Ahola wins E3 Championship a fifth consecutive World Enduro title
Tuesday 04 October: The eighth and final round of the Enduro World Championship in 2011 took place in Mende, France over the weekend and it was a weekend full of extraordinary emotions for Team Honda HM Zanardo.
Mika Ahola claimed the E3 title on Saturday, with a day to go, and with it took his fifth consecutive World Enduro Championship.
He
also made history by becoming the first man to win titles in all
competitive classes, E1, E2, E3, an extraordinary achievement for the
now veteran rider. However, he shows no signs of stopping just yet and
has already turned his sights to next season and to the choice of in
which class he will compete!
With Sunday came the second world
title for the team. The young Frenchman, Jeremy Joly, became the new
world champion in the EJ (junior) class, fighting until the end with the
Spaniard Mario Roman. Ahola also impressed once again taking another
day victory to end the season on top of the podium once more.
Rounding out the team success of Honda HM Zanardo, Rodrig
Thain also contributed by winning Sunday’s event after a long battle
with Salminen. It would be his first of the season, leaving him fourth
in the final standings of the E1 class in what has been his debut season
with the team.
To top it all off, Honda HM Zanardo were awarded
the manufacturers title in the E3 class, bringing the tally to three day
wins and three championship titles; a culmination of a year’s hard
work, coming together in one spectacular weekend.
Mika Ahola, Honda HM Zanardo, E3 World Champion
"It
is a great joy to enter history as the first rider to win the World
Enduro five consecutive titles in all three classes. I have no words to
thank all the guys on the team and my engineer Luke. REALLY THANK YOU
ALL!"
Franco Mayr, Team Manager, Honda HM Zanardo
"We
are delighte
d to
have won these titles. We all want to thank Mr. Alfred Ciresa of Moto
SpA, which has supported us throughout the season. Thanks also to
Guarino Zanardo, which for years has been our historic main sponsor, as
well as to all companies that have helped us to this historic
achievement.
Copy and photos courtesy of the Honda Pro Racing Press Office.
”