Enduro 2 : Merriman enjoys winning Enduro 2 debut
Round: 1 - Spanish GP
Circuit: Guadalajara
Date: 2 April 2005

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman claimed two day wins in the Enduro 2
class at the opening round of the FIM World Enduro Championship in
Guadalajara, Spain to take an early lead in the highly competitive E2 class.
Finishing ahead of Frenchman Fabien Planet on day one and Finn Samuli Aro on
day two, Merriman now heads the E2 class of the nine-round championship
aboard his WR450F.

With Planet claiming the runner-up position on day one it was Aro who
finished third with neither rider able to mount a serious challenge to the
Australian. With Merriman again comfortably out front in the E2 class on day
two, Aro managed to get the closest to the reigning E1 world champion but
was again unable to challenge for the day win. Finishing third on day two
was Swede Anders Eriksson aboard his Husqvarna.

Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: First, Day 2: First

“It’s always good to start the new season with a win and all things
considered I’m really happy with the way things went here in Spain. Day one
was pretty tough, but it was like that for everyone. The weather changed a
lot and the course also changed very fast, which meant that some of the
riders at the rear of the class entry were able to go fast. I was a little
nervous before the race because I didn’t have great results in the opening
rounds of the Italian championship but everything has worked out really
well.

“The team is using Ohlins suspension for the first time this season and like
all changes it takes some time to get used to the way the bike works. We’ve
been working really hard and the bike is really good. “I crashed once on the
extreme test on day two, which I was pretty angry with myself for because it
was a stupid mistake, but that was the only real mistake. I hurt my finger,
which made it hard to use the clutch. Thankfully that was the worst thing
that happened to me all weekend and everything else went good.”

David Fretigne (Yamaha France) Day 1: 10th, Day 2: Ninth

“It was a really difficult race for me because since the Dakar Ralley I have
only spent a little bit of time on an enduro bike. I am competing for fun. I
am really surprised at the level of the riders because it is very close
between so many competitors. It was my first time riding an extreme special
test but I really enjoyed it. They are very interesting and challenging for
the riders.
“I had a crash on the first special test on day two which didn’t help my
result. The rest of the race went ok but it is difficult for me to return to
enduro after racing in the Dakar.”

Race classification Enduro 2
Round: 1 - Spanish GP
Circuit: Guadalajara
Race 1
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 54′ 11.600
2 F. Planet KTM FRA +54′ 59.670
3 S. Aro KTM FIN +55′ 19.910
4 H. Rodrigues GasGas ESP +55′ 41.760
5 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +55′ 51.330
6 M. Arpa Husqvarna ESP +56′ 5.550
7 A. Eriksson Husqvarna SWE +56′ 29.710
8 P. Whibely GasGas NZL +57′ 20.790
9 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +57′ 42.670
10 D. Fr?©tigne Yamaha FRA +57′ 52.310
11 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +57′ 53.320
12 A. Botturi KTM ITA +58′ 20.260
13 S. Arvis Suzuki FRA +1.00′ 0.960
14 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +1.00′ 32.050
15 S. Ekert HusaBerg GER +1.00′ 43.590
16 E. McConnell Honda GBR +1.00′ 12.940
17 M. Vukcevic Sherco BEL +1.02′ 16.240
18 M. Garcia Husqvarna ESP +1.04′ 1.240
19 J. Pedrero Sherco ESP +1.04′ 7.540
20 O. Pain KTM FRA +1.04′ 51.410

Race 2: 0 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 54′ 16.810
2 S. Aro KTM FIN +54′ 51.350
3 A. Eriksson Husqvarna SWE +55′ 20.410
4 F. Planet KTM FRA +55′ 26.470
5 A. Botturi KTM ITA +55′ 51.740
6 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +55′ 55.250
7 E. McConnell Honda GBR +56′ 20.970
8 H. Rodrigues GasGas ESP +56′ 33.350
9 D. Fr?©tigne Yamaha FRA +56′ 37.050
10 J. Mattila Beta FIN +57′ 7.060
11 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +57′ 9.500
12 P. Whibely GasGas NZL +57′ 24.880
13 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +58′ 21.400
14 S. Ekert HusaBerg GER +58′ 58.040
15 G. Falgari Husqvarna ITA +59′ 28.460
16 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +1.00′ 4.860
17 O. Pain KTM FRA +1.00′ 26.470
18 M. Vukcevic Sherco BEL +1.00′ 50.800
19 M. Garcia Husqvarna ESP +1.01′ 15.330
20 S. Arvis Suzuki FRA +1.01′ 24.210

Championship standings Enduro 2

Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 50
2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 42
3 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 40
4 Anders Eriksson Husqvarna SWE 34
5 Bj??rne Carlsson HusaBerg SWE 31
6 Helder Rodrigues GasGas ESP 31
7 David Fr?©tigne Yamaha FRA 23
8 Paul Whibely GasGas NZL 22
9 Andrea Beconi Yamaha FRA 22
10 Euan McConnell Honda GBR 19
11 Jean-Fran?ßois Goblet GasGas BEL 18
12 Miki Arpa Husqvarna ESP 15
13 Sascha Ekert HusaBerg GER 13
14 Andrea Belotti Husqvarna ITA 12
15 Jari Mattila Beta FIN 11
16 Sebastien Arvis Suzuki FRA 9
17 Alessandro Botturi KTM ITA 9
18 Michael Vukcevic Sherco BEL 7
19 Giuliano Falgari Husqvarna ITA 6
20 Miquel Garcia Husqvarna ESP 5

Manufacturers standings Enduro 2

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Yamaha 50
2 KTM 44
3 Husqvarna 35
4 HusaBerg 31
4 GasGas 31
5 Honda 19
6 Suzuki 9
7 Sherco 7

Enduro 1 : Difficult start of season for Oblucki
Round: 1 - Spanish GP
Circuit: Guadalajara
Date: 2 April 2005

UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Bartosz Oblucki did not get the season start he
was hoping for, just missing the podium on dat one and finishing ninth on
day 2. Local favourite Ivan Cervantes (KTM) claimed a double class win after
producing consistently quick special test times all weekend despite not
known for his mud riding skills. Behind Cervantes on day one Frenchman Marc
Germain defended Yamaha’s honor well by claiming a well deserved runner-up
spot finishing ahead of Britain’s Paul Edmondson making an all four-stroke
podium. On day two Cervantes was followed home by Swede Richard Larsson with
Finn Petteri Silvan finishing third.

Bartosz Oblucki (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1:Fourth, Day 2: Ninth
“Day one wasn’t so bad for me because I finished fourth, only one second
behind third place. I lost 11 seconds on the final special test of the day
because I crashed on the road, which was a big crash and I was lucky not to
hurt myself.

“Day two was really bad but I don’t know the reason why. I felt bad and my
times in the special test were also bad. I couldn’t find a good rhythm. I
onlky had two tests where my times were good. Then I crashed and things just
didn’t go so well. All in all it was a pretty disappointing weekend for me.”

Race classification Enduro 1
Round: 1 - Spanish GP
Circuit: Guadalajara
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 55′ 13.290
2 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +56′ 1.650
3 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +56′ 3.640
4 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +56′ 5.040
5 A. Belometti KTM ITA +56′ 7.180
6 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +56′ 28.840
7 R. Michalik TM CZE +57′ 15.680
8 R. Larsson TM ITA +57′ 57.140
9 X. Agra Yamaha ESP +58′ 22.630
10 P. Silvan KTM FIN +58′ 32.390
11 P. Bergvall Yamaha SWE +58′ 53.050
12 S. Tonelli Yamaha ITA +59′ 30.240
13 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +59′ 44.110
14 M. Hartmann KTM GER +1.00′ 47.370
15 M. Olsen Kawasaki SWE +1.01′ 37.480
16 O. Tort Husqvarna ITA +1.03′ 18.220
17 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +1.03′ 25.800
18 M. Szuster Honda POL +1.04′ 40.970
19 J. Gauthier Husqvarna FRA +1.04′ 42.630
20 P. Cagnoni Suzuki ITA +1.08′ 37.770

Race 2:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 54′ 36.500
2 R. Larsson TM ITA +55′ 6.500
3 P. Silvan KTM FIN +55′ 6.820
4 A. Belometti KTM ITA +55′ 37.390
5 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +55′ 55.790
6 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +56′ 29.040
7 P. Bergvall Yamaha SWE +56′ 29.040
8 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +56′ 57.340
9 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +57′ 18.200
10 X. Agra Yamaha ESP +58′ 2.700
11 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +58′ 36.900
12 M. Hartmann KTM GER +58′ 43.870
13 S. Tonelli Yamaha ITA +58′ 53.200
14 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +58′ 55.810
15 J. Gauthier Husqvarna FRA +59′ 32.350
16 M. Olsen Kawasaki SWE +59′ 32.690
17 M. Pievani Yamaha ITA +1.00′ 37.050
18 R. Hubers Yamaha NED +1.01′ 59.700
19 M. Szuster Honda POL +1.02′ 14.440
20 D. Lopez Yamaha ESP +1.11′ 41.580

Championship standings Enduro 1

Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 50
2 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 37
3 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 36
4 Richard Larsson TM ITA 35
5 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 34
6 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 31
7 Bartosz Oblucki Yamaha POL 30
8 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 28
9 Peter Bergvall Yamaha SWE 24
10 Xacob Agra Yamaha ESP 23
11 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 18
12 Simone Tonelli Yamaha ITA 17
13 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 16
14 Roman Michalik TM CZE 14
15 Marcus Olsen Kawasaki SWE 11
16 Julien Gauthier Husqvarna FRA 8
17 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 7
18 Michal Szuster Honda POL 5
19 Oriol Tort Husqvarna ITA 5
20 Daniele Telini Yamaha ITA 4
21 Manuel Pievani Yamaha ITA 4
24 David Lopez Yamaha ESP 1

Manufacturers standings Enduro 1

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 50
2 Yamaha 37
3 Honda 36
3 TM 36
4 Husqvarna 12
5 Kawasaki 11
6 Suzuki 1