KTM’s Meo and Nambotin Score Double Wins in Romania
OutdoorHub 06.17.13
KTM Enduro factory riders Antoine Meo and Christophe Nambotin, both of France, continued laying the groundwork to hold onto their respective world championship titles this weekend when they both picked up double victories in the competition’s rounds nine and ten.
Meo was again the best E1 rider and Nambotin dominated the E3 class, while Johnny Aubert went 1-3 in E2 and Cristobal Guerrero pulled of two third places in E1.
Nambotin sailed through the weekend winning eight of the tests on both days, again proving he is the best in class again in 2013. He now has a 45-point lead in the championship over second placed Aigar Leok as riders head for Greece for the next two rounds.
Meo admitted that he had a slower start on Saturday and struggled to have a good feeling on the Romanian track but clearly he had won back his confidence by Sunday. His E1 teammate Cristobal Guerrero of Spain also had a solid weekend, scoring two third places and has now moved up to overall fifth.
On Saturday Johnny Aubert also won the very competitive E2 class and he finished in overall third on Sunday with teammate Ivan Cervantes taking two fourth places. Aubert liked the grassy hills and woodlands in Romania and was lucky to steer clear of crashes in the difficult extreme test on Saturday and was relieved to take the victory. “It feels great to have finally won,” told reporters on Saturday. “I’ve been trying hard all year and came close a couple of times, so it’s fantastic to have finally got it done.”
Cervantes was not so lucky and got into trouble in the extreme test on Saturday, finishing right back at fifteenth place and then did well to scramble back to overall fourth at the end of the round.
While Saturday was a stellar day for France’s Aubert, the fact that he is still suffering from the effects of broken ribs did begin to tell on Sunday. Given the fact that he was unable to train on the bike for three weeks, his 1-3 result was very solid, particularly as riders also had to contend with high temperatures at the Romanian venue.
The team now relocates to Kastoria in central Greece for Rounds 11 and 12 next weekend. The season concludes in France with the final two rounds in September
Enduro World Championship, Round 10 at Buzau, Romania
E1 Results
1, Antoine Meo, France, KTM, (1 – 1)
2, Juha Salminen, Finland, Husqvarna, (2 – 2)
3, Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, KTM, (3 – 3)
4, Matti Seistola, Finland, Husqvarna, (5 – 4)
5, Nicolas Deparrois, France, Yamaha, (6 – 5)
E1 Standings after Round 10
1, Antoine Meo, 191
2, Juha Salminen, 150
3, Matti Seistola, 141
4, Eero Remes, 125
5, Cristobal Guerrero, 90
E2 Results
1, Alex Salvini, Italy, HM-Honda, (2 – 1)
2, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, France, Husaberg, (3 – 2)
3, Johnny Aubert, France, KTM, (1 – 3)
4, Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM, (4 – 4)
5, Lorenzo Santolino, Spain, Husqvarna, (6 – 5)
Other KTM
6, Victor Guerrero, Spain, KTM, (7 – 6)
9, Oscar Balletti, Italy, KTM, (8 – 9)
E2 Standings after Round 10
1, Alex Salvini, 186
2, Ivan Cervantes, 160
3, Pierre-Alexandre Renet, 153
4, Johnny Aubert, 151
5, Victor Guerrero, 99
Other KTM
9, Balletti, 57
E3 Results
1, Christophe Nambotin, France, KTM, (1 – 1)
2, Mathias Bellino, France, Husaberg, (2 – 2)
3, Aigar Leok, Estonia, TM, (3 – 3)
4, Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg, (6 – 4)
5, Deny Philippaerts, Italy, Beta, (7 – 5)
Other KTM
9, Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM, (10 – 9)
E3 Standings after Round 10
1, Christophe Nambotin, 190
2, Aigar Leok, 145
3, Joakim Ljunggren, 139
4, Luis Correia, 123
5, Manuel Monni, 97
Other KTM
8, Marcus Kehr, 79
EJ Results
1, Matthew Philips, Australia, Husqvarna, (2 – 1)
2, Mario Roman, Spain, Husaberg, (1 – 2)
3, Loic Larrieu, France, Husaberg, (9 – 3)
4, Giacomo Redondi, Italy, KTM, (5 – 4)
5, Danny McCanney, Great Britain, Gas-Gas, (3 – 5)
Other KTM
6, Rudi Moroni, Italy, KTM, (6 – 6)
EJ Standings after Round 10
1, Matthew Philips, 180
2, Giacomo Redondi, 150
3, Daniel McCanney, 128
4, Mario Roman, 128
5, Loic Larrieu, 99
Other KTM
7, Rudi Moroni, 92
Youth Cup
1, Jamie McCanney, Great Britain, Husaberg, (1 – 1)
2, Albin Elowson, Sweden, Husaberg, (2 – 2)
3, Benjamin Herrera, Chile, TM, (3 – 3)
Other KTM
5, Dawid Ciucci, Italy, KTM, (8 – 5)
7, Mika Barnes, France, KTM, (5 – 7)
Youth Cup Standings after Round 10
1, Jamie McCanney, 194
2, Albin Elowson, 144
3, Benjamin Herrera, 132
4, Dawid Ciucci, 103
5, Jesper Borjesson, 94
Other KTM
6, Matteo Bresolin, 82
10, Mika Barnes, 52
