    |
 |
|
|
|
Enduro 2 : Merriman and Aubert on the podium in Canada
Round: 5 - Parry Sound, Canada
Circuit: Parry Sound
Date: 16 July 2006
Crowd: 4000
Temp: 26ºC
Weather: Sunny
With many riders commenting that the motocross and enduro special tests in Canada were similar to those found in Finland it was little surprise that Samuli Aro topped the Enduro 2 class on both days at the fifth round of the WEC. Having claimed the E2 class win on both days at the GP of Italy, Samuli continued his good form to claim two more day wins. On day one Yamaha riders Stefan Merriman and Johnny Aubert surrounded the Finn on the podium with the UFO Corse Yamaha team mates placing 30 seconds apart and in second and third places respectively.
On day two Aro was again the rider to beat and was joined by countryman Mika Ahola and Johnny Aubert on the podium. For Merriman numerous crashes early in the day knocked the Australian's confidence in the challenging conditions and saw him place in an eventual fifth position. For Aubert day two was also a difficult one, but for a very different reason. Having broken a rib at the GP of Italy Aubert had been unable to train or ride a bike prior to the Canadian GP and as a result found the event extremely hard. In the '06 Enduro 2 world championship standings Stefan Merriman is currently second to Samuli Aro while Aubert lays fourth, just 10 points off third.
Currant Enduro 3 world championship leader David Knight continued his domination of the E3 class in Canada topping the class on both days. Finishing three and a half minutes ahead of his team-mate Marko Tarkkala on day one the Manxman then placed close to five minutes ahead on day two and in doing so finished the weekend unbeaten in the E3 class. Claiming third on both days was French rider Seb Guillaume.
Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: Third, Day 2: Third "I feel extremely tired after the race because I wasn't able to train or ride since the last round of the world championship, because I broke some ribs. I have tried my hardest but I felt really tired at the end of each day. I made some small crashes on day one but apart from that everything went pretty well. I finished on the podium so I was happy with that. "I crashed once on each of the special tests on the first lap on day two and then twice on the extreme test on the final lap. Apart from being really tired during the race it has been a good event. It wasn't as difficult as the race in Italy, which was a good thing. The tests were difficult but the course was really enjoyable."
Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: Second, Day 2: Fifth "Day one went ok but my performances on the enduro test let me down. It was very similar to Finnish conditions, which obviously favoured Aro and Ahola. I pushed as hard as I could without wanting to ride over the limit but it was so difficult on the enduro test because there were tree roots, rocks and ruts everywhere. "Day two went badly right from the start because I crashed three times in the first enduro test. I just couldn't find any sort of a rhythm and every time I hit a tree root I seemed to crash before I knew what had happened. I lost a lot of time there. That knocked my confidence and it was hard to get it back. It was so easy to damage your bike in the enduro test so I just took it steadily. "The event was really good - the organisers have done a great job. I would have liked the ground conditions to have been a little harder but apart from that it has been great."
Enduro 1 : Fifth position on both days for Micheluz
Round: 5 - Parry Sound, Canada
Circuit: Parry Sound
Date: 16 July 2006
Crowd: 4000
Temp: 26ºC
Weather: Sunny
Spaniard Ivan Cervantes and Italian Simone Albergoni shared a day win each in the Enduro 1 class at the GP of Canada, the fifth round of the '06 World Enduro Championship. It was Cervantes that topped the first day ahead of Albergoni after the two riders fought tooth and nail all day. With just 10 seconds separating the two, Pole Bartosz Oblucki claimed third, finishing close to one minute behind Albergoni.
On day two positions were reversed at the top of the class with Albergoni getting the better of the current E1 championship leader. Winning four of the day's nine special tests Albergoni placed 40 seconds ahead of Cervantes with the Spaniard finishing almost the exact same distance ahead of third placed rider Bartosz Oblucki. Due to the logistical challenges and high costs of competing in Canada less than 10 E1 WEC regulars travelled to North America with just nine and eight riders respectively scoring points in the E1 class.
With just one rider representing the UFO Corse Yamaha team in Canada Italian Maurizio Micheluz had a good weekend finishing in fifth position on both days. Finding the soft and in places rocky conditions difficult to master, Maurizio finished day one without problems but then crashed hard on day two. Despite being de-tuned by his crash Maurizio claimed valuable championship points and currently sits in fifth in the E1 world championship standings.
Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: Fifth, Day 2: Fifth "I felt like I rode quite well on day one - not great but ok. I didn't make any mistakes and I finished fifth, which I was reasonable happy with. I think that if I had pushed any harder I would have crashed because I didn't feel so comfortable in the conditions. "On day two I crashed hard on the second enduro test and I didn't feel so good after that. I just wanted to finish the race as best as I could after that. It was a strange race because the ground in the special tests was very different to what I am used to. The organisation was very good though and the race was really interesting."
