TWO E1 PODIUMS FOR KTM’S EERO REMES IN GP OF ITALY

2011-05-15 19:42
Remes was third on Saturday and upped his game to be second on Sunday on a very technical course to collect more championship points towards his title bid. He is currently second behind Juha Salminen in the race for the E1 title after Rounds 5 & 6 this weekend.

But he faced tough opposition from fellow Finn Salminen, who is a well-known and successful exponent of top class Enduro competition. “Remes was very strong on Saturday and he tried to push right from the start on Sunday but this weekend Salminen was even stronger,” factory team boss Fabio Farioli said.

Remes’ E1 teammate Thomas Oldrati of Italy improved significantly on his seventh position from Saturday to just miss being on the podium in fourth place on Sunday. He had some health issues on Saturday, according to Farioli who said he had had trouble focusing on the race. But by the third lap on Saturday his condition had started to improve and he was up with the leaders on the second day of competition. “Oldrati was doing well fighting against Salminen on Sunday but he crashed in the last extreme test and lost 10 seconds, otherwise he would have been a podium contender,” Farioli added.

KTM riders are also excelling in the EJ class, led by KTM Nordic-supported rider Antti Hellsten on Finland who not only won on Saturday but registered times during what was a grueling day of competition that would have placed him in the top three of the E1 class. Even though the hot and exhausting conditions caught up with the young Finn on Sunday he still finished on the podium in third place and continues to lead the standings by a 25-point margin.

Meanwhile Jonathan Manzi, the junior KTM-supported Italian rider was also a strong contestant with a 3-4 result in the EJ competition and two wins in the Youth Cup competition.

Results Rounds 5 & 6
E1 Saturday
1, Juha Salminen, Finland, Husqvarna
2, Matti Seistola, Finland, Husqvarna
3, Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
4, Lorenzo Santolino, Spain, KTM
5. Fabien Planet, France, Sherco
Other KTM
7, Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM

E1 Sunday
1, Matti Seistola, Finland, Husqvarna
2, Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
3, Juha Salminen, Finland, Husqvarna
4, Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM
5, Lorenzo Santolino, Spain, KTM
Standings after Rounds 5-6
1, Juha Salminen, Finland, 142 points
2, Eero Remes, Finland, KTM 125
3, Matti Seistola, Finland, 109
4, Thomas Oldrati, Italy, 97
5, Rodrig Thain, France, 89

EJ Saturday
1, Anti Hellsten, Finland, KTM
2, Jeremy Joly, France, Honda
3, Jonathan Manzi, Italy, KTM (also wins Youth Cup)
4, Romain Demontier, France, Yamaha
5, Victor Guerrero, Spain, Yamaha
6, Mario Roman, Spain, KTM

EJ Sunday
1, Benoit Fortunato, France, Yamaha
2, Jeremy Joly, France, Honda
3, Antte Hellsten, Finland, KTM
4, Jonathan Manzi, Italy, KTM
5, Giacomo Redondi, Italy Husqvarna

Standings after Rounds 5 & 6
1, Antti Hellsten, Finland, KTM 145
2, Jeremy Joly, France, 120
3, Jonathan Manzi, Italy, KTM, 106
4, Mario Roman, Spain, KTM 92
5, Benoit Fortunato, France, 92

Source: KTM

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