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Merriman holds court in Finland
Australia’s finest enduro practitioner, Stefan Merriman, dominated round seven of the 2005 world title on August 27-28, although he only left Finland with a single victory to his name - and a pending court case.
The four-time world champion blitzed the opening day at Heinola on his UFO Corse-backed Yamaha WR450F, defeating local rider Valtteri Salonen (Honda) by 16.10sec. After winning five of the 11 special stages, and claiming the honours by 16.10sec, Merriman said: “I am really happy to have won today, the tests were very difficult and dangerous - particularly the enduro one.
“It is not easy to beat the Finnish riders in their own forests. The enduro test was very long and winding amongst the trees in dense forest, there were many hidden objects - roots and rocks and it was hard to ride at a safe speed. I managed to stay in front all day which was good.”
However, Merriman’s hubris was short-lived, with a follow-up jury meeting hearing a protest by KTM Finland, which alleged that Merriman arrived late for an extreme test on lap two because he stopped to re-fuel outside the designated service area.
The race director then disqualified Merriman from the first day’s results, which saw Salonen bumped up to first ahead of Petri Pohjamo (TM) and current E2 (250cc 2T vs. 450cc 4T) leader Samuli Aro – a Finnish trifecta.
UFO Corse has now lodged a protest, arguing that Merriman cannot be excluded on another rider’s interpretation of events. This case will now be resolved by the FIM Court in Geneva, Switzerland this week.
After Friday night’s deluge, day two was another fine one, although some of the tests were signature Finland – soft and swampy. Some of the ruts were so deep that Merriman’s footpegs were constantly dragging. Despite the difficulties, Merriman still won eight of the 12 special stages, including a trials-like extreme test which saw the riders negotiate a series of artificial obstacles, including concrete blocks, logs, tyres and double jumps.
Merriman eventually won by a generous 14 seconds from Aro, followed by Alessandro Botturi (KTM).
“I rode much better today without crashes, however I struggled with the deep ruts in the cross test,” said Merriman. “Fortunately the weather stayed dry after Friday’s rain, otherwise the race would have been a disaster.”
With Merriman only awarded points for his day two win, Aro extended his lead by 19pts in Finland, although this week’s hearing in Switzerland may change all that. Aro’s on 312pts, ahead of Merriman (244), Botturi (239), the still indisposed Fabien Planet (KTM, 209) and enduro legend Anders Eriksson (Husqvarna, 203), who also missed the round with terrible injuries.
Eriksson, a seven-time world champion, had a head-on collision with another rider while testing last Thursday, taking most of the impact on his leg. He broke his femur and tibia in the crash, and was rushed to Helsinki and underwent 12 hours of surgery.
In E1 (125cc 2T vs. 250cc 4T), Spaniard Ivan Cervantes (KTM) celebrated a second successive rout, with Marc Germain (Yamaha) and Simone Albergoni (Honda) sharing the second places. Cervantes is now a 68pt (342 to 274) over Germain, with Albergoni (246) and Alessandro Belometti (KTM, 245) in a tense battle for third.
In E3 (500cc 2T vs. 650cc 4T), the bubble of British rider David Knight has finally been pricked – by fellow KTM rider, Marko Tarkkala. The latter outlasted Knight on day one by 16.56sec, although normal service was resumed 24 hours later – Knight was irresistible in winning by well over a minute.
With a phenomenal 93 per cent winning strike rate, Knight is now on 347pts out of a possible 350, ahead of Tarkkala (294), Sebastien Guillaume (Gas Gas, 244) and Mike Ahola (Husqvarna, 224).
Finally, the all-new junior class has already saluted its inaugural champion – Spanish rider Cristobal Guerrero (Gas Gas). After finishing with a pair of third places, Cristobal now has an unassailable lead, and will now move up to the E2 class in 2006.
Meanwhile, Swede Joakim Ljungren (Husaberg) made light work of the opposition, and became the fourth separate junior winner in 2005 – and just the second multiple defeater behind Guerrero.
Australian Jake Stapleton (TM) was fifth on day one, and lasted 10 of the 12 special stages on day two before failing to finish.
The world enduro paddock will now re-assemble in Greece on October 8-9 for the penultimate round, where recently crowned Australian off road champion Anthony Roberts (Husqvarna) will join the fray.
In the interim, the International Six Days’ Enduro will be held in Slovakia from September 13-18, where Merriman, Stapleton and Roberts will be joined in the six-man Australian Senior Trophy team by Damian Smith, Brad Williscroft and Jehi Willis. The Junior Trophy teamsters will be Blake Hore, Darren Lloyd, Adam Lees and Shannon Lewry.
For full results and standings from the 2005 Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship, visit www.abc-wec.org/2005/index.htm
