MERRIMAN WINS DAY ONE
16 October 2005 - Yamaha

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman claimed a comfortable win in the Enduro 2 class on day one of the final round of the ''05 WEC series where he finished ahead of newly crowned E2 world champion Samuli Aro by 43 seconds.

Enduro 2 Round: 9 - Grand Prix of Italy 2

Circuit: Valli Bergamasche
Date: 16 October 2005
Crowd: 4000
Temp: 16ºC
Weather: Sunny

Not putting a foot wrong during the opening day Merriman then crashed twice on day two to finish as runner-up behind Aro.

On Saturday Merriman topped six of the day''s special tests in the E2 class to place on top of yet another WEC podium in ''05. Behind him Aro comfortably placed ahead of Italian Alessandro Botturi, who claimed third.

On day two Merriman and Aro battled one another closely during the first half of the day before two crashes by Merriman saw Aro open up a sizeable lead. Deciding to settle for second Merriman ensured that he finished as runner-up in the ''05 Enduro 2 world championship standings.

Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: First, Day2: Second
''Everything went really well on day one. I didn''t make any mistakes and felt really good on my bike. I don''t know why but I don''t seem to be as fast on day two as I am on day one. Things were really close between myself and Samuli Aro during the morning but then I dropped it, which meant he had a small lead. I tried to catch up after that and pushed a little bit too hard on the enduro test. I crashed again and there was no way that I could catch him after that. I guess I should have just taken it easy but I wanted to win like I had on day one.''

Race classification Enduro 2

Round: 9 - Grand Prix of Italy 2
Circuit: Valli Bergamasche
Race: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 56'' 4.940
2 S. Aro KTM FIN +43.410
3 A. Botturi KTM ITA +1'' 42.100
4 F. Planet KTM FRA +1'' 50.550
5 P. Pohjamo TM FIN +2'' 8.650
6 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +2'' 52.830
7 V. Salonen Honda FIN +3'' 15.600
8 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +3'' 39.830
9 J. Mattila Beta FIN +4'' 9.190
10 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +4'' 17.340
11 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +4'' 25.170
12 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +4'' 38.350
13 A. Roberts Husqvarna AUS +4'' 53.200
14 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +4'' 53.290
15 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +4'' 55.870
16 L. Bouffioux Sherco FRA +5'' 25.290
17 S. Passeri Aprilia ITA +5'' 42.640
18 G. Falgari Husqvarna ITA +5'' 54.820
19 D. Lloyd TM AUS +6'' 15.850
20 M. Aaltonen GasGas FIN +6'' 44.860

Race 2: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Aro KTM FIN 58'' 6.350
2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +1'' 38.290
3 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +2'' 10.630
4 V. Salonen Honda FIN +2'' 44.320
5 F. Planet KTM FRA +3'' 15.240
6 J. Mattila Beta FIN +3'' 34.550
7 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +4'' 7.350
8 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +4'' 10.530
9 J. Curvalle Kawasaki FRA +4'' 21.820
10 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +4'' 50.290
11 G. Falgari Husqvarna ITA +4'' 57.900
12 A. Roberts Husqvarna AUS +4'' 58.930
13 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +5'' 1.880
14 L. Bouffioux Sherco FRA +5'' 44.450
15 M. Vukcevic Sherco BEL +6'' 0.210
16 S. Passeri Aprilia ITA +6'' 17.640
17 M. Aaltonen GasGas FIN +6'' 30.370
18 L. Vecchi KTM ITA +9'' 0.050
19 P. Paganessi Husqvarna ITA +9'' 21.740
20 P. Leoni KTM ITA +13'' 24.930

Championship standings Enduro 2
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 403
2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 341
3 Alessandro Botturi KTM ITA 297
4 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 272
5 Björne Carlsson HusaBerg SWE 262
6 Valtteri Salonen Honda FIN 219
7 Anders Eriksson Husqvarna SWE 203
8 Andrea Beconi Yamaha FRA 199
9 Jari Mattila Beta FIN 180
10 Euan McConnell Suzuki GBR 161
11 Helder Rodrigues GasGas POR 126
12 Paul Whibely GasGas NZL 108
13 Miska Aaltonen GasGas FIN 102
14 Jean-François Goblet GasGas BEL 96
15 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 81
16 Andrea Belotti Husqvarna ITA 77
17 David Frétigne Yamaha FRA 68
18 Kurt Caselli KTM USA 60
19 Giuliano Falgari Husqvarna ITA 52
20 Giuseppe Canova Husqvarna ITA 51

Manufacturers standings Enduro 2
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 412
2 Yamaha 392
3 Honda 266
4 HusaBerg 262
5 Husqvarna 252
6 GasGas 209
7 Beta 180
8 TM 96
9 Suzuki 66
10 Sherco 53
11 Kawasaki 40
12 Aprilia 11

Enduro 1 : Germain claims runner up position

Round: 9 - Grand Prix of Italy 2
Circuit: Valli Bergamasche
Date: 16 October 2005
Crowd: 4000
Temp: 16ºC
Weather: Sunny

Yamaha Moto France rider Marc Germain secured runner up in the Enduro 1 class at the last round of the''05 World Enduro Championship staged in Valli Bergamasche (Italy). Germain scored a second and fifth place around the scenic mountains of Bergamo. Italian riders Alessandro Belometti and Simone Albergoni claimed a day win each. Ufo Corse Yamaha''s Bartosz Oblucki claimed fifth in finals standings, two top five results allowed him to improve one place on his overall position previous to the event.

With Belometti topping the E1 results on day one Marc Germain performed well claiming the runner-up spot behind the Italian. Determined to finish second in the E1 championship standings, Germain placedhis WR250F just 22 seconds behind Belometti and ahead of ''05 E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes.

On day two it was Simone Albergoni''s turn to top the E1 podium as he finished just under four seconds ahead of day one winner Belometti. But during the opening two laps of day two it was Oblucki who lead the way as the Polish rider looked to be heading towards his first WEC win of the season. Disappointingly for Oblucki two crashes saw him place in an eventual fourth, behind Albergoni, Belometti and Cervantes.

Marc Germain (Yamaha Moto France) Day 1: second, Day 2: fifth
''Day one went really well for me. The special tests were really flat and slippery, which is perfect for me. The conditions were quite difficult but I really enjoyed the day. I had one crash in the enduro test, but I am happy to have finished in second. It was really important for me to finish inside the top 10 on day two so that I could finish second in the Enduro 2 championship. Finishing in fifth isn''t the best result but it was enough to secure second in the championship. I am really happy to have finished second in the championship, but I am also happy that the season is now finished. It has been a really competitive season.''

Bartosz Oblucki (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: fifth, Day 2: fourth
''Apart from the first test day one the first day went really well for me in Italy. In the first test I stopped the engine and had to push my bike to start it. I think that I lost around 26 seconds because of that and then finished 22 seconds behind the second placed rider in the Enduro 1 class at the end of the day. It was a really good day. Day two was also good because I was leading the class after the first two laps. In the second to last test I stalled the bike and couldn''t start it. Then I stalled the bike again in the enduro test, which meant that my result wasn''t as good as it could be. I am happy that I have been able to get some good results during the second half of the season. I want to take a rest now before I start preparing for next season. Then I want to make sure that I am really ready for next season.''

Race classification Enduro 1
Round: 9 - Grand Prix of Italy 2
Circuit: Valli Bergamasche

Race: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 A. Belometti KTM ITA 56'' 56.820
2 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +22.410
3 I. Cervantes KTM ESP +22.410
4 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +35.220
5 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +42.980
6 A. Villanova Honda ESP +2'' 3.220
7 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +2'' 30.170
8 R. Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA +2'' 31.360
9 M. Pievani Yamaha ITA +2'' 45.390
10 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +2'' 46.240
11 M. Monni KTM ITA +3'' 57.870
12 M. Hartmann KTM GER +4'' 20.520
13 M. De Felice Husqvarna ITA +6'' 12.210
14 M. Madaschi KTM ITA +6'' 39.360
15 D. Graziani GasGas ITA +8'' 8.280
16 N. Joye KTM CHE +8'' 29.090
17 M. Zoppas KTM ITA +9'' 58.450

Race 2: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Albergoni Honda ITA 58'' 41.570
2 A. Belometti KTM ITA +3.600
3 I. Cervantes KTM ESP +16.990
4 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +17.820
5 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +47.030
6 A. Villanova Honda ESP +1'' 38.510
7 M. Pievani Yamaha ITA +2'' 18.600
8 R. Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA +2'' 32.930
9 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +2'' 44.410
10 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +3'' 33.460
11 P. Cagnoni Suzuki ITA +6'' 41.320
12 M. Madaschi KTM ITA +7'' 50.420
13 N. Joye KTM CHE +9'' 19.880
14 D. Graziani GasGas ITA +11'' 29.110
15 M. Zoppas KTM ITA +14'' 2.110

Championship standings Enduro 1

Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 432
2 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 344
3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 334
4 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 325
5 Bartosz Oblucki Yamaha POL 248
6 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 218
7 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 195
8 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 187
9 Richard Larsson TM ITA 170
10 Daniele Telini Yamaha ITA 125
11 Manuel Pievani Yamaha ITA 105
12 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 102
13 Simone Tonelli Yamaha ITA 83
14 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 83
15 Michal Szuster Honda POL 69
16 Julien Gauthier Husqvarna FRA 68
17 Roman Michalik TM CZE 61
18 Roberto Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA 59
19 Arnau Villanova Honda ESP 58
20 Peter Bergvall Yamaha SWE 57

Manufacturers standings Enduro 1

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 447
2 Yamaha 356
3 Honda 354
4 Husqvarna 182
5 TM 179
6 Kawasaki 51
6 Suzuki 51
7 GasGas 26

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