CH Racing Husqvarna Factory Enduro Team 2010
Enduro World Championship ‘10 – Round 7
Fethiye, Turkey, 4/5.9.201
Guillaume delivers the goods for Husqvarna at GP of Turkey, Meo maintains E1 championship lead
Frenchman Sebastian Guillaume has scored the CH Racing Husqvarna team’s best results at the penultimate round of the ’10 Enduro World Championship, the GP of Turkey held in Fethiye, where the TE300 mounted rider won the Enduro 3 class on day one before going on to claim a second podium visit on day two with a strong third place result. In doing so Seb closed the gap on the second placed E3 class rider, Simone Albergoni, to just one point ahead of his home round of the series, which takes place in Noiretable on September 25/26. For Enduro 1 World Championship leader Antoine Meo the GP of Turkey ended without a podium result on either day. Simply not performing at his best on the dry and rocky terrain on day one, Antoine was headed for a runner-up result on day two but a crash on the extreme test mid-way through the day resulted in him placing in an eventual fourth position, matching his day one result.
Although disappointed at having been unable to finish on the podium on either day Antoine ended the first ever GP of Turkey in good spirits, knowing that the dry, rocky terrain wasn’t to his liking. Admitting that during the opening day he simply didn’t feel 100 per cent comfortable on the slippery surface, he made a steady start to the day before improving his speed and winning the final extreme test. On day two Antoine started strongly finishing second, third, and first in class on the opening three tests. In contention for the runner-up spot a crash on the second extreme test saw him lose 30 seconds, which eventually resulted in him finishing in fourth. With two fourth place results in Turkey Antoine maintains his lead at the head of the E1 championship, 11 points ahead of Finn Eero Remes.
Antoine’s E1 class team-mate Matti Seistola opted for a revised suspension set-up for day one, which the tall Finn soon found to be unsuitable for the slippery, rocky, Turkish terrain. Unable to finish higher than seventh Matti reverted back to his normal set-up for day two and improved his result with fifth, a result that would have been better were it not for a mistake on the final extreme test. Matti sits fifth in the E1 championship standings going into the final round in France.
Antoine Meo – Enduro 1: ‘It’s certainly not been the best weekend for me. You know some days you just don’t perform at your best and on day one here in Turkey I just didn’t ride well. I made a lot of mistakes and just didn’t find a good rhythm. I tried to change my rising a little but nothing really worked. It was an off day. Things were better on day two. Not good enough to challenge for the win, but a lot better than on the first day. I was fighting for second position but then I made a big mistake on the extreme test. I lost a lot of time but I managed to come back and finish fourth, which isn’t so bad. Now all we have is the final race in France, which I’m looking forward to. I know there won’t be so many stones there like there’s been here in France, so I’ll be pushing full gas to win the Enduro 1 world championship.’
Matti Seistola – Enduro 1: ‘The first day wasn’t good for me because I went for a suspension setting that was completely wrong. That made things really difficult, especially on the enduro test where there were a lot of stones. I made my suspension much too hard. Just before the end of the first day I went back to my normal setting, which worked much better on the second day. Day two went really well and I felt a lot more comfortable and could push harder. I made one mistake on the extreme test on the last lap, where I lost my rear brake, but all in all the second day was good. I want to finish the championship well now in France.’
Describing the opening day in Turkey as being ‘perfect’ Seb Guillaume again showed that were it not for his early-season hand injury things could have been very different in this year’s Enduro 3 world championship. Winning the opening four special tests to open up a healthy lead at the head of the class, Seb rode exceptionally well throughout the day, making just one mistake. Crashing on the day’s final extreme test Seb lost 20 seconds to David Knight, but held on to take the win finishing just one second ahead of the rider who would go on to win the ’10 E3 world championship. On day two Seb would finish third, unable to match the speed of Knight and countryman Christophe Nambotin. Importantly for Seb he finished ahead of Simone Albergoni, and now trails the Italian who lies second in the E3 championship by just one-point.
Bartosz Oblucki endured a mixed weekend in Turkey placing fifth and eighth. Fast on the motocross special test on day one, but suffering a small mechanical problem that would marginally slow his pace, he finished just eight seconds off the podium. Frustratingly day two didn’t go to plan and numerous mistakes resulted in the Pole placing eighth.
Seb Guillaume Enduro 3: ‘Day one was perfect. I was surprised how fast I was because dry, dusty conditions aren’t normally my best. I saw my time on the enduro test on the first lap, then David’s, and then Christophe’s, and I thought there was a mistake. I was quite a lot faster than them so I kept pushing hard on the other tests. I managed to continue riding well throughout the day and I had a good lead on the final lap. But I made a big mistake on the final extreme test, where I hit a tree with my shoulder. I managed to win the day by one second, which was a big relief. I didn’t have such a good day on day two. I was as fast as I was on the enduro test on day one, but other riders were faster. I wasn’t able to match David’s speed but I had a good fight with Nambotin and finished third. So, one win and one third place result – I’m happy with that. I have to push hard now in France and try and finish second in the E3 championship.’
Bartosz Oblucki Enduro 3: ‘The first day went really well for me. The conditions on the special tests were pretty difficult, but I pushed hard and ended the day only eight seconds off the podium. I had a little problem with the bike and lost a little power, which we fixed during the final lap. I was pleased with being so close to the podium. The second day just wasn’t my day. I stalled my bike twice on the first test, then I got stuck on the first log on the extreme test – and so my day went on. I pushed hard and tried to turn things around but I couldn’t make it happen so I’m a little disappointed.’
2010 Enduro World Championship
Grand Prix of Turkey – Day 1
Enduro 1
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 40:21.62; 2. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 40:27.08; 3. Eero Remes (KTM) 40:32.61; 4. Julien Gauthier (Honda) 40:51.52; 5. Antoine Meo (CH Racing Husqvarna) 40:53.86; 6. Nicolas Deparrois (Kawasaki) 41.25:20; 7. Matti Seistola (CH Racing Husqvarna) 41:43.58; 8. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 41:57.86; 9. Jordan Curvalle (Sherco) 42:55.32
Enduro 3
1. Seb Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 40:16.80; 2. David Knight (KTM) 40:17.87; 3. Oriol Mena (Husaberg) 41:02.96; 4. Simone Albergoni (KTM) 41:04.81; 5. Bartosz Oblucki (CH Racing Husqvarna) 41:11.70; 6. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 41:26.93; 7. Michal Kadlecek (TM) 41:37.15; 8. Alessandro Botturi (Husaberg) 51:04.91; 9. Sakir Senkalayci (KTM) 1.00:09.48; 10. Serkan Azdemir (KTM) 1.04:38.37
2010 Enduro World Championship
Grand Prix of Turkey – Day 2
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes (KTM) 47:05.57; 2. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 47:23.30; 3. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 47:30.61; 4. Antoine Meo (CH Racing Husqvarna) 47:51.09; 5. Matti Seistola (CH Racing Husqvarna) 48:05.93; 6. Julien Gauthier (Honda) 48:30.11; 7. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 48:32.87; 8. Nicolas Deparrois (Kawasaki) 49:48.58; 9. Jordan Curvalle (Sherco) 52:47.79
Enduro 3
1. David Knight (KTM) 47:15.02; 2. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 47:49.62; 3. Seb Guillaume (CH Racing Husqvarna) 47:56.29; 4. Simone Albergoni (KTM) 48:12.99; 5. Alessandro Botturi (Husaberg) 48:43.07; 6. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 48:48.58; 7. Oriol Mena (Husaberg) 48:48.72; 8. Bartosz Oblucki (CH Racing Husqvarna) 49:27.77; 9. Michal Kadlecek (TM) 49:40.74