MERRIMAN TAKES ENDURO 1 TITLE IN GREECE
03 October 2004 - Yamaha Racing

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman, 31, claimed the 2004 Enduro 1 world championship in style at round seven of the WEC series held in Serres, Greece by topping the E1 class results on both days.

Already comfortably ahead in the Enduro 1 championship heading into the event not even a serious stomach infection could stop the Australian from claiming his fourth world title, his first for Yamaha.

Merriman won day one by 49 seconds, and again Stefan proved too fast for his competitors on day two as he topped the class by 29 seconds. On day one the Australian was followed home by his UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Bartosz Oblucki with Italian Simone Albergoni (Honda) claiming a close third. On day two however Albergoni moved one place higher in the E1 class results as he claimed the runner-up spot while a poor final lap from Oblucki meant that Italian Alessandro Belometti claimed his first ever WEC podium with Oblucki a close fourth.

Merriman’s title also marks the fourth consecutive world title for the WR250F -and the Ufo Corse Yamaha Team, after Stephane Peterhansel won the world title in 2001 and Peter Bergvall scored back-to-back titles on the “small thumper”. Merriman was obviously relieved: “The world championship has been betting closer and closer to me for the past few races but I honestly didn’t know if I would be able to get to the end of the race this weekend because I was feeling that bad. With the changes made to the points scoring system this year it has resulted in me having to push right up until the end of the season.”

Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: First, Day 2: First
“I’m really happy to win the world championship here in Greece because it has been a really tough weekend for me. I had some problems with my stomach during the days leading up to the race. I was in a lot of pain and on day one I was riding feeling only 50 per cent as good as I normally do. Thankfully, on day two I have been feeling much better. There have been some great races this year. I’d like to thank my girlfriend Lexy, my mechanic Guliano, Vito Consoloni from UFO and Pippo who has been so passionate all season, the UFO Corse Yamaha team manager. This year has been a real team effort and now we have the result that we have worked so hard all year to achieve. I still have day bonuses to win so I’m going to push hard to win at the next round of the championship in Germany. I’m now able to relax a little and enjoy the race.”

Bartosz Oblucki (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: second, Day 2: fourth
“Day one was very good for me. I crashed twice but I was still second in the Enduro 1 class and the third placed rider was 20 seconds behind me. On day two I crashed on the opening special test and then I had a poor final lap, which allowed Alex Belometti to move ahead of me on the last special test. He beat me by half a second, which is disappointing. It has been a mixed weekend for me really. I have had good speed, suffered with a few crashes but I dropped two points in the E1 world championship to Simone Albergoni. Apart from having a little too much time at the start finish check the race has been a really good one. Having my team-mate Stefan win the world championship here has been really great for the team - I hope that now I can finish the season with a good result in Germany so that I can claim the runner-up position for a Yamaha one-two.”

Mario Rinaldi (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: 10th, Day 2: twelfth
“ This race in Greece has been a really great race. The tracks in the mountains have been fun to ride and the special tests have been challenging and enjoyable. I have struggled on both days to find my rhythm and you can see that in my results. I want to just try and take the best possible position in the world championship now. I want to try and get a good result in Germany but I think it’s going to be a really tough race.”

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