2007 FIM World Enduro Championship - Round 1, Ostersund

The opening round of the '07 World Enduro Champion saw Finland's Juha Salminen claim a double Enduro 1 class win in Ostersund, Sweden where the five-time WEC champion and two-time US GNCC series winner claimed two commanding day wins. With the snow covered special tests expected to favour the Scandinavian riders Juha placed ahead of Swede Niklas Gustafsson on day one with Poland's Bartosz Oblucki third. On day two Salminen was followed home by Fredrik Georgsson from Sweden with Finn Tomi Peltola third. For the three UFO Corse Yamaha team riders competing in Sweden the event proved to be a difficult one. With conditions playing right into the hands of the Scandinavian competitors it was the team's newest member, former Enduro Junior World Champion Cristobal Guerrero from Spain, who recorded the best results. Despite his lack of experience in the winter conditions Cristobal placed in eighth on day one and then a highly impressive sixth on day two. Italian UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz had a hard time of things in Ostersund with reigning E1 class runner-up Albergoni struggling to master the frozen conditions placing just inside the top 10 on day one in ninth before dropping to 13th on day two following numerous crashes on the one-lined special tests. Picking up a five minute penalty on day one after receiving help untangling a track banner from his rear wheel, Micheluz dropped from ninth to 14th before going on to finish seventh on day two. Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 eighth, Day 2 sixth: "It has been a very hard race. The enduro test on day one was incredibly long, and because of the conditions very difficult also. Finishing eighth on day one was ok, but I made a few small mistakes. Finishing sixth on day two is really good. I crashed twice on the motocross test and then in the last test my chain came off. I think that with out my problems I could have finished sixth overall or even fifth. The next race of the championship is my home race in Spain, which I'm looking forward to."

Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 ninth, Day 2 13th: "I've had too many crashes this weekend. On Saturday I was crashing a lot and again on Sunday I found it really difficult in the frozen conditions. I just couldn't find a good rhythm. If I pushed too hard then I crashed if I tried to ride smooth I was just too slow. It is so difficult riding a special test when it is just one long frozen rut from the start to the finish. I'm really disappointed with my results."

Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 14th, Day 2 seventh: "Day one wasn't good. I finished ninth but I was penalised five minutes because someone helped me take some track marking banner out from my rear wheel. It was a stupid penalty and I dropped to 14th. "Day two was better because I finished seventh. I only crashed once, which I was happy with considering the conditions. I haven't enjoyed the race. The conditions were really difficult with the snow and mud on day one and then the cold and snow on day two."

Finnish riders Samuli Aro and Mika Ahola shared victory in the Enduro 2 class at the opening round of the '07 World Enduro Championship with Aro topping day one and Ahola day two. Revelling in the typically Scandinavian winter conditions the two riders placed comfortably ahead of countryman Valtteri Salonen on both days as the three ensured that the podium on both days was an all Finnish affair. Knowing that the Scandinavian riders he will be battling against during the '07 Enduro 2 world championship would be all but impossible to beat in the specialist winter conditions in Sweden, Yamaha mounted Frenchman Johnny Aubert simply did the best he could considering the unfamiliar frozen terrain and claimed two solid fifth place finishes. In doing so he placed as the first non Scandinavian rider in the E2 class results on both days. Aubert's UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Fabrizio Dini found the conditions tough and finished in 17th and 12th.

Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha Enduro 2 class - Day 1 fifth, Day 2 fifth: "The first day went pretty well for me really and I finished fifth. I crashed on one of the motocross tests and I got stuck under my bike, which cost me one minute. The Scandinavian riders at the top of the Enduro 2 class are so fast in the winter conditions. I am happy with fifth. Day two was much the same as day one. I made one mistake on the enduro test, which cost me about 45 seconds. I went into a big hole full of snow and I had to get off my bike and push it out. Apart from that things went well and I was just trying to make the best result I could. The E2 championship is going to be very competitive all season so it was important for me to finish both days as best I could, which I did."