EWC 2010: GP of Spain
The opening weekend of the EWC 2010 had few surprises in store. The drivers who were put in a favorite role in advance managed to fulfill this role. Still, the season promises to be quite exciting, because in both E1 and E2 there was not really a driver who dominated the entire weekend. David Knight, on the other hand, was untouchable at E3.
E1: Long live France!
Antoine Meo started strongly on Saturday. The Husqvarna rider had a great time in the light class and only encountered opposition from his compatriot Johnny Aubert. The latter would lose a lot of time by getting lost. Aubert then started an unprecedented catch-up race, eventually ending day 1 as second after Meo. Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero took his place on the last podium step.
The roles were somewhat reversed on Sunday. Aubert proved that his strong rise on Saturday was no coincidence and left no stone unturned in the competition. Meo had to accept Aubert's dominance and finished 2nde for Guerrero. Nicolas Deparrois and Julien Gauthier completed the French party in places 4 and 5.
E2: Cervantes and Ahola share the day's victories
Ivan Cervantes could not impress in front of his own audience. The Spaniard must accept the supremacy of Mika Ahola. The experienced Finn shows with his HM Honda that he should certainly be taken into account in the E2 title battle. Juha Salminen finished third behind Cervantes. “Jeff” Goblet finished with a 14 on Saturdaye place. Booking.com-Husaberg driver Hans Vogels finishes 18the. The other lowlander, Cédric Melotte, does not reach the finish.
There was no defense against Ivan Cervantes on Sunday. Second, logically, is Mika Ahola. Behind the two title favorites, a small surprise as Rodrig Thain finishes third ahead of Salminen. Halfway through day 2, D'Ieteren Sport-Yamaha rider Jean-François Goblet was in 9th placee . But the Liège native cannot maintain this position and ends the match in 11the. Hans Vogels does better than on Saturday and turns 15e. Cédric Melotte takes the lead with a 17e scores his very first World Enduro World Cup points.
E3: King Knight!
Not much tension in E3. Everyone will have known that David Knight is back. The KTM support rider will take charge on both days. Gas Gas rider Christophe Nambotin comes 2 each timee for Simone Albergoni. Junior World Champion Oriol Mena and Sébastien Guillaume become 4 and 5e on Saturday.
Results
E1:
Saturday: 1. Antoine Meo, 2. Johnny Aubert, 3. Cristobal Guerrero, 4. Nicolas Deparrois, 5. Matti Seistola, 6. Eero Remes, 7. Julien Gauthier, 8. Sébastien Bozzo, 9. Maurizio Micheluz, 10. Jordan Curvalle , 11. Jari Matilla, 12. Goncalo Reis, 13. Juan Perez, 14. Chris Hollis, 15. Jacub Horak, 16. Phillip McLaughlin
Sunday: 1. Johnny Aubert, 2. Antoine Meo, 3. Cristobal Guerrero, 4. Nicolas Deparrois, 5. Julien Gauthier, 6. Matti Seistola, 7. Jari Mattila, 8. Juan Perez, 9. Jordan Curvalle, 10. Goncalo Reis , 11. Maurizio Micheluz, 12. Sandro Marcos, 13. Jacub Horak, 14. Jari Pulkkinen
World Championship standings after 2 rounds: 1. Johnny Aubert, 47 pts; 2. Antoine Meo, 47 pts; 3. Cristobal Guerrero, 40 pts; 4. Nicolas Deparrois, 36 pts; 5. Matti Seistola, 31 pts; 6. Julien Gauthier, 30 pts; 7. Jari Mattila, 24 pts; 8. Jordan Curvalle, 23 pts; 9. Maurizio Micheluz, 22 pts; 10. Juan Perez, 21 pts;
E2:
Saturday: 1. Mika Ahola, 2. Ivan Cervantes, 3. Juha Salminen, 4. Rodrig Thain, 5. Tomas Oldrati, 6. Joakim Ljunggren, 7. Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 8. Fabrizio Dini, 9. Fabien Planet, 10. Nicolas Paganon, 11. Joan Barreda, 12. Tom Sagar, 13. Valtteri Salonen, 14. Jean-François Goblet, 15. Marko Tarkkala, 16. Jordi Figueras, 17. Julien Vanni, 18. Hans Vogels, 19. Salvador Mata, 20. Bert Meyer
Sunday: 1. Ivan Cervantes, 2. Mika Ahola, 3. Rodrig Thain, 4. Juha Salminen, 5. Tomas Oldrati, 6. Oscar Balletti, 7. Joakim Ljunggren, 8. Fabrizio Dini, 9. Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 10. Nicolas Paganon, 11. Jean-François Goblet, 12. Tom Sagar, 13. Jordi Figueras, 14. Marko Tarkkala, 15. Hans Vogels, 16. Joan Barreda, 17. Cedric Melotte, 18. Valtteri Salonen, 19. Fabien Planet, 20. Bert Meyer
World Championship standings after 2 rounds: 1. Ivan Cervantes, 47 pts; 2. Mika Ahola, 47 pts; 3. Rodrig Thain, 38 pts; 4. Juha Salminen, 38 pts; 5. Tomas Oldrati, 32 pts; 6. Joakim Ljunggren, 29 pts; 7. Pierre-Alexander Renet, 26 pts; 8. Fabrizio Dini, 26 pts; 9. Nicolas Paganon, 22 pts; 10. Tom Sagar, 18 pts; 11. Jean-François Goblet, 17 pts; 18. Hans Vogels, 9 pts; 19. Cedric Melotte, 4 pts;
E3:
Saturday: 1. David Knight, 2. Christophe Nambotin, 3. Simone Albergoni, 4. Oriol Mena, 5. Sébastien Guillaume, 6. Bartosz Oblucki, 7. Aaron Bernardez, 8. Marcus Kehr, 9. Alessandro Botturi, 10. Michal Kadlecek , 11. Helder Rodrigues, 12. Andrea Belotti, 13. Oskari Kantonen, 14. Rudy Cotton, 15. Felipe Zanol, 16. Mark Risse, 17. Jorge D. Moreno
Sunday: 1. David Knight, 2. Christophe Nambotin, 3. Simone Albergoni, 4. Bartosz Oblucki, 5. Alessandro Botturi, 6. Mirko Gritti, 7. Marcus Kehr, 8. Michal Kadlecek, 9. Oriol Mena, 10. Sébastien Guillaume , 11. Aaron Bernardez, 12. Oskari Kantonen, 13. Rudy Cotton, 14. Andra Belotti, 15. Felipe Zanol, 16. Helder Rodrigues, 17. Paulo Felicia, 18. Mark Risse, 19. Jorge D. Moreno
World Championship standings after 2 rounds: 1. David Knight, 50 pts; 2. Christophe Nambotin, 44 pts; 3. Simone Albergoni, 40 pts; 4. Bartosz Oblucki, 33 pts; 5. Oriol Mena, 30 pts; 6. Alessandro Botturi, 28 pts; 7. Sébastien Guillaume, 27 pts; 8. Marcus Kehr, 27 pts; 9. Aaron Bernadez, 24 pts; 10. Michal Kadlecek, 24 pts;
Photos credit: Jonty Edmunds & Husqvarna
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