time racing following his ?05 accident. Starting day one extremely well by leading after the first of three laps, Anders dropped back during the final lap but still held on to claim a deserved fourth. On day two, with conditions much colder than on day one, Anders again performed well placing fifth.

            Disappointingly day one ended prematurely for CH Racing Husqvarna?s Seb Guillaume. Second on the opening two special tests the recent Open de France d?Enduro Indoor event winner was forced to withdraw from the day due to a problem with his bike?s cylinder lining. On day two Seb found the conditions tough but battled on to claim sixth behind team-mate Eriksson.

In the Enduro Junior class Marc Bourgeois had a frustrating weekend failing to finish day one due to a carburetion problem. On day two he, like many riders, failed to gel with the frozen conditions and placed 11th.

Bartosz Oblucki: “Day one went well. I finished third, which I was happy with. Most of the riders that will compete in the whole world championship this season were behind me, apart from Juha ? he was riding a level ahead of everyone in the Enduro 1 class. The good thing is that the new bike performed really well. It?s been a hard race and we didn?t have any problems with the bike at all. Being completely new we are still learning how to set it up to get the best out of it. On day two the frozen track became really rough and the suspension was a little too soft. But apart from that the bike was great. The motor was fantastic.

            “The second day started well and I was fighting for second. But then in the second enduro test I crashed and after that I didn?t do so well. I crashed in the next test, the one after that, and then I caught another rider. It was an ok day and I?m happy with finishing fourth. It?s been a good start to the season.”
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Nate Kanney: “Day one went pretty well for me. I was doing ok and starting to increase my speed and make better special test times. I had one crash, which lost me a little bit of time and a couple of places, but I was able to push hard at the end of the day. I got 12th, which considering the conditions I?m happy with.

            “I just couldn?t get into things on day two. The conditions were a lot colder and the track was frozen the whole way around and not soft and mushy like it was on day one, which I struggled with a little. I was just having a hard time with the ice. I did the best I could.”

Anders Eriksson: “It?s been a tough weekend, but a pretty good one. It?s certainly good to be back racing in the WEC again now I?m fit. All in all I?m very happy with the weekend. I would have liked to have finished on the podium on day one as I spent much of the day battling for third. The day started really well but then I got a little tired towards the end and at the same time Ivan Cervantes upped his speed a little to push me to fourth. Leading after the first lap was great, but then I dropped back a little.

“Day two wasn?t as physically demanding as the first day but it was still challenging. The day started really well and then I rode steadily all day. The riders ahead of me were riding really well and I just wasn?t able to catch them. Fourth and fifth is a good start to the season.”

Seb Guillaume: “It was really disappointing not to finish the first day, but it can happen. Things were going well and I had some really good times on the first couple of tests but then my bike stopped. It was a problem with the cylinder coating.

            “Because I didn?t ride that much of day one I found things difficult at the beginning of day two. I was really cautious in the frozen conditions. I am looking forward to the next round of the championship in Spain now.”

2007 World Enduro Championship Rnd 1

Enduro 1

1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 1.43:35.49; 2. Niklas Gustafsson (KTM) 1.46:35.49; 3. Bartosz Oblucki (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.47:27.37; 4. Tomi Peltola (Suzuki) 1.47:35.09; 5. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.48:40.21; 6. Marc Germain (Yamaha) 1.48:52.46; 7. Fredrik Georgsson (KTM) 1.49:13.80; 8. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 1.49:23.41; 9. Simone Albergoni (Yamaha) 1.50:57.49; 10. Mike Hartman (KTM) 1.51:41.62; 11. Tobias Burman (KTM) 1.51:54.68; 12. Per Korsell (Husqvarna) 1.52:34.74; 13. Anthony Roberts (Honda) 1.54:22.77; 14. Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha) 1.54:35.98; 15. Juraj Dozsa (KTM) 1.56:49.99; 16. Joan Jou (Yamaha) 1.58:45.99

Enduro 2

1. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1.41:01.72; 2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 1.41; 01.95; 3. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.44:46.59; 4. Jari Mattila (Beta) 1.45:59.83; 5. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1.46:11.61; 6. Patrik Wicksell (KTM) 1.47:23.30; 7. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1.47:51.68; 8. Stefan Merriman (Aprilia) 1.48:55.24; 9. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1.49:25.07; 10. Xevi Galindo (KTM) 1.50:21.74; 11. Fritz Andersson (KTM) 1.50:45.65; 12. Nate Kanney (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.51:33.94; 13. Patrick Caps (Gas Gas) 1.51:39.72; 14. Thiery Klutz (Sherco) 1.52:11.94; 15. Nicolas Deparrois (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.52:29.86; 16. Carl Bjerkert (Honda) 1.53:06.04; 17. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1.54:29.49; 18. Patrick Stahl (Husqvarna) 1.58:27.35; 19. Emil Carlsson (Honda) 2.00:56.27

Enduro 3

1. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1.43:04.57; 2. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1.44:45.16; 3. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 1.45:43.45; 4. Anders Eriksson (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.46:54.60; 5. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 1.47:53.52; 6. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1.48:55.96; 7. Daniel Johansson (Gas Gas) 1.50:15.98; 8. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1.51:00.41; 9. Luigi Seguy (Aprilia) 1.52:39.79; 10. Alessandro Zanni (TM) 1.53:37.85; 11. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 1.54:21.14; 12. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1.55:35.38; 13. Jordan Curvalle (Sherco) 1.57:47.73; 14. Dylan Debel (Husaberg) 1.58:18.26; 15. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1.58:41.65; 16. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 2.02:04.75; 17. Dan Watt (Husaberg) 2.20:00.62

Enduro Junior

1. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.43:55.31; 2. Robert Kvarnstrom (KTM) 1.47:46.20; 3. Ricard Wressel (Husaberg) 1.48:02.41; 4. Roni Niklander (KTM) 1.48:21.01; 5. Olli Turma (KTM) 1.48:21.01; 6. Tom Sagar (KTM) 1.50:25.86; 7. Sami Kaapa (Suzuki) 1.51:32.16; 8. Thomas Jansson (KTM) 1.51:52.21; 9. Antti Hellsten (Husqvarna) 1.51:56.08; 10. Fredrik Berg (KTM) 1.52:29.60; 11. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 1.54:06.92; 12. Thomas Aldrati (KTM) 1.54:15.10; 13. Erik Luthstrom (KTM) 1.54:15.58; 14. Oscar Balletti (Honda) 1.54:25.03; 15. Martin Sundin (Kawasaki) 1.54:25.71; 16. Sebastian Adeilsson (Honda) 1.54:56.79; 17. Lucas Puerta (KTM) 1.55:23.85; 18. Robert Kapajcik (KTM) 1.55:56.07; 19. Oriol Mena (Yamaha) 1.56:17.00; 20. Carlos Andreu (KTM) 1.56:18.70

2007 World Enduro Championship Rnd 1

Grand Prix of Sweden ? Day 2

Enduro 1

1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 1.11:43.69; 2. Fredrik Georgsson (KTM) 1.14:36.84; 3. Tomi Peltola (Suzuki) 1.14:39.85; 4. Bartosz Oblucki (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.15:23.66; 5. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1.15:33.01; 6. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 1.15:42.78; 7. Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha) 1.15:50.72; 8. Marc Germain (Yamaha) 1.16:07.12; 9. Niklas Gustafsson (KTM) 1.16:15.03; 10. Tobias Burman (KTM) 1.16:57.45; 11. Torbjorn Back (Honda) 1.16:59.54; 12. Per Korsell (Husqvarna) 1.17:32.25; 13. Simone Albergoni (Yamaha) 1.17:49.28; 14. Mike Hartman (KTM) 1.18:47.00; 15. Anthony Roberts (Honda) 1.10:40.62; 16. Juraj Dozsa (KTM) 1.21:35.94; 17. Joan Jou (Yamaha) 1.23:08.82

Enduro 2

1. Mika Ahola (Honda) 1.09:51.09; 2. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1.10:38.18; 3. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1.12:24.75; 4. Patrik Wicksel (KTM) 1.12:47.27; 5. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1.13:45.65; 6. Jari Mattila (Beta) 1.14:07.75; 7. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1.14:32.02; 8. Fritz Andersson (KTM) 1.14:41.81; 9. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1.15:49.72; 10. Stefan Merriman (Aprilia) 1.16:08.62; 11. Rodrig Thain (Suzuki) 1.17:17.04; 12. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha)1.17:21.32; 13. Nicolas Deparrois (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.18:16.05; 14. Xevi Galindo (KTM) 1.18:20.18; 15. Thierry Klutz (Sherco) 1.18:24.23; 16. Patrick Caps (Gas Gas) 1.19:12.02; 17. Carl Bjerkert (Honda) 1.19:23.25; 18. Nate Kanney (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.19:33.69; 19. Patrik Stahl (Husqvarna) 1.21:35.88

Enduro 3

1. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1.11:15.76; 2. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1.12:11.97; 3. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 1.12:31.69; 4. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 1.13:22.92; 5. Anders Eriksson (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.14:19.78; 6. Seb Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.15:52.89; 7. Daniel Johansson (Gas Gas) 1.16:02.06; 8. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1.16:57.60; 9. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1.17:16.59; 10. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1.18:55.60; 11. Luigi Seguy (Aprilia) 1.20:33.84; 12. Jordon Curvalle (Sherco) 1.21:36.13; 13. Alessio Paoli (Beta) 1.21:43.48; 14. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1.22:11.13; 15. Dylan Debel (Husaberg) 1.24:31.69; 16. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1.25:26.55; 17. Mikael Stromgren (Husaberg) 1.48:00.38

Enduro Junior

1. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1.11:28.89; 2. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 1.14:26.48; 3. Olli Turma (KTM) 1.15:08.91; 4. Antti Hellsten (Husqvarna) 1.15:52.20; 5. Jake Stapleton (TM) 1.16:08.98; 6. Jari Pulkkinen (KTM) 1.16:11.76; 7. Ricard Wressel (Husaberg) 1.16:35.62; 8. Fredrik Kvarnstrom (KTM) 1.17:04.59; 9. Patrick Wikman (KTM) 1.17:08.76; 10. Tomas Jansson (KTM) 1.17:28.82; 11. Marc Bourgeois (CH Racing Husqvarna) 1.17:28.96; 12. Tom Sagar (KTM) 1.18:06.27; 13. Oriol Mena (Yamaha) 1.18:18.50; 14. Fredrick Berg (KTM) 1.18:27.05; 15. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 1.18:41.01; 16. Erik Luthstrom (KTM) 1.18:49.88; 17. Sebastian Adielsson (Honda) 1.19:22.81; 18. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 1.19:32.02; 19. Lucas Puerta (KTM) 1.19:48.32; 20. Oscar Balletti (Honda) 1.20:16.08