YAMAHA REPEATS DOUBLE ISDE VICTORY IN SLOVAKIA
18 September 2005 - Yamaha Racing

UFO Corse Yamaha team mates Bartosz Oblucki, 24, and Stefan Merriman, 32, claimed respective Enduro 1 and Enduro 2 class victories at the 80th running of the International Six Days Enduro staged in Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia repeating their double class winning performances from last year''s ISDE in Poland.

In the Enduro 1 class French rider Yamaha Moto France rider Marc Germain was the rider to beat up until day five when he was forced to retire with a damaged spark plug cap. With Germain out Poland''s Bartosz Oblucki (WR250F) took over the lead with Italians Simone Albergoni and Alessandro Belometti and Finn Mika Ahola all less than 25 seconds behind him. Setting the stage for a thrilling final day E1 class motocross race Oblucki was beaten by Belometti but placed fifth and claimed his second E1 ISDE class win in as many years.

Australian Stefan Merriman took control of the Enduro 2 class right from the start of the six-day event, winning the first four days ahead of his regular World Enduro Championship rivals. Opening up a sizeable advantage along the way, on the wet day five WR450F mounted Merriman placed third but maintained his class lead. Arriving at the final motocross with a two-minute lead over Finn Samuli Aro, Stefan did enough to claim the Enduro 2 class victory, despite suffering from a bad start. In topping the E2 class Merriman and his team-mate Oblucki helped the UFO Corse Yamaha team claim an impressive E1/E2 double class win with the team likely to have also topped the Manufacturers classification had it not been for the retirement of Yamaha''s third rider Marc Germain.

In the Trophy team competition Italy defeated pre-event favourites Finland by one-minute and 11 seconds. France looked like the nation most likely to claim the runner-up spot in the Trophy Team competition but having lost one of their team riders on day two, the loss of Germain on day five resulted in them dropping down the results. With Finland finishing in second, despite having lost one of their fastest riders on day three, Sweden claimed the third place spot ahead of Great-Britain, Australia and the host nation Slovakia.

Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class; winner
''I''m really pleased to have won the Enduro 2 class again - it''s been quite a tough week so to have won makes it all that much better. I felt that I rode well during the week, didn''t make too many mistakes, and enjoyed the event. All in all the whole week went well, apart from the wet day on day five, and I managed to win the E2 class on the first four days, which I''m really pleased about and meant that I had a bit of breathing space between myself and the other riders in the class as the event neared its end. It was difficult to push hard on some days because the special tests were a little wet in the mornings, but it was the same for everyone I guess. I caught a lot of slower riders on the wet special tests on day five, but that''s one thing you have to deal with in the six days. I also made a few mistakes and fell a couple of times, which messed my result up for that day.''

Bartosz Oblucki (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1; overall winner ''It''s been a great race for me. ''05 has been a hard season with little success until now so to win the Enduro 1 class for the second consecutive year is great. I wasn''t happy that I had to compete as the first rider in the Enduro 1 class during the event because on the first and third days it was a real disadvantage. I don''t feel that I''ve ridden especially well during the week - I just tried to push as hard as I could, ride consistently, and not to make any mistakes. The week didn''t start that well for me but I just kept trying as hard as I could and it worked out for me. On day five being the first rider worked in my favour because the tests were slipperier for the riders behind me. I had a really good day on day five because I finished about one minute ahead of Simone Albergoni and Alessandro Botturi, who were the two riders closest to me in the E1 class. During the final motocross I knew that I had to beat, or stay really close to, Albergoni, Ahola and Belometti so I wasn''t trying to win the race. I managed to stay close to Belometti and beat Ahola and Albergoni, which gave me the class win.''

FINAL STANDINGS ISDE ENDURO 1 CLASS
1. Bartosz Oblucki (POL - UFO Corse Yamaha), 2. Alessandro Belometti (ITA - KTM), 3. Simone Albergoni (ITA - Honda), 4. Mika Ahola (FIN - Husqvarna), 5. Richard Larsson (SWE - TM), 6. Roman Michalik (CZE - TM), 7. Niklas Gustavsson (SWE - KTM), 8. Robert Kapajcik (CZE - KTM), 9. Petteri (FIN - KTM), 10. Michal Szuster (POL - Honda)

FINAL STANDINGS ISDE ENDURO 2 CLASS
1. Stefan Merriman (AUS - UFO Corse Yamaha) , 2. Samuli Aro (FIN - KTM), 3. Paul Edmondson (ENG - Honda), 4. Alessandro Botturi (ITA - KTM), 5. Petri Pohjamo (FIN -TM), 6. Kurt Caselli (USA - KTM), 7. Valtteri Salonen (FIN - Honda), 8. Bjorne Carlsson (SWE - Husaberg), 9. Giovanni Sala (ITA - KTM), 10. Jacob Stapleton (AUS - TM)

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