MERRIMAN DOMINATES FRENCH GP
25 July 2005 - Yamaha Racing

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman claimed a double Enduro 2 class win at the sixth round of the World Enduro Motorcycle Championship.

The Australian finished comfortably ahead of E2 championship leader Samuli Aro on both days. Winning in the dry and dusty conditions by 35 seconds on day one, Merriman then topped day two by just under 10 seconds.

The four time world champion also climbs up up to second in provisional standings. Stefan''s point standings is now starting to recover from the three days of racing he missed due to injury. Merriman has 219 points, Aro leads with 270 points, and Fabien Planet is third with 209 points.

Finishing behind Merriman on both days, Finn Samuli Aro maintained his lead at the top of the E2 championship standings but was unable to compete against the Yamaha rider. With Merriman claiming the victory on both days, and Aro claiming two runner-up finishes, Italian rider Alessandro Botturi (KTM) claimed third on both days.

The French round of the WEC series saw Dakar hero David Frétigné return to the world enduro series and was a strong fourth in the E2 class on day one. On day two Frétigné''s result suffered due to catching slower riders on several of the special tests and was then unable to see safely due to the dust.

Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: First , Day 2: First: ''It''s been a really good weekend for me as everything has gone to plan. The special tests were really dry and dusty and the extreme test was really challenging. I didn''t make any mistakes on either day, which I was pleased about. I only got beaten on three special tests on day one in the E2 class on day one but on day two I didn''t want to push too hard as there were so many rocks on the tests. It''s great to win again though.''

David Frétigné (Yamaha Moto France) Day 1: Fourth, Day 2: 11th: ''Day one went very well. The special tests all went well for me but the day was very hard. I didn''t make too many mistakes and got a good result, which I wanted. I didn''t have any luck on day two because I had a rider crash ahead of me on the first special test. I caught him up and couldn''t see anything in his dust. I had to keep closing the throttle where I needed to be accelerating, which was really frustrating and meant that I was going to struggle to finish with a good result. Then it happened again on the second test - I couldn''t believe it. Now I have to start preparing for the Dakar.''

Race classification Enduro 2

Round: 6 - Grand Prix of France
Circuit: Digne
Race: 4 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 43'' 0.130
2 S. Aro KTM FIN +35.680
3 A. Botturi KTM ITA +1'' 10.290
4 D. Frétigne Yamaha FRA +1'' 38.730
5 A. Eriksson Husqvarna SWE +1'' 53.500
6 K. Caselli KTM USA +2'' 11.850
7 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +2'' 12.570
8 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +2'' 28.280
9 H. Rodrigues GasGas POR +2'' 34.600
10 V. Salonen Honda FIN +2'' 44.030
11 E. Albepart Honda FIN +2'' 52.040
12 P. Whibely GasGas NZL +3'' 15.790
13 E. McConnell Honda GBR +3'' 23.370
14 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +3'' 33.680
15 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +3'' 36.740
16 J. Mattila Beta FIN +3'' 56.920
17 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +4'' 10.470
18 M. Vukcevic Sherco BEL +4'' 19.620
19 S. Arvis Suzuki FRA +4'' 25.360
20 L. Bouffioux Sherco FRA +4'' 30.970

Race 2: 4 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 48'' 36.230
2 S. Aro KTM FIN +9.820
3 A. Botturi KTM ITA +38.850
4 A. Eriksson Husqvarna SWE +1'' 31.700
5 P. Pohjamo TM FIN +1'' 47.120
6 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +2'' 12.670
7 E. Albepart Honda FIN +2'' 30.840
8 K. Caselli KTM USA +2'' 31.080
9 E. McConnell Honda GBR +2'' 41.210
10 V. Salonen Honda FIN +2'' 46.950
11 D. Frétigne Yamaha FRA +2'' 51.230
12 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +2'' 55.100
13 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +3'' 12.790
14 H. Rodrigues GasGas POR +3'' 23.870
15 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +3'' 51.140
16 P. Whibely GasGas NZL +4'' 14.650
17 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +4'' 34.470
18 G. Falgari Husqvarna ITA +4'' 36.310
19 S. Arvis Suzuki FRA +5'' 6.360
20 L. Bouffioux Sherco FRA +5'' 15.750

Championship standings Enduro 2
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 270
2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 219
3 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 209
4 Anders Eriksson Husqvarna SWE 203
5 Alessandro Botturi KTM ITA 203
6 Björne Carlsson HusaBerg SWE 165
7 Helder Rodrigues GasGas POR 126
8 Andrea Beconi Yamaha FRA 124
9 Jari Mattila Beta FIN 113
10 Paul Whibely GasGas NZL 108
11 Valtteri Salonen Honda FIN 108
12 Euan McConnell Honda GBR 103
13 Jean-François Goblet GasGas BEL 81
14 David Frétigne Yamaha FRA 68
15 Kurt Caselli KTM USA 60
16 Andrea Belotti Husqvarna ITA 55
17 Miska Aaltonen GasGas FIN 51
18 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FIN 50
19 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 43
20 Giuliano Falgari Husqvarna ITA 39


Manufacturers standings Enduro 2
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 279
2 Yamaha 257
3 Husqvarna 204
4 HusaBerg 166
5 Honda 155
6 GasGas 141
7 Beta 114
8 TM 44
9 Suzuki 39
10 Kawasaki 28
11 Sherco 23
12 Aprilia 2


Enduro 1 : Germain claims two second places

Round: 6 - Grand Prix of France
Circuit: Digne
Date: 24 July 2005
Crowd: 25000
Temp: 33ºC
Weather: Sunny

Yamaha Moto France rider Marc Germain recorded two second places at the Grand Prix of France in Digne les Bains, 140 km north of Nice and 160 km south of Grenoble. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) claimed victory in the Enduro 1 class on both days. Germain remains runner up in standings with 234 points, Cervantes leads with 292 points.

The extremely hot temperatures and dusty conditions combined with demanding and long laps made the French GP especially challenging. Topping day one by 28 seconds, Spaniard Cervantes dominated the weekend proceedings in the E1 category going on to finish 36 seconds ahead on day two. Cervantes'' closest competitor during the event was home rider Marc Germain. Germain rode his WR250F to second on day one before finding himself battling with Italian Simone Albergoni (Honda) during day two. Managing to finish less than one second ahead of the Italian, Germain secured his second runner-up finish in as many days.

With Albergoni pacing third on day two, it was Italian Alex Belometti (KTM) who claimed the final podium spot on day one. The French GP turned out to be a mixed one for UFO Corse Yamaha rider Bartosz Oblucki. Placing in a respectable fourth on day one, Bartosz then crashed out of day two following a mistake on the motocross test. Italian hopeful Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha Ufo Corse) placed ninth on the second day.

The World Championships now enjoys a one month break before riders travel north for the Finnish Grand Prix taking place at Heinola on the 27th and 28th of August.

Marc Germain (Yamaha France) Day 1: second, Day 2: second:
''My weekend has been very good. I started quickly on day one but Ivan was just too quick to be beaten. Day two was the same. Ivan started well and was just too fast to catch. I had a good battle with Simone Albergoni but on the last enduro test I caught another rider and struggled because I couldn''t see in his dust. It is disappointing not to have won but I am happy with the way I have been riding. The conditions this weekend have not been the typical French conditions but I have enjoyed it. It has been great to have so much support from the French spectators.''

Bartosz Oblucki (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: fourth, Day 2: dnf: ''I felt quite comfortable on the bike this weekend and I was happy with fourth on Saturday. If I found a couple of seconds on some of the tests I knew a podium finish was possible on the second day. Unfortunately I had a bad crash in the motocross track, the bike high sided after a corner and the handlebars hit me in the stomach. I needed to sit down to catch my breath and I felt it was safer to pull out of the race.''

Race classification Enduro 1
Round: 6 - Grand Prix of France
Circuit: Digne

Race: 4 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 43'' 37.900
2 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +28.320
3 A. Belometti KTM ITA +34.610
4 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +55.610
5 P. Silvan KTM FIN +1'' 4.090
6 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +1'' 6.760
7 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +1'' 18.350
8 J. Gauthier Husqvarna FRA +2'' 1.600
9 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +2'' 8.230
10 R. Larsson TM ITA +2'' 13.000
11 A. Meo Husqvarna FRA +2'' 18.910
12 A. Raphael Honda FRA +2'' 29.130
13 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +2'' 35.420
14 D. Miquel Kawasaki FRA +3'' 1.830
15 P. Duzellier Suzuki FRA +3'' 38.070
16 M. Pievani Yamaha ITA +4'' 20.250

Race 2: 4 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 48'' 40.500
2 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +36.110
3 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +36.660
4 A. Belometti KTM ITA +1'' 12.210
5 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +1'' 47.470
6 A. Meo Husqvarna FRA +2'' 14.310
7 R. Larsson TM ITA +3'' 34.190
8 D. Miquel Kawasaki FRA +3'' 53.070
9 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +3'' 53.900
10 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +4'' 56.220
11 J. Gauthier Husqvarna FRA +7'' 52.800
12 M. Pievani Yamaha ITA +12'' 42.960

Championship standings Enduro 1
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 292
2 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 234
3 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 209
4 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 209
5 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 200
6 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 187
7 Bartosz Oblucki Yamaha POL 152
8 Richard Larsson TM ITA 140
9 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 114
10 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 83
11 Daniele Telini Yamaha ITA 78
12 Julien Gauthier Husqvarna FRA 68
13 Simone Tonelli Yamaha ITA 61
14 Peter Bergvall Yamaha SWE 57
15 Michal Szuster Honda POL 56
16 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 51
17 Roman Michalik TM CZE 46
18 Xacob Agra Yamaha ESP 39
19 Damien Miquel Kawasaki FRA 38
20 Manuel Pievani Yamaha ITA 37


Manufacturers standings Enduro 1
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 300
2 Honda 239
3 Yamaha 235
4 TM 151
5 Husqvarna 123
6 Kawasaki 40
7 Suzuki 25
8 GasGas 5

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