Starting the second half of the 2008 World Enduro Championship in style Italian UFO Course Yamaha rider Simone Albergoni narrowly missed out on claiming the Enduro 1 class win on day one of the Grand Prix of Wales, claiming an eventual second place behind Yamaha France rider Marc Germain.
With the opening day of the fifth round of the series the wettest of the calendar so far, it also proved to be one of the hardest, but despite the atrocious conditions the two Yamaha riders battled one another for the top spot on the podium finishing comfortably ahead of E1 class leader Mika Ahola in third.
Due to incredibly difficult circumstances in Wales, being able to complete special tests without any mistakes was the key to good results but seemed impossible to do as over half the event’s entry list failed to finish the opening day. Topping the opening two tests on day one it looked like the Germain was going to walk away with the E1 class win but Albergoni maintained pressure on his French rival to ensure the day’s result wouldn’t be decided until the very last special test. Despite both riders making errors during the outing neither was able to open up and maintain any real advantage with the ninth and final special test deciding the final result. With Albergoni managing to pull back Germain’s near 30 second mid-day advantage the two riders were neck-and-neck going into the final test. With just two seconds separating them in Germain’s favour the Yamaha France rider collected a well-deserved victory with Albergoni runner-up.
Although there was drier weather on Day2 the demanding Welsh course and three challenging special tests ensured the second attempt was almost as difficult as day one. Returning to his best form after placing third on day one Finn Mika Ahola claimed victory followed by Spaniard Ivan Cervantes with Germain and Albergoni 3rd and 4th respectively. Winning three of the day’s special tests Germain wasn’t able to reproduce the form that had seen him top Day1, missing the second step of the podium by an agonising two seconds. For Albergoni Day2 started well as the Italian looked to be headed toward a repeat of his runner-up result. But a mistake within sight of the finish of the extreme test on lap three cost him close to 20 seconds, which ended his hopes of a podium and saw him place 4th.
For UFO Course Yamaha team riders Cristobal Guerrero and Maurizio Micheluz the GP of Wales proved to be a challenging one. Competing with a badly inflamed right forearm Maurizio rode through the pain barrier to claim 8th on both days. Finding the slippery Welsh conditions difficult to master, Cristobal finished 7th on Day1 before improving to sixth on Day2.
Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 2nd, Day 2 4th:
“Day one was really good for me. I had a great fight with Marc Germain, who is really good in slippery, wet and muddy conditions, so to finish second and less than five seconds behind him is not too bad. I made a mistake on the last extreme test on day two, which lost me about 20 seconds. I crashed, had to push the bike, and then fell again. I lost second or third position with that crash but more importantly championship points. It’s been a real enduro - very hard but very good.”
Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 7th, Day 2 6th:
“It’s been a tough race for me. It’s hard to train in conditions like in Wales when you live in the south of Spain. But I tried to push as hard as I could and I had a pretty good race. The conditions on day one were really hard. With the mud and the rain I found it really hard. I was terrible in the extreme test, having to push my bike at times when I got stuck. It was just a very difficult day. Day two was better for me. I was much closer to the third and fourth place riders, which I was happy about.”
Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 8th, Day 2 8th:
“It’s been an especially tough race for me because I have been suffering with my right wrist. It wasn’t too much of a problem during the first lap on day one but then it started to become painful. I knew early on that it would be difficult to finish so I was just focused on trying to complete the race. I was eighth on both days but it was so difficult for me. I’m just pleased that I was able to finish.”
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