Remes, Renet and Bellino top Greece EWC
Eero Remes, Pela Renet and Mathias Bellino round out perfect weekends in Serres, all claiming double class wins at the Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship’s GP of Greece.A second long day or racing in Serres ended with Eero Remes winning in Enduro 1, closing to within just four points on championship leader Christophe Nambotin. Husqvarna’s Pela Renet claimed his first double win of the season ahead of Antoine Meo with third going to Alex Salvini. Things were clearer second time out in Enduro 3, where Mathias Bellino got the lead early in the day and rode on to victory. Conditions were dry and even harder on day two, with mud holes and countless river crossings in the enduro test taking their toll on many riders.
Finland’s Eero Remes (TM) was hard to catch on day two, securing a fourth day win in 2015 to level Christophe Nambotin’s (F-KTM) number of victories this season. Riding with pain on his injured knee, Christophe Nambotin had to settle for second in Enduro 1, and now leads Remes by only four points. The battle for the Enduro 1 title is shaping up to offer some real drama during the upcoming rounds. Danny McCanney (GB-Husqvarna) returned to form on day two to end up third on the podium. Spain’s Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) ended the GP with another fourth place finish with his fellow countryman Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) coming from behind to end fifth in Enduro 1. “It was another good day. No mistakes and another win,” was Remes’ overview of day two.”
Pela Renet’s (F-Husqvarna) goal of reducing the championship lead held by Antoine Meo (F-KTM) was achieved as the defending E2 champion secured victory on day two. With his second consecutive day win Renet is now 13 points behind in the championship standings. Meo made a mistake in the Enduro Test and then had to struggle a lot to regain ground. He finally ended second almost half a minute in front of third-placed Alex Salvini (ITA-Honda). Salvini only has two weeks to work hard and search for his second win of the season at his home GP of Italy. Sherco’s Loic Larrieu (F) had another good fight with Jaume Betriu (S-Husqvarna) for fourth place with the Frenchman ending up winning that battle and Betriu finishing fifth again.
In the Enduro 3 class it was Husqvarna’s Mathias Bellino who took the top step of the podium. Knowing that he would have to start the day in attack mode if he was to finish ahead of Matt Phillips, Bellino took to the front and steadily edged his way ahead as the day progressed. Second place went to Estonian TM rider Aigar Leok, just as it did on day one. Impressively fast throughout the day, Leok finished between Bellino and Phillips, with Phillips struggling to perform at his best after a severely interrupted night’s sleep due to food poisoning. “I gave today everything during the first lap, I had to because I knew how fast Phillips would be,” said Bellino. “Starting the second half of the series with a win is great… now I have to stay strong during the coming GPs.”
The fastest rider in the Enduro Junior class was Beta mounted Steve Holcombe. But the day two win went to Jamie McCanney as the Manxman was able to take advantage of the fact that Holcombe ran into troubles in the enduro test, taking water into his bike and losing precious time. Fighting hard he closed to within eight seconds of McCanney at the finish. Rounding out the podium was Beta’s Giacomo Redondi. “Hats off to Steve, he was the fastest rider today,” commented Jamie. “I didn’t feel great today but to get the win was important for my championship.”
Dominating the 125cc Youth Cup Mikael Persson (Yamaha) produced a highly impressive performance to finish minutes ahead of his closest competitor – EWC first time podium finisher Jack Edmondson (KTM). Third went to Italian Mirko Spandre.
The 2015 Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship continues in two weeks with the GP of Italy.
Pela Renet: “I needed this result. To win both days is great, not only for my championship but also for my confidence. Twice this year – in Chile and Spain – I was leading and crashed, and that really knocks you. It’s really good to win. I made a really good start on the first day, both the first and second laps went really well. I started to worry too much about the mistakes I made in Chile and Spain, and didn’t ride so well then. I also got stuck on a climb in the final extreme test, but I managed to win. I was sitting in second on day two at the start. I was fortunate that Antoine Meo made a mistake on the enduro test, which was really easy to do. We both pushed really hard after that and I got the win. There are three more races to go in the championship and after this result I’m looking forward to the GP of Italy.”
Mathias Bellino: “The GP of Greece was really all about the enduro test. You had to have some luck there, but also be consistent and push at 100 per cent for close to 10 minutes each time. I won the first day, but I was a little lucky that my rival Matt Phillips started the day with a penalty. But anyway a win is a win and we both pushed very hard all day. I knew I needed t push hard from the start on day two, which I did. I had a really good opening lap and managed to open up a small gap. Two wins as we pass the half way point of the series is really good for me and the team. Next we have Italy, which will be another hard race.”
Danny McCanney: “Day one didn’t start well and didn’t end well. I didn’t find my rhythm on the enduro test and then hit a tree on the first extreme test. Only towards the end of the day did I start to turn things around a little. I guess it was just one of those days you want to forget about. Day two was completely different. I started well and managed to keep fighting for the podium. Nambotin wasn’t too far ahead of me, so I kept pushing hard. On the last lap I took it safe, I’m really pleased to have finished third.”
Jamie McCanney: “The first day went well. I think I was fastest outright at the end of the opening lap, which was great. On the second enduro test my bike took in water and it stopped. I was sure my day was over. Luckily it wasn’t but I lost a lot of time. I gave the second and third laps everything and had nothing for the final lap. Day two was a real struggle. I just couldn’t free up and get into it like I wanted – I couldn’t get into a flow like I did on day one. It’s really hard with such a long, technical enduro test. There were a lot of places where you could take either a good line or a bad line, so getting it correct every time was tough. Steve Holcombe rode great, so well done to him but he had some bike problems that allowed me to get another win. More points towards the championship is always a good thing, so all in all a really good weekend.”
RESULTS – FIM ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, ROUND 4
DAY 1 – Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes (TM) 1:07:30.86; 2. Marc Bourgeois (Yamaha) 1:08:09.00; 2. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 1:08:09.00; 3. Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) 1:08:59.96… 7. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:09:25.58
Day 2 – Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes (TM) 1:09:23.62; 2. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 1:09:58.29; 3. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:10:48.21
Day 1 – Enduro 2
1. Pela Renet (Husqvarna) 1:07:35.27; 2. Antoine Meo (KTM) 1:07:48.18; 3. Alex Salvini (Honda) 1:07:54.71; … 5. Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) 1:09:02.04
Day 2 – Enduro 2
1. Pela Renet (Husqvarna) 1:09:05.62; 2. Antoine Meo (KTM) 1:09:07.99; 3. Alex Salvini (Honda) 1:09:35.97; 5. Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) 1:11:50.15
Day 1 – Enduro 3
1. Matthias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:08:46.26; 2. Aigar Leok (TM) 1:08:52.87; 3. Matthew Phillips (KTM) 1:09:02.27… 5. Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna) 1:09:51.20
Day 2 – Enduro 3
1. Matthias Bellino (Husqvarna) 1:10:33.97; 2. Aigar Leok (TM) 1:11:08.32; 3. Matthew Phillips (KTM) 1:11:15.58; 4. Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna) 1:11:22.39
Day 1 – Enduro Junior
1. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:08:36.70; 2. Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:09:11.94; 3. Giacomo Redondi (Beta) 1:09:49.85
Day 2 – Enduro Junior
1. Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna) 1:11:18.96; 2. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 1:11:27.56; 3. Giacomo Redondi (Beta) 1:11:37.90
Championship Standings (After Round Four)
Enduro 1 – 1. Christophe Nambotin (KTM) 148pts; 2. Eero Remes (TM) 144pts; 3. Daniel McCanney (Husqvarna) 103pts
Enduro 2 – 1. Antoine Meo (KTM) 151pts; 2. Pela Renet (Husqvarna) 138pts; 3. Alex Salvini (Honda) 127pts… 5. Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) 85pts
Enduro 3 – 1. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna) 143pts; 2. Matthew Phillips (KTM) 121pts; 3. Matti Seistola (Sherco) 117pts… 5. Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna) 84pts
Enduro Junior – 1. Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna) 146pts; 2. Giacomo Redondi (Beta) 125pts; 3. Steve Holcombe (Beta) 104pts… 15. Albin Elowson (Husqvarna) 19pts
Youth Cup – 1. Josep Garcia (Husqvarna) 117pts; 2. Mikael Persson (Yamaha) 111pts; 3. Jack Edmonson (KTM) 71pts
FIM ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, ROUND 4 – Day 1 report
Pela Renet – the defending Enduro 2 World Champion – has claimed his first victory of 2015, topping the E2 class on day one of the Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship’s GP of Greece.At the end of a tough day in Serres Husqvarna’s Renet claimed the Enduro 2 class win ahead of Antoine Meo and Alex Salvini. Finland’s Eero Remes was dominant in Enduro 1, winning nine out of the 12 special tests, to claim his third victory of the season. The Enduro 3 class continued to offer numerous close battles but it was France’s Mathias Bellino who remained consistent throughout the day to clinch victory. Contrary to weather forecasts rain never arrived in Serres on day one.
Failing to secure the top spot on the podium during the opening three rounds of the 2015 EWC series, Pela Renet (F) finally got his first win in Greece. Coming at the halfway point of the series, Renet’s result prove that the battle for the 2015 Enduro 2 World Championship is anything but over. Despite a mistake in his final run through the extreme test the defending E2 champion managed to stay ahead of championship leader Antoine Meo (F-KTM) by a just under ten seconds. “It’s great to get a win again, it’s been too long since the last one,” commented Renet at the finish. “Aside from a mistake on the final extreme test the day went really well.” Meo upped his pace during the second half of the day, but for the second time this year he wasn’t quite able to claim victory. The two Frenchmen had a close battle with Italy’s Alex Salvini (Honda) who finished third. Less than twenty seconds away, Salvini made some small mistakes, which stopped him from challenging for the win. The surprise winner of yesterday’s KTM super test, Loic Larrieu (F-Sherco), ended day one with his best result of 2015, finishing in fourth place. A little off the pace, Spain’s Jaume Betriu (Husqvarna) rounded out the top five in the Enduro 2 class.
Eero Remes (TM) set a commanding pace in the Enduro 1 class, securing the top step of the podium following an impressive day-long performance. But day one of the EWC GP of Greece will be remembered for another reason – it was the first time in the Enduro World Championship’s history that two riders finished a day with exactly the same time. That was the case with Marc Bourgeois (F) and countryman Christophe Nambotin (F), who had to fight hard after his crash during Friday’s KTM Super Test. A gap of almost fifty seconds separated the French duo from fourth-placed Lorenzo Santolino (S-Sherco). At ease with the terrain Kawasaki-mounted Simone Albergoni (I) repeated his best finish of the season with a fifth place in Enduro 1. “The enduro test was tough,” commented Remes. “There were many river crossings, some that were very deep. From the very start of the test you were completely soaked.”
The closest results of day one came in the Enduro 3 class where Mathis Bellino (F – Husqvarna) claimed the win thanks largely to his consistency, and the time penalty picked up by Matt Phillips following the Super Test. Without winning any of the day’s tests Bellino rode smart to secure his fourth victory of the season ahead of TM’s Aigar Leok (EST). The Estonian shone in the motocross test in Serres to climb to the second spot of the podium for the second time this year. One of the most impressive performances came from KTM’s Matt Phillips. Unable to finish yesterday’s KTM super test, the Australian started the day with a penalty of 40 seconds. The defending champion fought hard all day, recording the day’s fastest E3 class time, and ending up third to salvage precious championship points. Finishing less than two seconds behind Phillips, Portugal’s Luis Correia (Beta) was once more just shy of the podium in fourth with Italy’s Thomas Oldrati fifth.
A tight battle between British riders Steve Holcombe (Beta) and Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna) in the Enduro Juniors ended after an error from McCanney’s in the extreme test of the final lap. That resulted in EWC newcomer Holcombe securing his second consecutive day win for the Beta rider. Despite his mistake McCanney finished second to maintain his lead in the championship standings. Giacomo Redondi (Beta) finished third with another Italian rider Alessandro BattigG (Honda) in fourth place. France’s Jeremy Carpentier was a distant fifth in the class.
With championship leader Josep Garcia (S – Husqvarna) absent due to injury, no one could match Mikael Persson’s (SWE – Yamaha) pace in the Youth Cup. Persson ran away from the field to take a clear win from second-placed Mirko Spandre (ITA – KTM). Luca Garello (ITA – Yamaha) completed the podium in third. Luc Maliges (F – KTM) was fourth and Jack Edmonson (GB – KTM) ended fifth in the youngsters’ class.
