Nambotin claims two more Enduro 3 World Championship victories
KTM Enduro Factory rider Christophe Nambotin of France wrapped up Rd. 3 & 4 of the Enduro 3 World Championship in San Juan, Argentina with two more victories and a perfect score card as the tour leaves for Europe.
The past two weekends have not only launched Nambotin into the prospective title orbit but also proved that his biggest rival will come from his own factory team. He and KTM’s David Knight (GB) shadow-boxed their way through Sunday’s 12 tests between them winning eleven. Nambotin was fastest in the class in seven tests and Knight took three leaving only the fourth Enduro test for Husaberg rider Joakim Ljunggren of Sweden.
The weekend started well for Nambotin on the KTM 300 EXC bike when he was overall second fastest and fastest in the E3 class in KTM’s Super Test, the popular Friday night launch of the event that attracted more than 4000 Enduro enthusiasts.
Then on Day One riders faced 4 x 50 km laps ion a soft gravelly surface that tested both man and machine and established that Sunday, when the track had broken up it would be even more draining.
Saturday also confirmed that Nambotin was going to continue to deliver victories similar to the opening rounds 1&2 in Chile last weekend. The French rider set a blistering pace throughout the day and except for one special test, led the field the entire way. He wrapped up his ride with an impressive 70-second winning margin over his KTM teammate David Knight.
Christophe Nambotin after Rd 3: “It was difficult in the hot conditions but I was able to find a strong pace early on which helped me to open up a healthy lead. Aside from a small crash in the Extreme Test it’s been another perfect race for me and to be fastest in the overall classification is an added bonus. Hopefully I can repeat these results again tomorrow.”
KTM’s David Knight also delivered a strong performance on the KTM 500 EXC on Saturday to underline that he is back in form after missing most of last season due to surgery on both hips. Sweden’s Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) finished in third place on a day one, 37 seconds behind Knight. Germany’s Marcus Kehr (KTM) also put in a strong ride to finish fifth. Rain has been absent from San Juan for some considerable time so riders had to survive 4 x 50 km laps on both days in the torrid summer heat with plenty of dust and loose stones to content with.
Conditions in the Extreme Test, which was set over natural terrain were in stark contrast to last week’s races in Chile and took riders along a steep valley with many ravines. Teams now return to Europe after the four South American rounds and the competition resumes in Spain on May 5-6, 2012.
E3 Results Rd. 3
1, Christophe Nambotin, France, KTM
2, David Knight, GBR, KTM
3, Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg
4, Aigar Leok, Estonia, TM
5, Marcus, Kehr, Germany, KTM
Other KTM
11, Manuel Monni, Italy, KTM
13, Matias Leonel Giampietri, Argentina, KTM
16, Cesar Giordanengo, Argentina, KTM
E3 Standings after Round 3
1, Christophe Nambotin, 60
2, David Knight, 47
3, Aigar Leok, 45
4, Joakim Ljunggren, 39
5, Oriol Mena, 36
E3 Results Rd 4
1, Christophe Nambotin, France, KTM
2, David Knight, GBR, KTM
3, Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg
4, Aigar Leok, Estonia, TM
5, Marko Tarkkala, Finland, Beta
Other KTM
7, Marcus, Kehr, Germany, KTM
10, Manuel Monni, Italy, KTM
13, Matias Leonel Giampietri, Argentina, KTM
14, Cesar Giordanengo, Argentina, KTM
15, Fernando Hierrezuelo, Argentina, KTM
E3 Standings after Round 4
1, Christophe Nambotin, 80
2, David Knight, 64
3, Aigar Leok, 58
4, Joakim Ljunggren, 54
5, Oriol Mena, Spain, Husaberg, 46
KTM’s Cristobal Guerrero takes 2 x 2nd in Enduro 3 Rds. 3&4
KTM factory rider Cristobal Guerrero completed another confident ride in Rd. 4 of the Enduro 2 World Championships in San Juan Argentina on Sunday when he finished second to claim his second podium in two days.
Teammate Johnny Aubert did not fare so well on Day Two when he had to retire after the second test following his podium third on Saturday. Team boss Fabio Farioli reported after the race that Aubert had experienced what they thought was a technical problem with his bike. “Johnny was unlucky today, we think it was an electrical problem and we’re working to find out what happened,” Farioli said.
He also praised the strong and very fast performance of Guerrero of Spain this weekend. Guerrero was particularly fast in the cross tests, winning two of four as riders spent tough days in the saddle working their way through 4 laps of 50 km and 12 strength sapping tests in total.
Guerrero, clearly at home in the hot and dusty conditions like in his native Spain was particularly impressive on Friday night at the KTM Super Test that showcased the sport at close range to more than 4000 Argentinean fans. He clocked the fastest overall time and claimed an early lead in the Enduro 2 class while factory teammate Johnny Aubert slipped into third place.
While Spanish rider Ivan Cervantes finished on top of the podium on Saturday after Salminen had to retire after catching a stone in his chain, it was left to Guerrero and Aubert to soak up the minor podium places. The two KTM factory riders battled against each other for the honors with Aubert holding the advantage until a last lap spurt by Guerrero allowed him to take second place. Guerrero also proved on Sunday that he is fit enough to last the distance when he finished 1-2 in the day’s final two tests. It was a confidence boosting performance for the Spanish rider in South America ahead of his own home GP in Spain in May.
In 2012 Guerrero is riding the KTM 350 EXC-F and Aubert is on the KTM 450 EXC-F.
E2 Results Rd 3
1, Ivan Cervantes, Spain, Gas-Gas
2, Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, KTM
3, Johnny Aubert, France, KTM
4, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, France, Husaberg
5, Alex Salvini, Italy, HVA
Other KTM
6, Fabio Mossini, Italy, KTM
9, Franco Caimi, Argentina, KTM
E2 Standings after Round 3
1, Ivan Cervantes, 54
2, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 43
2, Cristobal Guerrero, 43
4, Alex Salvini, 34
5, Johnny Aubert, 31
5, Juha Salminen, Finland, HVA, 31
E2 Results Rd. 4
1, Juha Salminen, Finland, HVA
2, Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, KTM
3, Ivan Cervantes, Spain, Gas-Gas
4, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, France, Husaberg
5, Alex Salvini, Italy, HVA
Other KTM
6, Fabio Mossini, Italy, KTM
9, Franco Caimi, Argentina, KTM
DNF Johnny Aubert, France, KTM
E2 Standings after Round 4
1, Ivan Cervantes, 69
2, Cristobal Guerrero, 60
3, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 56
4, Juha Salminen, Finland, HVA, 51
5, Alex Salvini, 45
Antoine Meo takes fourth Enduro 1 World Championship victory
Antoine Meo, KTM’s latest E1 signing for the 2012 season leaves South America with four straight World Championship victories in his pocket marking him as an early title favorite for the coming season.
The French rider won both rounds in Chile last weekend and repeated them this weekend in San Juan, a venue on the other side of the Andes that offered soft gravelly terrain in sharp contract with last weekend’s hard pack surface. His E1 factory teammate, Eero Remes of Finland improved on his last week’s performance and with a late burst at the end of the day to take the final test vaulted onto the podium in third place. Meo was the fastest rider in eight of Sunday’s 12 tests with Remes in second place behind him in five of them.
Meo started the weekend with French flair when he was second on his KTM 250 EXC-F in the KTM Super test on Friday night by five tenths of a second to set up the advantage for the third round in Argentina’s San Juan.
Despite the scorching heat of the South American summer and a very demanding day in the saddle, Meo was once again unstoppable in Enduro 1 and stormed home to take his third victory. He set the pace right from the opening lap and was fastest in every test except the final Enduro Test of the day. He was justifiably satisfied with the outcome of the first race in Argentina saying he had had ‘another incredible day’. “I pushed as hard as I could during the morning to try an open up an advantage as I knew it would be difficult once the special tests became rougher. I am so happy to win another Enduro 1 race.” Sunday was to prove that he got his wish.
Frenchman Marc Bourgeois and Simone Albergoni of Italy took the minor places on Saturday while KTM’s Eero Remes finished fourth, missing the third podium spot by less than two seconds.
Enduro Junior
Rounds three anf four were also good for young K TM rider Jonathon Manzi of Italy (KTM) who put a stop to Mathias Bellino’s winning ways taking two EJ victories in San Juan he took victory on both days. Local boy Kevin Benavides thrilled the partisan home crowd when he raced to third place on both days.
KTM also had two podium firsts in the Youth Cup with Italy’s Giacomo Redondi taking two more victories underlining that Italy, with its rich tradition of Enduro sport is more than capable of delivering up and coming talent.
Organizers delivered a cross test that was based on a large motocross track with both jumps and tabletops, made more difficult by Sunday’s Rd. 4 after the hot, dusty and stony track had suffered being cut up by the large number of starters in Saturday’s race.
E1 Results Rd 3
1, Antoine Meo, France, KTM
2, Marc Bourgeois, France, Yamaha
3, Simone Albergoni, Italy, HM-Honda
4, Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
5, Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM
E1 Standings after Round 3
1, Antoine Meo, 60
2, Rodrig Thain, France, HM-Honda, 42
2, Marc Bourgeois, 42
4, Simone Albergoni, 38
5, Eero Remes, 33
E1 Results Rd 4
1, Antoine Meo, France, KTM
2, Simone Albergoni, Italy, HM-Honda
3, Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
4, Lorenzo Santolino, Spain, HVA
5, Rodrig Thain, France, HM-Honda
Other KTM
6, Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM
E1 Standings after Round 4
1, Antoine Meo, 80
2, Simone Albergoni, 55
3, Rodrig Thain, 53
4, Marc Bourgeois, France, Yamaha, 51
5, Eero Remes, 48
EJ Results after Rd 3
1, Jonathan Manzi, Italy, KTM
2, Mathias Bellino, France, Husaberg
3, Kevin Benavides, Argentina, KTM
4, Daniel McCanney, GBR, Gas-Gas
5, Victor Guerrero, Spain, KTM
Other KTM
6, Edoardo D’Ambrosio, Italy, KTM
9, Rudi Moroni, Italy, KTM
12, Diego Gutierrez, Argentina, KTM
EJ Standings after Round 3
1, Mathias Bellino, 57
2, Daniel McCanney, 45
3, Kevin Benavides, 39
4, Victor Guerrero, 37
5, Jonathan Manzi, 36
Youth Cup Rd. 3
1, Giacomo Redondi, Italy, KTM
2, Benjamin Herrera, Chile, TM
3, Stefano Caimi, Argentina, Yamaha
Youth Cup Standings after Round 3
1, Giacomo Redondi, 57
1, Benjamin Herrera, 54
2, Stefano Caimi, 38
EJ Results Rd. 4
1, Jonathan Manzi, Italy, KTM
2, Mathias Bellino, France, Husaberg
3, Kevin Benavides, Argentina, KTM
4, Edoardo D’Ambrosio, Italy, KTM
5, Daniel McCanney, GBR, Gas-Gas
Other KTM
6, Victor Guerrero, Spain, KTM
8, Rudi Moroni, Italy, KTM
12, Diego Gutierrez, Argentina, KTM
16, Alvaro Zamora, Argentina, KTM
EJ Standings after Round 4
1, Mathias Bellino, 74
2, Jonathan Manzi, 56
2, Daniel McCanney, 56
4, Kevin Benavides, 54
5, Victor Guerrero, 47
5, Edoardo D’Ambrosio, 47
Youth Cup
1, Giacomo Redondi, Italy, KTM
2, Benjamin Herrera, Chile, TM
3, Stefano Caimi, Argentina, Yamaha
Youth Cup Standings after Round 4
1, Giacomo Redondi, 77
1, Benjamin Herrera, 71
2, Stefano Caimi, 53
