Aubert and Merriman both win a day each

Having produced two impressive results at the opening round of the '06 WEC series, his first ever world championship enduro competition, UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert again showed just how talented a rider he is by claiming his first ever WEC win on day two in Portugal. In doing so Aubert made it the perfect weekend for the UFO Corse Yamaha squad as Stefan Merriman claimed top honours in the E2 class on day one.  On day one Merriman made up for his disappointments at the opening round of the series in Sweden and placed 19 seconds ahead of Finn Mika Ahola and a further 13 seconds ahead of Finn Samuli Aro. Finishing in fourth position, due in part to having struggled on the event's difficult extreme special test, Johnny Aubert placed in fourth. On day two Aubert made none of the mistakes that had slowed his progress on day one and wanting to simply stand on the podium the former motocross racer claimed his first WEC victory. Winning seven of the day's eight special tests Aubert placed 23 seconds ahead of Mika Ahola with Merriman in third. In the E2 world championship standings Aubert is placed third, five points behind class leader Aro, with Merriman fourth. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha Enduro 2 class - Day 1 fourth, Day 2 first: "It's absolutely fantastic to have had such a great weekend and to have won my first ever world championship enduro race. I still can't believe it. When I saw the motocross and enduro tests I was confident that I could do well, but when I saw the extreme test I thought that I would really struggle. On day one I did find it difficult on the extreme test, and that affected my result. I also had a one big crash on the enduro test. "On day two I wanted to improve my extreme tests and fight for a position on the podium, and I did that. I felt really good on day two - on all the special tests. Winning my first world championship race in my first season of enduro is fantastic. I want to thank the UFO Corse Yamaha team for all there help and support and I hope I can continue with my good results. " Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha Enduro 2 class - Day 1: first, Day third: "Winning on day one was great because things certainly didn't go to plan at the first round of the series in Sweden. I had a really good day, and enjoyed the event although it was really difficult. I got stuck on the extreme test, like most riders did, but that was my only real problem. "Day two was also good but Johnny was just faster than me. The tests got a lot rougher and I struggled a little with the long ruts in the corners. I pushed as hard as I could but it just wasn't enough. I know that with refinements to the bike's set-up I will be able to go faster so I'm looking forward to the next race in Spain. " 'Manxman' David Knight claimed top honours on both days in the Enduro 3 class finishing ahead of Finn Marko Tarkkala with Sweden's Bjorne Carlsson claiming third on both days.    Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 2 - Guimaraes, Portugal Circuit: Guimares Race: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Merriman Yamaha  AUS  37' 16.200  2   M. Ahola Honda  FIN  +37' 21.550  3   S. Aro KTM  FIN  +37' 34.670  4   J. Aubert Yamaha  FRA  +37' 47.050  5   P. Edmondson Honda  GBR  +38' 10.500  6   F. Planet KTM  FRA  +38' 32.600  7   X. Galindo KTM  ESP  +38' 33.410  8   C. Guerrero GasGas  ESP  +38' 36.440  9   E. Albepart Honda  FRA  +39' 13.660  10   A. Beconi Beta  ITA  +39' 16.980  11   A. Botturi Aprilia  ITA  +39' 44.240  12   A. Belotti KTM  ITA  +39' 46.550  13   F. Dini Yamaha  ITA  +39' 51.230  14   A. Toresson Suzuki  SWE  +39' 56.700  15   J. Curvalle Kawasaki  FRA  +40' 9.680  16   N. Paganon Husqvarna  FRA  +40' 38.680  17   E. Memmi Sherco  FRA  +40' 41.140  18   J. Pedrero Sherco  ESP  +40' 51.120  19   V. Salonen HusaBerg  FIN  +41' 19.670  20   G. Canova Husqvarna  ITA  +41' 26.190  Race 2: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   J. Aubert Yamaha  FRA  36' 37.550  2   M. Ahola Honda  FIN  +37' 0.790  3   S. Merriman Yamaha  AUS  +37' 31.980  4   S. Aro KTM  FIN  +37' 48.920  5   C. Guerrero GasGas  ESP  +38' 22.910  6   P. Edmondson Honda  GBR  +38' 37.720  7   F. Planet KTM  FRA  +38' 40.320  8   F. Dini Yamaha  ITA  +38' 56.140  9   A. Beconi Beta  ITA  +39' 2.520  10   X. Galindo KTM  ESP  +39' 4.900  11   E. McConnell TM  GBR  +39' 7.430  12   A. Belotti KTM  ITA  +39' 8.620  13   E. Albepart Honda  FRA  +39' 47.060  14   A. Botturi Aprilia  ITA  +39' 54.450  15   N. Paganon Husqvarna  FRA  +39' 55.110  16   V. Salonen HusaBerg  FIN  +40' 1.390  17   E. Memmi Sherco  FRA  +41' 10.880  18   J. Pedrero Sherco  ESP  +41' 26.730  19   F. Mancinelli Beta  ITA  +41' 38.640  20   G. Canova Husqvarna  ITA  +41' 47.760  Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Mika Ahola Honda  FIN 88  2   Samuli Aro KTM  FIN 88  3   Johnny Aubert Yamaha  FRA 83  4   Stefan Merriman Yamaha  AUS 76  5   Fabien Planet KTM  FRA 62  6   Cristobal Guerrero GasGas  ESP 49  7   Xavier Galindo KTM  ESP 46  8   Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg  FIN 41  9   Andrea Beconi Beta  ITA 36  10   Fabrizio Dini Yamaha  ITA 35  11   Paul Edmondson Honda  GBR 31  12   Alessandro Botturi Aprilia  ITA 28  13   Petteri Silvan KTM  FIN 28  14   Euan McConnell TM  GBR 26  15   Thierry Klutz Sherco  BEL 21  16   Emmanuel Albepart Honda  FRA 20  17   Riku Rihelainen HusaBerg  FIN 19  18   Andrea Belotti KTM  ITA 18  19   Patrik Wicksell KTM  SWE 15  20   Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna  FRA 11  Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 90  2  Honda 88  2  KTM 88  3  GasGas 53  4  HusaBerg 41  5  Beta 36  6  Sherco 28  6  Aprilia 28  7  TM 25  8  Husqvarna 17  9  Suzuki 7  10  Kawasaki 6  Enduro 1 : Micheluz scores best career result at Guimaraes Round: 2 - Guimaraes, Portugal Circuit: Guimares Date: 7 May 2006 Crowd: 7000 Temp: 20ºC Weather: Dry UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Arnau Vilanova was still unable to compete in the second round of the '06 World Enduro Championship due to having injured his left foot while practicing at his home in Spain prior to the event. Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues and UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz produced Yamaha's best results in the Enduro 1 class. With Rodrigues placing fourth on day one, Micheluz finished in fourth on day two to claim his best ever world championship result and in doing so lifted himself to sixth position in the Enduro 1 world championship standings. At the head of the class Italian Simone Albergoni claimed his first win of the '06 season by topping the podium on day one. Locked in a close battle with reigning E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes just four seconds separated the pair at the end of the day. Placing in third on day one was Italian Alessandro Belometti. On day two the top two finishing positions from day one were reversed with Cervantes claiming the win, 30 seconds ahead of Albergoni. Again placing third was Belometti. Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 eighth, Day 2 fourth: "The race was really difficult - not only the special tests but also the course because of the rocks and dust. But it has been a good weekend for me. I am really pleased to have finished fourth on day two because it is my best result in the WEC so far. Day one went pretty well for me and I was pleased with the way I was riding. But day two was much better. "I had a big crash on the enduro test, which made things hard for me but on day two I felt a lot better. The tests were really difficult but I enjoyed them. I didn't really have any problems so I am really happy. "    Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 2 - Guimaraes, Portugal Circuit: Guimares Race: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Albergoni Honda  ITA  38' 8.000  2   I. Cervantes KTM  ESP  +38' 12.900  3   A. Belometti KTM  ITA  +38' 50.090  4   H. Rodrigues Yamaha  POR  +39' 16.780  5   B. Oblucki Husqvarna  POL  +39' 53.930  6   M. Hartmann KTM  GER  +39' 46.830  7   P. Pohjamo TM  FIN  +40' 7.030  8   M. Micheluz Yamaha  ITA  +40' 14.910  9   N. Deparrois Husqvarna  FRA  +40' 55.980  10   P. Enes KTM  FRA  +41' 2,152.000  11   J. Jou Yamaha  ESP  +41' 35.030  12   F. Blanc KTM  FRA  +41' 38.290  13   F. Ferreira Yamaha  POR  +41' 5,255.000  14   M. Patrao Suzuki  POR  +42' 48.000  15   A. Mendes Yamaha  FRA  +43' 342.000  16   R. Hubers Yamaha  NED  +49' 2.330  17   S. Helio Yamaha  ESP  +1,13' 14.100  18   A. Fernandez Yamaha  POR  +1.14' 2,712.000  Race 2: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   I. Cervantes KTM  ESP  37' 38.210  2   S. Albergoni Honda  ITA  +38' 8.640  3   A. Belometti KTM  ITA  +38' 29.650  4   M. Micheluz Yamaha  ITA  +39' 0.610  5   P. Pohjamo TM  FIN  +39' 3.150  6   F. Blanc KTM  FRA  +39' 28.410  7   H. Rodrigues Yamaha  POR  +39' 35.800  8   B. Oblucki Husqvarna  POL  +39' 48.210  9   M. Hartmann KTM  GER  +40' 8.100  10   N. Deparrois Husqvarna  FRA  +40' 35.300  11   A. Raphael Kawasaki  FRA  +40' 35.930  12   J. Gauthier Honda  FRA  +40' 38.550  13   J. Jou Yamaha  ESP  +41' 20.350  14   M. Patrao Suzuki  POR  +41' 38.500  15   A. Mendes Yamaha  FRA  +42' 46.410  16   F. Ferreira Yamaha  POR  +42' 51.880  17   R. Hubers Yamaha  NED  +43' 39.260  18   A. Fernandez Yamaha  POR  +59' 27.900  Championship standings Enduro 1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Ivan Cervantes KTM  ESP 94  2   Simone Albergoni Honda  ITA 83  3   Petri Pohjamo TM  FIN 73  4   Alessandro Belometti KTM  ITA 68  5   Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna  POL 65  6   Mauricio Micheluz Yamaha  ITA 61  7   Helder Rodrigues Yamaha  POR 55  8   Mike Hartmann KTM  GER 46  9   Peter Bergvall Suzuki  SWE 40  10   Freddy Blanc KTM  FRA 37  11   Robert Carlsson Yamaha  SWE 26  12   Frederik Georgsson KTM  SWE 23  13   Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna  FRA 23  14   Pär Olsson Yamaha  SWE 19  15   Joan Jou Yamaha  ESP 18  16   Leit Holm KTM  FIN 15  17   Mario Patrao Suzuki  POR 14  18   Fernando Ferreira Yamaha  POR 13  19   Alexandre Mendes Yamaha  FRA 12  20   Pedro Enes KTM  FRA 11  25   Andre Fernandez Yamaha  POR 6  27   Santos Helio Yamaha  ESP 4  Manufacturers standings Enduro 1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 94  2  Honda 83  3  TM 73  4  Yamaha 66  5  Husqvarna 65  6  Suzuki 54  7  Kawasaki 10