With just one round of the 2008 World Enduro Championship remaining UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Johnny Aubert holds a 16-point lead over Finn Juha Salminen having finished the GP of Italy as the E2 class winner on Day1 and as runner-up on Day2. Having suffered both injury and mechanical troubles at the UFO Corse Yamaha team's home round of the world championship in past years, this time around Aubert did exactly what he needed to do and finished without problems as he closed in on his first ever world championship title.
Winning the first three special tests on day one to open up an important lead over rival Salminen, Aubert then maintained his position at the front of the class throughout the course and adding a further three test wins to his name claimed an eventual 18 second winning margin.
On Day2 Aubert again started strongly by winning four of the first five special tests. Looking as if he was headed towards a second victory he found himself trailing Salminen as the day neared it's close and on the very last extreme test of the event parted company with his bike in spectacular fashion, losing well over one-minute.
Luckily uninjured following his spill, Johnny held on to the runner-up position and now heads to his second home GP of the season in France with a 16-point lead at the top of the E2 championship standings.
Dini at home event
Ensuring Yamaha enjoyed a strong presence in the Enduro 2 class at the GP of Italy, Fabrizio Dini placed a creditable 5th on Day1 having held 3rd in class for much of the opening two laps. Looking to secure strong results at his home round of the WEC the WR450F-mounted rider rode exceptionally well on the extreme test where he placed 3rd in the class on two separate occasions.
Also performing well on the motocross and enduro tests the former motocross racer was consistent throughout the day. Disappointingly, Day2 started badly for Fabrizio as, after the opening three special tests, he was placed down near the bottom of the E2 standings. During the day however he managed to pull himself back up the results, helped again by impressive riding on the extreme test.
Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 1st, Day 2 2nd:
"It's been a really good weekend for me. I was 21 seconds faster than Juha in the first lap on day one, which was a great start. I was faster on the motocross and extreme tests and he was faster on the enduro test. I ended the day 18 seconds ahead and it was a good run. I was having a good day again on Sunday, having a decent battle with Juha, and it looked like I was going to finish second. I arrived at the final extreme test and made a huge mistake.
I crashed on one of the big rock steps and lost more than one minute. Thankfully, I made a good final motocross test and managed to hold my second place. I have just one race to go now, my second home race in France. I'm a little more relaxed now, but maybe that will change when the final race of the season gets a little closer."
Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 5th Day 2 8th:
"The first day was really good for me. I was third for two laps. After that I had a small problem on the enduro test and finished fifth, which isn't so bad. I was really looking forward to the second day, but things didn't go as well as I hoped they would.
. I crashed five times including two big crashes in the enduro test. After that it was very difficult. I finished eighth, which I'm happy with because after the first three tests I was last in the E2 class. It's been a very difficult race with lots of special tests and one very challenging and tight time control."
Circuit Length: n/a Crowd: 8500 Weather: Dry
2008 Enduro 2 Italy 29/09/2008 Race 1
1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 69'0.880
2 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 0'17.990
3 Rodrig Thain TM FRA 1'24.980
4 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 1'31.680
5 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 1'59.840
6 Fabio Mossini Honda ITA 2'8.160
7 Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 2'46.350
8 Nicolas Deparrois GasGas FRA 3'15.930
9 Joakim Ljunggren HusaBerg SWE 3'17.340
10 Jean Francois Goblet BMW BEL 4'50.160
11 Aaron Bernandez Husqvarna ESP 4'57.600
12 Antoine Meo Husqvarna FRA 5'7.190
13 Rudy Cotton Beta FRA 5'13.840
14 Dario Cardinali Husqvarna ITA 30'39.780
Race 2
1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 84'8.990
2 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 1'21.880
3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 1'41.530
4 Antoine Meo Husqvarna FRA 1'41.880
5 Rodrig Thain TM FRA 1'54.760
6 Fabio Mossini Honda ITA 2'19.710
7 Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 3'16.480
8 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 3'37.900
9 Joakim Ljunggren HusaBerg SWE 3'39.930
10 Nicolas Deparrois GasGas FRA 3'47.590
11 Simo Kirssi BMW FIN 5'34.330
Rider Standings 27/09/2008
1. Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 319
2. Juha Salminen KTM FIN 303
3. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 223
4. Rodrig Thain TM FRA 196
5. Joakim Ljunggren HusaBerg SWE 189
6. Antoine Meo Husqvarna FRA 180
7. Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 171
8. Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 143
9. Simo Kirssi BMW FIN 139
10. Fabio Mossini Honda ITA 126
11. Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 126
12. Nicolas Deparrois GasGas FRA 111
13. Jari Juha Mattila Honda FIN 110
14. Alessandro Zanni Honda ITA 78
15.. Aaron Bernandez Husqvarna ESP 59
Manufacturer Standings 27/09/2008
1. KTM 328
2. Yamaha 319
3. HusaBerg 215
4. Husqvarna 206
5. Honda 200
6. TM 196
7. BMW 169
8. Aprilia 143
9. GasGas 111
10. Beta 49
11. Suzuki 26
www.yamaha-racing.com
- Yamaha Racing, Amsterdam -
