Date : 23/05/2010

Fantastic win for Ahola in Italy

In front of a massive crowd at Lovere and under fine Italian sunshine, Honda HM Zanardo ‘Jolly Racing’ Team had a home Grand Prix to remember as the third round of eight in the FIM Enduro World Championship fell to Mika Ahola with victory on both days.

The irrepressible Finn engaged in another close duel with E2 title rival Ivan Cervantes and defeated the Spaniard in both outings of an event for the first time this year on the modified CRF450R. Day1 saw Ahola supreme to head the standings by more than 27 seconds and front the pack in seven of 13 sections. Day2 was a much closer affair as the expected attack from Cervantes materialised, but Ahola was unshakeable despite constant pressure from the former multi world champion. The time difference between the two riders dipped to half a second on the very last special test but the 35-year-old Honda rider carefully planned his route through the terrain and won by 0.17 of a second with a remarkable 0.02 difference on the overall scratch between all three classes.

The Motocross test involved a trek across several grassy fields, the Extreme section was lined with sharp turns, large rocks and water crossings while the ten-minute Enduro test took place next to and on parts of a river bank with sand, rocks and yet more demanding conditions.

Ahola, a three time world champion with Honda, now has a six-point lead in the E2 (450cc machinery) category and perhaps a small psychological edge over Cervantes. “I am so happy, this was a great win and a special place to do it,” he said. “I made a few mistakes on the second day and could not get the same drive as I had on Saturday. It went down to the last special and I only had 0.5 of an advantage. I walked it carefully and just went for it. Needless to say we are all thrilled with the first double of the season.”

“This was an amazing grand prix for us,” said Team Manager Franco Mayr. “This was not only our home race but one that is very special for enduro. It is like winning in Monte Carlo for an F1 team; we took the same points as any other GP here but the victory means something more. The meeting has so much history and is not only important for Italians in the enduro world but for anyone who has an appreciation of the sport. Full congratulations to Mika, he did a job that captured everyone’s attention. To win the scratch and come through that difficult special to win by 0.02 of a second is something unheard of.”

Team-mate Oscar Balletti was 6th and 7th in Italy and holds 8th in the points table but it was a sad weekend for Fabio Mossini who could not participate in E1 on his CRF250R in front of his home crowd after a back injury on Friday ruled him out of action and he awaits news on the extent of the damage with scans tomorrow (Monday).

“Mika was riding really nicely and it was a pleasure to watch; what a great result for the team,” commented Honda Motor Europe Off-road Racing Manager Roger Harvey. “It was a very hard enduro and the pressure Mika had to face on that second day was incredible. It was a tremendous performance and now that he has broken the pattern of sharing the wins with Cervantes who knows what can happen next.”

Lovere also saw the first round of three in the inaugural FIM Women’s World Cup and Trial World Champion Laia Sanz took her CRF250R to 5th and 2nd positions for a promising start to the enduro tangent of her career. Italian Champion Anna Sappino was 8th (from eleven competitors) at both times of asking.

Round four of the EWC series – bringing the calendar to the halfway stage – will take place at Kwidzyn for the Grand Prix of Poland on June 12th-13th.