KTM Enduro Factory Team at Italian Nationals in SardiniaTeam stalwart Johnny Aubert won the overall competition on both days indicating that he is in top form and happy with his new bike, the KTM
350 EXC. Also performing well was Cristobal Guerrero of Spain who this
season joins Aubert in the E2 class.
While the wet and slippery conditions were just right for the Frenchman Aubert, the young Guerrero drew particular praise from team boss Fabio Farioli. "It was a surprise and is very pleasing to see how well Cristobal rode this weekend in these difficult conditions. Coming from Spain he is used to riding on hard, dry and rocky surfaces." Another good performer from the factory team was Thomas Oldrati who was third overall on Saturday and won the 250 competition in Sunday. The conditions were good for the young Italian from Bergamo and it was a good weekend for track practice ahead of the world championship season when Oldrati will be joined in the E1 class by Eero Remes of Finland. Remes did not race in Italy this weekend. Young Italian Jonathan Manze of the Farioli Team also won the junior races on both days. Unseasonal wet weather made riding conditions challenging on both days, delivering what Farioli described as "a real Enduro". It was wet and slippery over the rocky terrain on Saturday and overnight rain added another dimension on Sunday when the course was bogged down with mud. Riders tackled only three laps on Sunday instead of the four on Saturday and organizers also made a concession to the difficult conditions and removed one of the hardest tests for the second day of competition. "Conditions on Sunday were much more difficult than Saturday but this weekend our riders  put in some solid results and we were very
happy with the performance of the bikes," Farioli said.
David Knight, the current E3 World Champion is training in Spain and the USA and did not compete in Sardinia this weekend. The Enduro Factory riders will have another opportunity to get some track practice next weekend for one race on Sunday in Turin, Italy. Overall Results Saturday 1, Johnny Aubert, France, KTM 2, Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, KTM 3, Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM 4, Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg 5, Juha Salminen, Finland 6, Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda Overall Results Sunday 1, Johnny Aubert, France, KTM 2, Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda 3, Juha Salminen, Finland 4, Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, KTM 5, Alexander Belometti, Italy, KTM |