Albergoni ends 2008 with 3rd

The final round of the '08 World Enduro Championship, staged in Mende, France, proved to be a challenging one for UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz as both were unable to secure podium finishes at the GP of Europe. However Yamaha France rider Marc Germain performed well finishing in a strong runner-up position on Day1 and 3rd on Day2. With the French event bringing the '08 WEC series to a close, Albergoni, Germain and Micheluz, as well as injured UFO Corse Yamaha rider Cristobal Guerrero, officially claimed 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place positions respectively in the Enduro 1 world championship.

For Albergoni hopes that the final event of the season would bring with it rewarding end-of-season results failed to materialise as Italy's number one enduro rider was unable to finish in the top three. Despite performing well throughout the opening day's competition, including a test win early on, Albergoni finished 4th. On day two Albergoni dropped one position to 5th despite riding consistently during the day. Having set his sights on claiming his first enduro world championship title this season, and having started the year with impressive results at the first three rounds of the series, Albergoni's disappointment was clear after the event.

Improving on his '07 world championship position of 7th, Maurizio Micheluz' outing in France were typical of several of those he endured during 2008 as he spent much of both days battling for the fourth place before he ended up finishing 7th on both days. Although disappointed at having not finished higher, Maurizio was pleased to have ended the year 5th in the competitive Enduro 1 world championship standings.


Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 4th, Day 2: 5th

"From the mid-way point of the season I've found it hard to ride at my best. I've not really enjoyed a single corner of any special test since the middle of the season. I don't know why. I have just struggled and it's a mystery. My season started in a good way but after Poland my motivation went downhill and although I finished third in the championship I'm just not happy with things. When your target is to win it's hard when you realise that's not going to happen."

Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 7th, Day 2: 7th

"I finished seventh on both days but I was also fighting for fourth and fifth position on both days. I crashed three times on the enduro test on the first day, as well as twice on day two. I lost everything in the enduro test. On both days fourth position wasn't too far away. It's just disappointing that I didn't finish higher. The beginning of the year things didn't go so well but the end of the year things have gone better."


Race 1 

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 52'16.390
2, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 0'20.430
3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'21.400
4, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'16.090
5, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 1'17.170
6, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 1'23.460
7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 1'40.710
8, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 2'25.540
9, Julien Gauthier, Honda, FRA, 2'31.020
10, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'36.210
11, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 3'42.840
12, Raphael Andre, Kawasaki, FRA, 3'59.180
13, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 8'11.740
14, Charles Feyrit, Honda, FRA, 9'14.630

Race 2 

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 51'11.530
2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'2.500
3, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 1'5.130
4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 2'5.330
5, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 2'15.470
6, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 2'21.370
7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 2'35.560
8, Julien Gauthier, Honda, FRA, 2'41.350
9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'50.080
10, Thomas Oldrati, KTM, ITA, 2'50.640
11, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 3'6.280
12, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 3'31.340
13, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 4'40.790
14, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 7'20.300
15, Charles Feyrit, Honda, FRA, 9'31.020


Rider Standings 11/10/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 375
2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 364
3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 301
4, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 284
5, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 224
6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 185
7, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 171
8, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 163
9, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 154
10, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 140
11, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 139
12, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 102
13, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 97
14, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 62
15, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 58



Manufacturer Standings 11/10/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Honda, 375
2, KTM, 351
3, Yamaha, 338
4, Husqvarna, 197
5, Suzuki, 153
6, TM, 102
7, Kawasaki, 56
8, Sherco, 12
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RACE REPORT - 12/10/2008

Aubert wins world championship

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert is the 2008 Enduro 2 World Champion. Having held the lead in the E2 series on his WR250F from the third round the former French motocross racer has now lifted his first ever world title, continuing an excellent season of racing for Yamaha after MotoGP and MX1 Motocross world championship success. Competing against Juha Salminen, the rider widely regarded as the best enduro racer of all time, Aubert put the finishing touches to what has been a near faultless season finishing 2nd on Day1 in Mende, France and then 3rd on Day2.

Starting the final round of the '08 WEC campaign with a commanding lead in the E2 class Aubert realistically needed just a handful of points from both days of competition to secure the coveted E2 title. Competing in front of a hugely enthusiastic home crowd, Aubert pushed hard on day one but was clearly riding well within his limits as he opted not to challenge for the class win. Finishing over one-minute behind winner Salminen, Aubert ensured that on day two he needed to collect only the required points in order to take the crown. By finishing 4th, and earning his 16th podium finish of the year, Aubert did exactly what he needed to do and joined Finns Mika Ahola and Samuli Aro as a '08 World Enduro Champion.

Not having such a good weekend was Italian rider Fabrizio Dini. Although scoring 7th in the final Enduro 2 world championship ranking Fabrizio found the French event's enduro test extremely challenging and saw several mistakes prevent him from finishing closer to the podium.

Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: 2nd, Day 2: 3rd

"It's amazing to be able to say that I'm world champion. It hasn't sunk in yet but I know in a few days I will be so, so happy when I realise what I've achieved. It's been a long, hard year. I was nervous on day one, but on day two it wasn't so bad. I put in some good tests but I was really only thinking about the championship. I have to thanks the team for doing a great job this year. They have helped me do what I have always dreamed of, becoming world champion."

Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: 9th, Day 2: 8th:

"It's been a nice race but not a good one for me. I didn't like the enduro test. It was really slippery and hard to understand. I felt like I was the slowest rider in the event on that test. I crashed many times on day one, which gave me a pretty bad result. I stalled my bike on the enduro test on day two and I lost 40 or 50 seconds. After that things went ok because I was fast on the extreme and motocross tests. I finished seventh in the world championship, which is the same as last year. I'm not overly happy with my final position but I've enjoyed the year."


Race 1 

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 51'7.800
2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'19.620
3, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 1'43.150
4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 2'15.150
5, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 2'25.540
6, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'51.170
7, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 3'0.330
8, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'17.140
9, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'24.320
10, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 3'51.570
11, Mickael Metge, HusaBerg, FRA, 5'1.490
12, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 5'9.440
13, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 5'18.180
14, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 5'54.250
15, Christophe Robert, KTM, CHE, 6'28.700
16, Hans Vogel, KTM, NED, 7'30.100
17, Nicolas Joye, HusaBerg, CHE, 8'38.650

Race 2 

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 50'31.820
2, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 0'51.600
3, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'1.540
4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 2'3.620
5, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 2'14.720
6, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'16.930
7, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'43.270
8, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'12.030
9, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'12.930
10, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 4'28.110
11, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 4'34.760
12, Mickael Metge, HusaBerg, FRA, 4'39.990
13, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 6'3.770
14, Hans Vogel, KTM, NED, 6'17.650
15, Christophe Robert, KTM, CHE, 6'49.930
16, Nicolas Joye, HusaBerg, CHE, 9'47.790


Rider Standings 11/10/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 361
2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 353
3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 259
4, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 226
5, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 222
6, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 217
7, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 196
8, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 173
9, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 147
10, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 139
11, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 134
12, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 134
13, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 110
14, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 78
15, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 70



Manufacturer Standings 11/10/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, KTM, 378
2, Yamaha, 361
3, Husqvarna, 248
4, HusaBerg, 243
5, TM, 226
6, Honda, 221
7, BMW, 191
8, Aprilia, 173
9, GasGas, 134
10, Beta, 66
11, Suzuki, 26