KTM's Albergoni edges Ahola in Round Four of E1 World Championship2009-03-29 12:27Italy's Simone Albergoni, riding in his first season for the KTM Enduro Factory Team tipped the scales in his own favour at Sunday's round four of the E1 World championship when he snatched victory from arch rival Mika Ahola of Finland. Ahola won the first two races in Portugal last weekend and also took the top spot on Saturday when riders took to the terrain in Igualada, Spain, about 60 km west of Barcelona. Sunday, however, when the conditions were very tough after a lot rain on Saturday night and on Sunday morning, belonged to KTM's Italian rider. "It was a very big fight between them," reported KTM factory Team boss Fabio Farioli. They both made some mistakes and both had crashes on what turned out to be hard conditions for hard riders." Psychological edge for Albergoni Albergoni who also made it a very close race to finish second behind the Finn on Saturday but his efforts on Sunday broke Ahola's run of victories and is certainly a psychological bonus for Albergoni, especially coming after a very tough day's ride when conditions were hard and slippery. Good results from younger riders Remes and Oldrati Albergoni is also playing mentor to his younger E1 factory teammate Eero Remes of Finland this season, who is also performing consistently and constantly improving. Sixth on Saturday, the Finn rode into fourth place on Sunday and drew praise from Farioli for his efforts. "He was in front in two or three of the tests and he was first in the MX test, which was the hardest of all. He put in an incredible time. He was 20 seconds faster than anyone else and still had a crash," Farioli said. Thomas Oldrati, riding for KTM Italy also had an excellent weekend with two fourth places. Riders now have just 20 days to both rest up but to keep their skills razor sharp before the next two rounds in Sardinia (April 18-19.) E1 Round Three 1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda 2. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM 3. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna 4. Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM 5. Fabien Planet, France, KTM 6. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM E1 Round Four 1. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM 2. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda 3. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna 4. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM 5.Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM Standings 1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda, 97 2. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM, 89 3. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna, 78 4. Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM, 70 5. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM, 61 Source: KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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