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World Enduro Championship – Final Round - 11th - 12 October 2008
Encouraging End to ’08 WEC Season for Wakely with Two Top 10 Results at GP of Europe
 MPS Racing Husqvarna team’s Si Wakely brought his participation in the ’08 World Enduro Championship to a positive end as the TE 450 mounted rider finished both days of the GP of Europe inside the top 10 of the Enduro Junior class.
With the final round of the series, staged in Mende, France, a fitting and challenging end to the championship Wakely placed eighth on day one before bettering his position by one position on day two with seventh.
Starting day one with a sixth place result on the opening special test Si continued to perform well throughout the day and on the second lap finished fourth in class on the motocross test.
With Husqvarna mounted Frenchman Marc Bourgeois winning the day, Si finished less than two seconds behind seventh placed rider Benoit Fortunato.
With the challenging enduro test catching out more than a few riders during the second day, including day one winner Bourgeois who derailed a chain and dropped from first to fifth, Si put in a solid opening lap before continuing to ride well throughout the day.
Performing best on the jump filled extreme test and twice finishing fourth in class, Si improved on his first day result by one pace and finished less than one second behind the sixth placed rider.
At the end of the ’08 World Enduro Championship Si placed sixth in the Enduro Junior World Championship.
Si Wakely: “It’s certainly not been an easy event but it’s been an enjoyable one. I spent some time practicing with Husqvarna factory rider Antoine Meo before the event so I was feeling pretty confident.”
“The motocross test and the extreme test were both good for me, but the enduro test was really tough. It was incredibly slippery.”
“Both days went pretty well and I didn’t have any real problems. I had a couple of slow tests but I also had some really good tests too.”
“It’s been a long, hard season that on the whole has gone well. Finishing sixth in the Enduro Junior World Championship is great.”
2008 World Enduro Championship - Grand Prix of Europe – Day 1
Enduro Junior Class
1. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 54:17.76; 2. Oriol Mena (KTM) 54:32.50; 3. Jeremy Joly (Sherco) 54:51.05; 4. Vanni Cominotto (KTM) 55:02.10; 5. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 55:21.83; 6. Romain Boucardey (KTM) 56:00.10; 7. Benoit Fortunato (Husqvarna) 55:10.63; 8. Simon Wakely (MPS Racing Husqvarna) 56:12.12; 9. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 56:26.88; 10. Antoine Basset (Husqvarna) 56:28.37; 11. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 56:40.56; 12. Adrien Metge (Husqvarna) 56:44.26; 13. Philip McLaughlin (TM) 57:23.58; 14. Armand Monleon (Yamaha) 57:41.77; 15. Martin Bonnet (Husqvarna) 58:03.12; 16. Guillem Pares (Yamaha) 58:04.69; 17. Vincent Charbonnier (KTM) 58:56.02; 18. Xavier De Soultrait (KTM) 59:32.44; 19. Romain Cadillac (Yamaha) 59:43.27; 20. Johan Molinarie (Husqvarna) 59:51.60
2008 World Enduro Championship - Grand Prix of Europe – Day 2
Enduro Junior Class
1. Jeremy Joly (Sherco) 53:59.03; 2. Oriol Mena (KTM) 54:04.21; 3. Vanni Cominotto (KTM) 54:09.42; 4. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 54:29.69; 5. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 54:33.67; 6. Adrien Metge (Husqvarna) 55:11.81; 7. Simon Wakely (MPS Racing Husqvarna) 55:21.51; 8. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 56:27.82; 9. Antoine Basset (Husqvarna) 55:46.55; 10. Benoit Fortunato (Husqvarna) 56:43.07; 11. Sebastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 56:54.72; 12. Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna) 57:18.24; 13. Vincent Charbonnier (KTM) 57:19.65; 14. Edoardo D’Ambrosio (TM) 57:29.70; 15. Philip McLaughlin (TM) 57:38.13; 16. Romain Cadillac (Yamaha) 57:49.39; 17. Xavier De Soultrait (KTM) 58:23.39; 18. Vaclav Malkus (Husqvarna) 58:24.82; 19. Guillaume Adam (Husqvarna) 58:27.78; 20. Guillem Pares (Yamaha) 58:36.15
All enquiries to be directed to either gmc@attglobal.net or mike.carter@huskysport.co.uk
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