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| 14.10.2009 |
| ISDE Day Three |
| Riders and machines reached the half way of the annual ISDE on Wednesday, the six days of Enduro riding that is being held at Figuera da Foz, Portugal. KTM Enduro factory riders stayed firmly up with the front runners and their bikes continued to perform well in the tough sandy conditions on Day 3. |
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The day was characterized by very tough special texts with typical Enduro characteristics. They were quite different to the tests in the first two days and they tested riders’ skills over plenty of steep ascents, rocks and sand.
KTM’s Samuli Aro, onboard for his national team of Finland and one of the most experienced riders on the track, maintained similar times to the two previous days when he held the lead in E3. But Aro lost time on Wednesday to Frenchman Christophe Nambotin and had to settle for fourth on the day and slipped to third in the progressive results. Meanwhile KTM USA’s Kurt Caselli is making good progress in E3 with steady improvements each day. Given that he has not competed since last year’s ISDE, Kurt is looking increasingly confident. He is enjoying the bike and is well known as a strong performer in the deep sand. Caselli was fifth home on Day 3 and advanced to fourth place in the overall standings.
Finland’s holds on to its hopes of taking the World Trophy and although they slipped to third behind France and Italy, the team still benefited by the strong riding of KTM factory rider Eero Remes in E1. Although second behind Poland’s Michel Szuster on Wednesday, he is still in the overall lead and he is followed by Italian KTM team compatriot Simone Albergoni. Remes and Albergoni have so far dominated E1 and finished second and third on Wednesday.
In the E2 class, KTM’s Alessandro Belometti of Italy is taking the steady approach, concentrating on good solid and consistent performances as the best way to the team trophy in a race that is still long and hard. His and his team members’ efforts, especially those of a relaxed Albergoni in E1 are paying off as Italy is now second behind France.
“Our riders are all performing well and so are our bikes,” said Alex Doringer of the KTM support staff, which is there in numbers to support both factory riders chasing national honours and the many club riders who are also on the cult brand Orange machines “Made in Austria”. “There’s a good atmosphere here,” Doringer reported. “The tracks are very good. They are well built and very visible.”
The ISDE is an event that is heavy on both riders and machines. This year there is a total of 185 two-stroke motorcycles and 243 four strokes fighting for the honours. Of these, some 201 riders have chosen KTM machines in the ratio of 110 two-strokes and 91 4-strokes making KTM the most popular choice for this very competitive event. Other makes at ISDE this year include: Yamaha (50 motorcycles), Gas Gas 37, Husaberg 28, Husqvarna 27, Honda 24, Suzuki 15, Kawasaki 18 and BMW 9. Teams KTM 1 and KTM2 are comfortably settled into the top two places in the Manufacturer’s Award rankings.
E1 Results Day 3
1. Michel Szuster, Poland, Yamaha
2. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
3. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM
4. Julien Gauthier, France, Honda
5. Fabio Mossini, Italy, Honda
E1 Progressive Results after Day 3
1. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
2. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM
3. Julien Gauthier, France, Hodna
4. Michel Szuster, Poland, Yamaha
5. Fabio Mossini, Italy, Honda
E2 Results Day 2
1. Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, Yamaha
2. Rodig Thain, France, TM
3. Luis Correia, Portugal, Yamaha
4. Oscar Balletti, Italy, Honda
5. Toby Price, Australia, Kawasaki
6. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
E2 Progressive after Day 2
1. Rodig Thain, France, TM
2. Luis Correia, Portugal, Yamaha
3. Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, Yamaha
4. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
5. Joakim Ljunggren, Husaberg
E3 Results Day 2
1. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna
3. Alex Salvini, Italy, Husqvarna
4. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
5. Kurt Caselli, KTM, USA
6. Alessandro Botturi, Italy, KTM
8. Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM
Progressive E3 Results after Day 2
1. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna
3. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
4. Kurt Caselli, KTM, USA
5. Alex Salvini, Italy, Husqvarna
6. Alessandro Botturi, Italy, KTM
7. Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM
National Teams after Day 3
1. France
2. Italy
3. Finland
4. Australia
5. Sweden
KTM Toughest Club Rider after Day 3
1. David Cadek
2. Jan Zaremba
3. Jacob Morhed
4. Lauri Salonen
5. Maurizio Gerini
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| Eero Remes In action at ISDE
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| KTM supporting members of the Mexican team
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| Hard work the order of the day in the KTM garage |
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