WEC GP of Slovakia '09
June 20th/21st 2009
Full throttle in spite of cruel conditions
Following on from his double runner-up E2 result at the GP of Finland, Salminen, like all riders, faced some of the most challenging conditions this season on day one as continuous heavy rain resulted in extremely slippery special tests and an exceptionally challenging course.
Winning the Friday night Super Test aboard his G 450 X Salminen’s event started in the best possible way. Carrying a slender advantage into the first full day of competition a promising opening lap saw the Finn battling at the very top of the Enduro 2 class. With the constant rain and increasingly slippery special tests ensuring that mistakes were easy to make survival was the name of the game for almost all riders. Making a few mistakes of his own Salminen dropped from the top three in the E2 class and come the end of the day missed the podium by just one position finishing fourth.
With conditions drier on day two and with extensive alterations having been made to certain sections of both the motocross and enduro tests Juha made an encouraging start, again running at the head of the E2 class. Keeping mistakes to a minimum while doing everything he could to repeat his runner-up result from his home round of the championship, Juha eventually placed third in class following a day of consistent special test performances.
Simo Kirssi enjoyed a successful weekend in Slovakia, placing just one position behind Salminen on day one in fifth. 15 seconds adrift of his countryman at the end of the demanding day, Kirssi put in one of his best ever WEC performances to claim a well-deserved E2 class result. On day two Kirssi again performed well but placed seventh, just seven seconds behind the eventual fifth placed rider. Juha and Simo now sit third and seventh respectively in the Enduro 2 world championship standings.
Joining the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team in Slovakia for what was one of two wild card outings in the ’09 WEC series was former seven-time enduro world champion Anders Eriksson. Despite competing as the last rider in the Enduro 2 class Anders battled his way through the opening day and onto a 12th place finish. On day two Anders improved his result by one position to place 11th. Eriksson will again join the team at the final round of the series in France.
Finding conditions tough in Slovakia Marko Tarkkala came through the challenging event with two eight place results in the Enduro 3 class. Pushing as hard as he could the Finn made several mistakes during both day’s of competition, which prevented him from claiming better results. Tarkkala sits sixth in the Enduro 3 world championship standings.
Simo Kirssi: “The weekend was very similar to last weekend’s race in Finland for me in terms of my results, but a lot harder because of the weather. I didn’t have any big problems on either day, which I was pleased about. The conditions were very hard for both riders and machinery. I think this will be one of those races that you look back on and enjoy, but during the event it was really tough.”
2009 World Enduro Championship
Grand Prix of Slovakia – Day 1
Enduro 2 class:
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 41:33.14; 2. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 41:43.15; 3. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 42:39.26; 4. Juha Salminen (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 43:07.41; 5. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 43:22.36; 6. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 43:24.79; 7. Rodrig Thain (TM) 44:18.85; 8. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 45:44.81; 9. Luca Cherubini (TM) 47:26.63; 10. Hans Vogels (Yamaha) 48:19.69…12. Anders Eriksson (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 48:51.56
Enduro 3 Class:
1. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 42:00.11; 2. Samuli Aro (KTM) 43:07.22; 3. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 44:10.40; 4. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 44:12.63; 5. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 44:45.35; 6. Sebastien Guillaume (Husqvarna) 47:36.63; 7. Zlatko Novosad (Gas Gas) 48:30.04; 8. Marko Tarkkala (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 51:47.64; 9. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 56:15.74; 10. Michal Kadlecek (TM) 1.04:30.72
2009 World Enduro Championship
Grand Prix of Slovakia – Day 2
Enduro 2 class:
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 28:16.35; 2. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 28:38.83; 3. Juha Salminen (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 29:21.21; 4. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 29:23.10; 5. Rodrig Thain (TM) 30:10.59; 6. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 30:15.77; 7. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 30:18.28; 8. Mike Hartmann (Husaberg) 30:31.82; 9. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 30:39.79; 10. Fabrizio Dini (Beta) 30:59.23; 11. Anders Eriksson (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 30:59.94
Enduro 3 Class:
1. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 28:38.88; 2. Samuli Aro (KTM) 29:18.63; 3. Sebastien Guillaume (Husqvarna) 29:25.08; 4. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 29.25.85; 5. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 29:57.19; 6. Alessandro Botturi (KTM) 31:08.92; 7. Zlatko Novosad (Gas Gas) 31:28.31; 8. Marko Tarkkala (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 32:20.77; 9. Michal Kadlecek (TM) 33:46.86; 10. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 38:43.48
Photo: Jonty Edmunds