BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WEC GP Of France
BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s Enduro 2 class rider Simo Kirssi once again showed that when it comes to the World Enduro Championship he is anything if not a fast learner. Competing in a French WEC event for the first time the Finn overcame a slow start on day one to finish comfortably inside the top 10 of the E2 class before claiming an impressive fifth place finish on day two. Kirssi’s results lift him to eighth in the Enduro 2 world championship standings with two rounds remaining.
In complete contrast to the wet and slippery conditions found at the GP of Wales the sixth round of the ‘08 WEC series held in Uzerche, central France was dry and extremely hot. What was expected to be a relatively simple event quickly turned into a tough race as the hot weather mixed with three demanding special tests to deliver a challenging race.
Despite some impressive performances on each of the event’s extreme, enduro and motocross special tests a slow start to day one cost Kirssi dearly. Losing a considerable amount of time during three of the first four special tests Kirssi was forced to play catch up during the remaining laps but with competition fierce at the sharp end of the E2 class was unable to place higher than eighth. Despite being disappointed with the way he rode during the early stages of the race Simo finished as high as fourth in class on two of the day’s tests.
Making sure he didn’t start day two as he had day one Simo kept himself in contention with the E2 class front runners and never placed lower than 10 on any of the day’s special tests. Consistently setting some of the fastest extreme test times as well as riding well on the fast enduro and motocross tests Simo never gave up on his hopes of finishing fourth but wasn’t quite able to finish ahead of Frenchman Rodrig Thain. In placing fifth on day two Simo claimed his second best result of the ‘08 season.
In the Enduro 3 class seven-time world champion Anders Eriksson had an uneventful weekend finishing both days without problems and enjoying the tough GP of France. Placing inside the top 10 on both days Anders, like Simo, performed particularly well on the extreme test on both days, managing to climb to ninth in class at the end of day two.
The ‘08 World Enduro Championship now takes a two-month break before round seven in Italy in late September.
Simo Kirssi - Enduro 2 class: “Things started badly on the first day and I struggled to improve my result after that because I lost so much time. Once I’d lost sight of the riders ahead of me that was the end of my day really. You can’t lose 20 seconds or more and make that time back - the competition is just too close in the Enduro 2 class. Things improved towards the end of the day but like I said it was too late, the damage was done. I enjoyed the race though - the tests were great. The extreme test was really challenging and the motocross and enduro tests were quite fast. Day two went well from the start and that was the difference between my two results. I felt good on the first lap and kept pushing all day. I got third in class on one of the extreme tests, which was good, so I am really happy with my second day.”
Anders Eriksson - Enduro 3 class: “It’s been a strange race because the track wasn’t that difficult to start with but it got rougher as the weather got hotter, which made it a really difficult race. I had a good weekend for me though, although as usual there were a lot of riders that were all fighting hard in the E3 class. My bike worked great and I didn’t have any problems all weekend.
2008 World Enduro Championship
Grand Prix of France - Day 1
Enduro 2 class
1. Michael Pichon (KTM) 50:02.44; 2. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 50:07.97; 3. Juha Salminen (KTM) 50:28.28; 4. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna) 51:54.26; 5. Rodrig Thain (TM) 52:04.92; 6. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 52:22.32; 7. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 52:24.02; 8. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 52:30.36; 9. Nicolas Deparrois (Gas Gas) 52:31.07; 10. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 52:41,84; 11. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 52:54.70; 12. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 53:09.20; 13. Jari Mattila (Honda) 53:27.13; 14. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 53:40.68; 15. Filipe Zanol (Yamaha) 54:00.05; 16. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 54:06.23; 17. Aaron Bernardez (Husqvarna) 54:29.20; 18. David Fretigne (Yamaha) 54:48.02; 19. Vincent Turpin (Honda) 56:03.31
Enduro 3 Class
1. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 51:08.26; 2. Sebastien Guillaume (Husqvarna) 51:12.22; 3. Stefan Merriman (Aprilia) 51:16.77; 4. Samuli Aro (KTM) 52:24:04; 5. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 52:30.85; 6. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 52:39.03; 7. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 52:49.99; 8. Fabien Planet (KTM) 52:54.39; 9. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 52:56.20; 10. Anders Eriksson (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 53:07.73; 11. Antoine Letellier (Aprilia) 53:31.37; 12. Jordi Figueras (KTM) 54:19.19; 13. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 54:19.89; 14. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 54:32.29; 15. Euan McConnell (TM) 54:49.85; 16. Joan Jau (Honda) 54:57.32; 17. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 57:15.84; 18. Kevin Hamard (Sherco) 59:18.66; 19. Gordon Clarke (TM) 59:43.85
Enduro Junior class
1. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 52:08.15; 2. Yannick Bossi (TM) 53.28.40; 3. Romain Boucardey (KTM) 53:41.50; 4. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 54:03.07; 5. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 54:21.95; 6. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 54:23.94; 7. Jeremy Joly (Sherco) 54:26.13; 8. Benoit Fortunato (Husqvarna) 55:05.45; 9. Oskari Kantonen (KTM) 55:12.43; 10. Edoardo D’Ambrosio (TM) 55:23.68; 11. Edward Hubner (KTM) 55:30.39; 12. Michael Pogna (KTM) 55:31.36; 13. Armand Monleon (Yamaha) 55:46.12; 14. Sylvain Lebrun (KTM) 55:48.64; 15. Vanni Cominotto (KTM) 55:51.43; 16. Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna) 55:52.41; 17. Antti Hellsten (Husqvarna) 55:55.71; 18. Philip McLaughlin (TM) 56:01.47;
19. Bert Meyer (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 56:14.53; 20. Pierre Pallut (Husqvarna) 56:26.54
2008 World Enduro Championship
Grand Prix of France - Day 2
Enduro 2 class
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 58:55.72; 2. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 59:50.69; 3. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna) 1:01:43.35; 4. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1:01:47.71;
5. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:02:11.19; 6. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1:02.42.31; 7. Jari Mattila (Honda) 1:03:03.85; 8. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1:03:31.91; 9. Emmanuel Albepart (Kawasaki) 1:03:58.27; 10. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1:04:14.40; 11. Filipe Zanol (Yamaha) 1:04:16.94; 12. Aaron Bernardez (Husqvarna) 1:04:34.43; 13.David Fretigne (Yamaha) 1:05:02.34; 14. Amel Advokaat (KTM) 1:05:55.83; 15. Olivier Pain (Yamaha) 1:07:50:59; 16. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1:08:23.86
Enduro 3 class
1. Sebastien Guillaume (Husqvarna) 1:00:55.42; 2. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1:01:12.55; 3. Stefan Merriman (Aprilia) 1:01:17.13; 4. Markus Kehr (KTM) 1:01.27.63; 5. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 1:01:44.45; 6. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1:01:56.66; 7. Fabien Planet (KTM) 1:02:01.26; 8. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 1:02:39.34; 9. Anders Eriksson (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:03.21.11; 10. Antoine Letellier (Aprilia) 1:03:30.75; 11. Euan McConnell (TM) 1:04:45.73; 12. Joan Jou (Honda) 1:05:07.09; 13. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 1:05:08.53; 14. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1:06:33.64; 15. Jordi Figueras (KTM) 1:07:01.38; 16. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 1:09:36.91; 17. Kevin Hamard (Sherco) 1:13:18:39
Enduro Junior class
1. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 1:01:30.19; 2. Oriol Mena (KTM) 1:02:30.03; 3. Yannick Bossi (TM) 1:03:30.83; 4. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 1:03:39.60; 5. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 1:03:49.16; 6. Vanni Cominotto (KTM) 1:04:02.99; 7. Jeremy Joly (Sherco) 1:04:29.77; 8. Benoit Fortunato (Husqvarna) 1:05:20.11; 9. Michel Pogna (KTM) 1:05:25.34; 10. Simon Wakely (Husqvarna) 1:05:34.74; 11. Armand Monleon (Yamaha) 1:05:45.06; 12. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 1:05:49.69; 13. Oskari Kantonen (KTM) 1:06:02.99; 14. Andrea Beier (KTM) 1:06:17.87; 15. Antoine Basset (Husqvarna) 1:06:26.71; 16. David Gannac (Suzuki) 1:06:30.10; 17. Philip McLaughlin (TM) 1:06:35.29; 18. Pierre Pallut (Husqvarna) 1:06:44,05; 19. Romain Goiffure (Husaberg) 1:07:03.04; 20. Edward Hubner (KTM) 1:07.13.11
Attached Documents:
Similar Stories
- BMW Motorradd Motorsport - WEC GP Of Wales
- First Cross Country Double Victory For BMW MOTORRAD.
- GCC Goldbach. Light And Shadow Of A Race Weekend
- Husqvarna Team Members All Earn “Top Ten” Finishes In Round Four Of AMA Eastern National Hare-Scramble Series
- Husqvarna Wins Round 7 Of 2008 AMA National Hare Scramble Series
bmw championship
[...] showed that when it comes to the World Enduro championship he is anything if not a fast learner.http://www.bmwheritage.com/archives/507Read “RE: 2008 Formula One Thread - Page 7 - BMW MOA” at Campfire Forum… far.? Walter Riedl will [...]