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MPS RACING - MAG SPORT RACING 2007 - European Success March 2007
Success for MPS Racing and Husqvarna at round one of the European Enduro Championship – at Oliveto Citra , Italy in March 2007.
The team left York on Monday evening consisting of, Si, Mick, Marnie and Jake to catch a North Sea ferry to Rotterdam , and then drive 1300 miles to the beautiful hill top town of Oliveto Citra for the opening round of the European Championships.
After driving through Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Switzerland and finally into Italy we arrived Wednesday tea time, and hence set up camp in prime position in the paddock, high up over looking parc ferme, which was situated in the market square.
Thursday we walked the enduro test which was sited on a woody hillside and then the motor cross in a disused quarry returning back to the town for the second motor cross test on a very wet hillside!
Thursday evening the remainder of the team joined us, Gavin, his Dad Mark, Wyn, Jonny and Craig.
First job Friday was signing on and scrutineering, no problems here and then the tests were walked again with Wyn. Friday night it rained heavily, which would give the British riders a slight advantage.
Saturday morning saw slightly better weather, with the first bike away at 9am. Gavin starting his 4th enduro and first European round, calm and relaxed (but we don’t think he really was), setting off at 9.09am # 33. Simon in E2 Juniors at 9.16am #102.
The first part of the course included a single line up a steep, rocky climb; unfortunately this was a problem for some of the early riders and caused a serious bottle neck, which Gavin got caught up in.
Simon’s experience however helped him through no problem; with other more experienced riders found they were loosing 30 minutes or more.
Once free of the hill Gavin arrived at the first check 31 minutes late. Due to illegible Italian hand writing on Gavin’s time card, we looked as if he had been marked for 41 minutes not 31. With the first check being cancelled Gav was showing a 10 minute penalty, even after a protest we were unable to reinstate his time. But for his first European round he posted some creditable test times.
Si was having a better day being clean on time, and fastest over all in combined times on the enduro test. At the end of day one he was laying 5th overall and 2nd in class, behind home rider Oscer Balleti.
He had also had been drafted into the Mucci Husqvarna Team with fellow Brit Daryl Boulter and polish Michal Szuster, giving them the lead overall in the Manufacturers Team Trophy.
Also Si, Daryl and Greg Evans were lying 3rd in the Nations Championship. A well deserved 1st 2nd and 3rd.
Sunday morning brought glorious weather with both riders confident and raring to go. Unfortunately Si flooded his bike and incurred a 10 second penalty at the start, but managed to catch this back, finishing the event a comfortable second in class and 13th overall, winning the Manufacturers Team Trophy with help from Szuster on his Husky 250TE, who won overall.
Gavin was riding more relaxed and managed to shorten his test times by around 5 seconds per lap, finishing 27th in class and gaining valuable experience for our next round in Hungary .
Our journey home took us via the CH factory in Varese to collect a full factory spec WR125, to be used by our WEC rider Daryl.
We now have two full factory prepared 125’s for our next event at the end of this month in Spain and then Portugal .
Many thanks to Husky Sport, Talon, Motul Oil, NTB Racing, MAG, Jon Bell Plastering, MRS, BOR, Core-Racing, 3 City, White Horse Contractors, and welcome to two new supporters SIS and Bert Harkins, plus all team members who did an excellent job.
Report from : Husky Sport - MPS Husqvarna Official Results Service
Husky Sport – MPS Husqvarna
Bolter & Wakely shine at ’07 EEC opener
British Husqvarna riders – Mucci Racing’s Daryl Bolter and MPS Racing’s Si Wakely, both showed that they are more than capable of claiming success in this year’s European Enduro Championship after securing runner-up finishes in their respective Senior E1 and Junior E2/E3 classes at the opening round of the series held in Oliveto Citra , Italy .
Both starting the new series in style, in finishing the event with double runner-up results the duo, along with Poland’s Michael Szuster, helped the Husqvarna Mucci Racing team top the event’s Team results on both days.
Competing in the Senior Enduro 1 class aboard a WR125 former Junior EEC champion Daryl Bolter was determined to get his ’07 campaign off to a strong start having missed much of the ’06 season due to injury.
Competing for the Italian Husqvarna Mucci Racing team, as he did in a ’05, Bolter placed in a creditable second position on day one and finished in 10th in the event’s overall results. Placing 30 seconds behind E1 class winner Giuseppe Canova from Italy Bolter made several mistakes en route to his runner-up finish, the result of trying a little too hard early in the day.
The class’s fastest rider on one of the event’s eight tests on day one, Daryl placed no lower than fourth in class to place just under 30 seconds adrift of the winner yet comfortably ahead of the third placed rider.
On day two Daryl upped his pace and ensuring that he didn’t make any mistakes he improved his result in the overall results by one spot to finish ninth and again claimed the runner-up position in the Senior E1 class. Finishing just 13 seconds behind E1 class winner Canova Bolter again posted the class’s fastest time on one of the tests and finished consistently behind his Italian rival on all other tests.
Competing in EEC competition aboard Husqvarna machinery for the first time ever Si Wakely made his debut a good one placing as runner-up on both days in the Junior Enduro2/Enduro 3 class aboard his MPS Racing WR250.
Claiming an impressive fifth place finish in the opening day’s overall results Wakely placed less than 30 seconds behind the events fastest competitor – former World Enduro Champion Roman Michalik. Making Si’s overall result even more impressive was the fact that he posted the fastest time on the event’s enduro test on the third and final lap.
In the Junior E2/E3 class Si topped two of the day’s tests, including the first, to claim a well earned runner-up result just 18 seconds behind class winner Oscar Balletti and comfortably ahead of the third placed rider.
Despite picking up a 10 second penalty at the start of day two when he flooded his bike on the start line and subsequently failed to start it during the allotted 60 seconds, Si again rode well finishing second in class behind day one winner Balletti but dropping to 13th overall. Every bit as consistent as he was on day one Si topped two tests in the Junior E2/E3 class and once again consistently outpaced the majority of his class rivals.
Prior to Darryl and Si’s next outing in the EEC, which will be round two of the series held in Cered, Hungary on June 30 and July 1, the pair will compete in rounds two and three of the World Enduro Championship held in Spain and Portugal at the end of April and the beginning of May.
Daryl Bolter: “Things went well for me on both days really but I had a few too many crashes on day one, which dropped me a little further behind the class winner than I should have finished. I’m still not back to where I was in ’05 but having not really raced at all last year due to my injuries I guess it will take a little bit of time to get back up to full speed. I’m really happy to have started the championship with two solid results though.
“I made lots of mistakes on day one, which affected my result. I was still second in class but I was pushing a little bit too hard. Day two was better and I was only 12 seconds behind the class winner. All in all it was a good event and not really as typically Italian as I was expecting. Being second in the E1 championship after the first round is great.”
Si Wakely: “It was a very good weekend for me - I’m well pleased with the start I’ve made to the European championships. Day one started well and remained that way really. The first check proved to be really difficult in places but I managed to get through the bottle-neck that caused lots of riders to lose time without any problems. I really enjoyed the three tests and posting the overall fastest time on the final enduro test was great.
“Day two was similar to day one really – I didn’t make any mistakes and really enjoyed the event. I was disappointed to have lost 10 seconds at the start but I still finished second in class, which was good. It’s been a great start to the championship.”
2007 European Enduro Championship Round 1
Grand Prix of Italy – Day 1
Senior E1 class
1. Giuseppe Canova (KTM) 34:00.77; 2. Daryl Bolter (Mucci Racing Husqvarna) 34:30.25; 3. Pierre Duzellier (KTM) 34:34.31; 4. Giovanni Gritti (Honda) 35:03.56; 5 Ralph Hubers (Yamaha) 35:21.47
Junior E2/E3 class
1. Oscar Balletti (Honda) 33:39.70; 2. Si Wakely (MPS Husqvarna) 33:57.92; 3. Lukasz Kurowski (KTM) 35:21.54; 4. Maurizo Facchin ( Kawasaki ) 35:29.40; 5. Andrea Fossati (Suzuki) 35:29.86
2007 European Enduro Championship Rnd 1
Grand Prix of Italy – Day 2
Senior E1 class
1. Giuseppe Canova (KTM) 38:54.55; 2. Daryl Bolter (Mucci Racing Husqvarna) 39:07.54; 3. Giovanni Gritti (Honda) 39:51.02; 4. Pierre Duzellier (KTM) 39:52.24; 5. Ralph Hubers (Yamaha) 40:01.32
Junior E2/E3
1. Oscar Balletti (Honda) 38:47.00; 2. Si Wakely (MPS Husqvarna) 39:27.76; 3. Maurizio Facchin ( Kawasaki ) 39:37.26; 4. Lukasz Kurowski (KTM) 39:40.62; 5. Carlo Conforti (Honda) 40:07.54
ENDS
NB: All enquiries to be directed to either gmc@attglobal.net or mike.carter@huskysport.co.uk
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