Micheluz takes podium result at home GP

Despite being down to just two riders for the penultimate round of the 2008 World Enduro Championship due to the injury sustained by Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero at this year's ISDE in Greece, the UFO Corse Yamaha team put in a strong showing at their home round of the WEC series in Piediluco, Italy with Maurizio Micheluz claiming the team's best E1 class results with 3rd on Day1 and 4th on Day2.

With Albergoni riding just 15 days after cracking a shoulder blade at the ISDE, Maurizio Micheluz led the UFO Corse team on Day1 claiming his first podium result of the year. With many riders struggling to get to grips with the hard, dry Italian terrain, Maurizio gelled with each of the event's special tests to finish the opening day just 48 seconds behind eventual winner Mika Ahola and ahead of former double E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes. Winning one of the day's extreme tests, finishing 3rd on two of the enduro tests, as well as 2nd on the opening motocross test, Maurizio put in his strongest performance of the season. On Day2 Maurizio dropped one position to 4th in the E1 class despite continued good riding. With one round of the '08 WEC series remaining, Maurizio sits 5th in the E1 championship standings.

For Simone Albergoni the GP of Italy was a tough one. Having been unable to ride since the ISDE where he crashed on the final day and cracked one of his shoulder blades Simone was unable to perform at his best and despite his efforts could place no higher than 4th on Day1 and 7th on Day2. Starting well on the first day and winning the first timed extreme test Simone saw his pace decrease as the day wore on. On Day2 several crashes, including one big accident on the final enduro test, stopped Albergoni placing higher than 7th. Despite being extremely disappointed Simone remains third in the E1 championship standings and sits 20 points ahead of Yamaha France rider Marc Germain.

Despite being best known as a mud specialist Germain claimed a creditable runner-up result on Day1 finishing just 24 seconds behind winner Mika Ahola. On Day2 Marc matched his day one result to finish as runner-up.


Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 5th, Day 2 7th:

"It's not been a good weekend for me, mainly because I broke my shoulder blade when I crashed in the final motocross race at the ISDE. With just 15 days between the two races I've struggled. Half way through every special test I had no power, I just couldn't push. I wasn't able to train before the race so I was getting very tired. I had several crashes on day two, one of which was very big. I was lucky not to hurt myself. Although my results weren't what I wanted for my home GP it's not been too bad as far as the championship is concerned because I only lost 10 points to the rider behind me."

Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 3rd, Day 2 4th:

"I'm really happy to have got my first podium of this season at my home race. It's also the second podium of my career so it's great to be back once again. I tried to push as much as I could on day one because I was really enjoying the conditions. I was second until the last lap on day one so I am very happy with the way it finished. Some of the other riders were a little faster on day two, but I still managed to finish fourth so it has been a very good weekend for me. It's been a very difficult race. We had more than one-hour of special tests as well as a tight time check on each lap. It's been a typically Italian race and I've really enjoyed it."


Race 1 

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

1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 69'21.900
2, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 0'24.710
3, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 0'48.910
4, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 1'11.880
5, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'14.450
6, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 1'49.380
7, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 2'48.760
8, Damien Miquel, Suzuki, FRA, 3'23.830
9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 3'50.530
10, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 3'52.740
11, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 4'17.270
12, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 5'7.860
13, Giuliano Falgari, Honda, ITA, 5'46.500
14, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 7'39.950

Race 2 

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

1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 84'40.140
2, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 0'44.850
3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'51.730
4, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 1'52.160
5, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 2'54.160
6, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 2'55.350
7, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 3'7.260
8, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 3'35.800
9, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 4'12.010
10, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 4'50.510
11, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 9'1.480
12, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 12'3.410


Rider Standings 27/09/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 325
2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 322
3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 267
4, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 242
5, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 196
6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 185
7, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 145
8, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 140
9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 140
10, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 137
11, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 109
12, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 102
13, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 82
14, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 58
15, Danielle Tellini, Suzuki, ITA, 50



Manufacturer Standings 27/09/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Honda, 325
2, KTM, 309
3, Yamaha, 296
4, Husqvarna, 167
5, Suzuki, 153
6, TM, 102
7, Kawasaki, 47
8, Sherco, 12
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RACE REPORT - 29/09/2008

Aubert close to title after Italian win

With just one round of the 2008 World Enduro Championship remaining UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Johnny Aubert holds a 16-point lead over Finn Juha Salminen having finished the GP of Italy as the E2 class winner on Day1 and as runner-up on Day2. Having suffered both injury and mechanical troubles at the UFO Corse Yamaha team's home round of the world championship in past years, this time around Aubert did exactly what he needed to do and finished without problems as he closed in on his first ever world championship title.

Winning the first three special tests on day one to open up an important lead over rival Salminen, Aubert then maintained his position at the front of the class throughout the course and adding a further three test wins to his name claimed an eventual 18 second winning margin. On Day2 Aubert again started strongly by winning four of the first five special tests. Looking as if he was headed towards a second victory he found himself trailing Salminen as the day neared it's close and on the very last extreme test of the event parted company with his bike in spectacular fashion, losing well over one-minute. Luckily uninjured following his spill, Johnny held on to the runner-up position and now heads to his second home GP of the season in France with a 16-point lead at the top of the E2 championship standings.

Ensuring Yamaha enjoyed a strong presence in the Enduro 2 class at the GP of Italy, Fabrizio Dini placed a creditable 5th on Day1 having held 3rd in class for much of the opening two laps. Looking to secure strong results at his home round of the WEC the WR450F-mounted rider rode exceptionally well on the extreme test where he placed 3rd in the class on two separate occasions. Also performing well on the motocross and enduro tests the former motocross racer was consistent throughout the day. Disappointingly, Day2 started badly for Fabrizio as, after the opening three special tests, he was placed down near the bottom of the E2 standings. During the day however he managed to pull himself back up the results, helped again by impressive riding on the extreme test.

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

"It's been a really good weekend for me. I was 21 seconds faster than Juha in the first lap on day one, which was a great start. I was faster on the motocross and extreme tests and he was faster on the enduro test. I ended the day 18 seconds ahead and it was a good run. I was having a good day again on Sunday, having a decent battle with Juha, and it looked like I was going to finish second. I arrived at the final extreme test and made a huge mistake. I crashed on one of the big rock steps and lost more than one minute. Thankfully, I made a good final motocross test and managed to hold my second place. I have just one race to go now, my second home race in France. I'm a little more relaxed now, but maybe that will change when the final race of the season gets a little closer."

Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 5th Day 2 8th:

"The first day was really good for me. I was third for two laps. After that I had a small problem on the enduro test and finished fifth, which isn't so bad. I was really looking forward to the second day, but things didn't go as well as I hoped they would. I crashed five times including two big crashes in the enduro test. After that it was very difficult. I finished eighth, which I'm happy with because after the first three tests I was last in the E2 class. It's been a very difficult race with lots of special tests and one very challenging and tight time control."


Race 1 

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

1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 69'0.880
2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 0'17.990
3, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 1'24.980
4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 1'31.680
5, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 1'59.840
6, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'8.160
7, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'46.350
8, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'15.930
9, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'17.340
10, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 4'50.160
11, Aaron Bernandez, Husqvarna, ESP, 4'57.600
12, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 5'7.190
13, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 5'13.840
14, Dario Cardinali, Husqvarna, ITA, 30'39.780

Race 2 

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

1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 84'8.990
2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'21.880
3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 1'41.530
4, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 1'41.880
5, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 1'54.760
6, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'19.710
7, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 3'16.480
8, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'37.900
9, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'39.930
10, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'47.590
11, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 5'34.330


Rider Standings 27/09/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 319
2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 303
3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 223
4, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 196
5, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 189
6, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 180
7, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 171
8, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 143
9, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 139
10, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 126
11, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 126
12, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 111
13, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 110
14, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 78
15, Aaron Bernandez, Husqvarna, ESP, 59



Manufacturer Standings 27/09/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, KTM, 328
2, Yamaha, 319
3, HusaBerg, 215
4, Husqvarna, 206
5, Honda, 200
6, TM, 196
7, BMW, 169
8, Aprilia, 143
9, GasGas, 111
10, Beta, 49
11, Suzuki, 26