WEC GP of Poland '08

The BMW Motorrad Motorsport team had much to celebrate following the fourth round of the ’08 World Enduro Championship, the GP of Poland staged in Kwidzyn, as Enduro 2 class rider Simo Kirssi claimed BMW’s first ever enduro world championship podium result with a well deserved third place finish on day two. Amazingly only Kirssi’s fourth ever WEC event, the Finn performed faultlessly during the race aboard his G 450 X to claim his highest ever world championship result. With team rider Anders Eriksson having come close to putting BMW on the podium at the season opening GP of Sweden, Kirssi surprised even himself with his speed and consistency as he performed well on the event’s demanding motocross and enduro tests, and exceptionally well on the technical extreme test. Despite the tough conditions all BMW Motorrad Motorsport team riders finished the fourth round of the ’08 WEC series with no technical problems.

Third in the Enduro 2 class on the opening special test on day one marked an encouraging start to the fourth round of the ’08 WEC series for Simo Kirssi. Looking to continue his rise up the E2 class results after promising performances at the opening three rounds of this year’s championship Simo quickly showed that he would be challenging for a podium result despite his relative lack of international enduro experience. Faltering slightly on the opening lap’s second and third special tests the Finn then improved his speed on lap two and on lap three placed as the E2 class runner-up on the extreme test. Repeating that result on the fourth and final extreme test Kirssi went on to place sixth on the final motocross test, which was enough to see him place fifth in class and finish just 12 seconds away from the final podium spot.

Realizing that he had narrowly missed out on a podium result on day one Kirssi started day two steadily before getting into his stride on lap two. With competition for the third place position close between Kirssi, Frenchman Antoine Meo and Italian Alessandro Belometti, Kirssi put in a superb final lap finishing in fourth, second and fourth on the three consecutive special tests to edge ahead of Meo and claim his well deserved third place result. BMW Motorrad Motorsport team rider Jeff Goblet was missing from competition in Poland due to injuries he sustained at a recent round of the Belgian Enduro Championship.

Simo Kirssi – Enduro 2 class: “It’s been a hard weekend but it’s great to have got my, and BMW’s, first podium result. The conditions were a little like in Finland, which helped me, and I enjoyed the race. I never thought that I would finish on the podium. I struggled a little bit on the first lap on day one, even though I was pushing hard. But as the track got rougher I found things easier and my special test times improved.
On the first day I had some really good times on the extreme test, which was a bit of a surprise. In general I was happy with the way I rode on all the tests but like I said I never expected to finish on the podium. My bike was perfect and I didn’t have any problems at all. It feels great to have got my first podium. I have to thank the BMW team for their support, without them it wouldn’t have been possible.”

Wolfgang Fischer – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager: “It’s been a lot of hard work reaching this point but it’s great to see a BMW rider on the podium. I have to thanks the team, Markus Theobald for designing the bike, and of course Simo for his superb performance. Considering that the GP of Poland was only Simo’s fourth ever international enduro race makes his result even better. Less than 12 months ago Simo had no ambitions to be an enduro rider but ever since January he has really been bitten by the enduro bug and is really enjoying competing in the world championship. He had some top three results on the extreme test during the weekend, which shows that he is really adapting to life in the WEC.
The other thing that is extremely pleasing considering the tough conditions is the fact that the team didn’t have any technical problems at all. In the Enduro 3 class Anders rode very well on day two having tried a little too hard on day one. The weekend has been a very encouraging step forward for everyone in the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team.”


2008 World Enduro Championship
Maxxis Grand Prix of Poland – Day 1

Enduro 2 class:
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 1:19:25.50; 2. Jonny Aubert (Yamaha) 1:20:27.33; 3. Alessandro Belometti 1:22:59.11; 4. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1:22:59.71; 5. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:23:11.36; 6. Aaron Bernardez (Husqvarna) 1:23:38.52; 7. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1:24:02.11; 8. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1:24:10.10; 9. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1:24:34.65; 10. Hans Vogel (KTM) 1:25:00.88; 11. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1:25:00.95; 12 Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 1:25:17.54; 13. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 1:25:21.10; 14. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1:27:25.24; 15. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1:27:49.59; 16. Amel Advokaat (KTM) 1:28:27.38; 17. Filipe Zanol (Yamaha) 1:28:47.75; 18. Peter Kralik (KTM) 1:30:41.10; 19. Nicolas Joye (Husaberg) 1:32:15.26; 20. Sebastien Adielsson (Beta) 1:32:55.50


2008 World Enduro Championship
Maxxis Grand Prix of Poland – Day 2

Enduro 2 class:
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 1:05:52; 2. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1:06:34.48; 3. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:08:35.88; 4. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna) 1:08:37.67; 5. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1:08:51.13; 6. Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 1:09:21.57; 7. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1:09:31.02; 8. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 1:09:42.03; 9. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1:09:47.31; 10. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1:09:52.47; 11. Nicolas Deparrois (Gas Gas) 1:10:41.13; 12. Hans Vogel (Yamaha)  1:10:55.98; 13. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1:11:45.50; 14. Filipe Zanol (Yamaha) 1:12:20.48; 15. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1:12:25.51; 16. Andrea Belotti (KTM)  1:13:51.96; 17. Amel Advokaat (KTM) 1:14:01.95; 18. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1:14:21.26; 19. Peter Kraklik (KTM) 1:14:40.22; 20. Mario Patrao (Suzuki) 1:15:21.53


Photo: Dario Agrati