With Merriman failing to finish day one it was the Aro (KTM) who claimed victory, the Finn also took over the lead in the E2 world championship, after coming out on top of a close fought battle with Frenchman Fabien Planet. Claiming third was Italian Alessandro Botturi. On day two less than two seconds separated winner Merriman from his championship rival Aro as the pair placed ahead of Planet by some 30 seconds. After two rounds of the championship Aro holds a seven point lead over Planet with Merriman a further seven points behind.
Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: DNF, Day 2: First
“On day one I landed from a jump into a corner and put my foot down because my bike slipped away from me a little bit. That tweaked my left knee really badly. It gave way underneath me and I heard a cracking noise, which people have told me happens when you damage ligaments in your knee. I was in incredible pain at the time but I tried to continue for another couple of hundred meters but the pain didn’t go away. I could only stand on one leg so there was no way I could race on. I stopped, which was disappointing, but I didn’t really have a choice. The doctor gave me some really strong pain killers for day two but I was finding it really difficult to ride and I thought that there was no way I was going to be able to continue. Thankfully the painkillers started to work and I was able to ride ok. I had to push and try and win because it is impossible to ride at 90 per cent just to try and get some points. I just tried to forget about it as much as possible and the day went well. I didn’t make any big mistakes and managed to win.”
Andrea Beconi (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: 10th, Day 2: 10th
“Day one was going quite good for the first two laps and I was in sixth place and getting some really good times on the motocross test. But then I stalled the engine on the extreme special test on the last lap, which lost me 20 seconds and put me in 10th position. Day two wasn’t so good. My times on the motocross special tests were good again but I was losing too much time on the extreme tests. I finished in 10th again but I’m a little disappointed because I could have done better.”
Race classification Enduro 2
Round: 2 – Grand Prix of Portugal
Circuit: Fatima
Race: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Aro KTM FIN 29′ 39.040
2 F. Planet KTM FRA +29′ 50.480
3 A. Botturi KTM ITA +30′ 2.240
4 A. Eriksson Husqvarna SWE +30′ 7.570
5 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +30′ 23.050
6 J. Mattila Beta FIN +30′ 25.890
7 H. Rodrigues GasGas ESP +30′ 28.150
8 M. Aaltonen GasGas FIN +30′ 28.850
9 P. Goncalves Honda POR +30′ 41.130
10 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +30′ 46.700
11 P. Whibely GasGas NZL +30′ 46.790
12 E. McConnell Honda GBR +30′ 51.640
13 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +30′ 52.060
14 D. Frétigne Yamaha FRA +30′ 57.280
15 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +31′ 20.870
16 G. Falgari Husqvarna ITA +31′ 38.650
17 S. Arvis Suzuki FRA +31′ 43.270
18 L. Bouffioux Sherco FRA +31′ 50.410
19 M. Vukcevic Sherco BEL +31′ 57.180
20 M. Patrao Yamaha ITA +31′ 0.110
Race 2: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 36′ 11.520
2 S. Aro KTM FIN +36′ 12.930
3 F. Planet KTM FRA +36′ 42.160
4 A. Botturi KTM ITA +36′ 58.030
5 A. Eriksson Husqvarna SWE +37′ 1.590
6 B. Carlsson HusaBerg SWE +37′ 6.410
7 H. Rodrigues GasGas ESP +37′ 23.170
8 P. Goncalves Honda POR +37′ 41.150
9 J. Mattila Beta FIN +37′ 43.860
10 A. Beconi Yamaha FRA +37′ 46.790
11 D. Frétigne Yamaha FRA +37′ 55.330
12 J.F.. Goblet GasGas BEL +37′ 58.580
13 M. Aaltonen GasGas FIN +38′ 3.740
14 P. Whibely GasGas NZL +38′ 16.770
15 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +38′ 23.130
16 A. Belotti Husqvarna ITA +38′ 30.950
17 G. Falgari Husqvarna ITA +38′ 57.960
18 M. Patrao Yamaha ITA +39′ 10.510
19 S. Arvis Suzuki FRA +39′ 22.740
20 S. Ekert HusaBerg GER +39′ 38.760
Championship standings Enduro 2
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 89
2 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 82
3 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 75
4 Anders Eriksson Husqvarna SWE 68
5 Alessandro Botturi KTM ITA 63
6 Björne Carlsson HusaBerg SWE 62
7 Helder Rodrigues GasGas ESP 59
8 Andrea Beconi Yamaha FRA 44
9 David Frétigne Yamaha FRA 40
10 Paul Whibely GasGas NZL 39
11 Jari Mattila Beta FIN 38
12 Jean-François Goblet GasGas BEL 35
13 Euan McConnell Honda GBR 28
14 Paulo Goncalves Honda POR 25
15 Andrea Belotti Husqvarna ITA 23
16 Miska Aaltonen GasGas FIN 21
17 Giuliano Falgari Husqvarna ITA 15
18 Miki Arpa Husqvarna ESP 15
19 Sebastien Arvis Suzuki FRA 15
20 Sascha Ekert HusaBerg GER 14
Manufacturers standings Enduro 2
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 91
2 Yamaha 86
3 Husqvarna 69
4 HusaBerg 62
5 GasGas 59
6 Honda 44
7 Suzuki 15
8 Sherco 10
Enduro 1 : Solid results for Oblucki and Germain
Round: 2 – Grand Prix of Portugal
Circuit: Fatima
Date: 9 April 2005
Disappointingly UFO Corse Yamaha rider Bartosz Oblucki struggled to perform at his best finishing in seventh on both days of the GP of Portugal, staged in Fatima. Spaniard Ivan Cervantes extended his lead in the Enduro 1 class of the ’05 FIM World Enduro Championship with a strong double class victory topping day one by just over 20 seconds, the KTM rider then placed 21 seconds ahead on day two to claim his second double class win in as many races. Cervantes now sits 26 points clear at the top of the Enduro 1 championship. With conditions much drier than at the season opener in Spain, it was Italians Simone Albergoni and Alessandro Belometti who claimed the runner-up and third place spots respectively on both days. Yamaha Moto France rider Marc Germain finished in fifth and sixth positions.
Bartosz Oblucki (UFO Corse Yamaha) Day 1: seventh, Day 2: seventh
“After my disappointing results in Spain I was ready to really push as hard as I could here in Portugal but as soon as I did I started to have problems. My test times were really bad and I felt like I was going to crash at any moment. It didn’t matter what I tried I struggled to ride the way I wanted to. Day two was the same in the beginning. I pushed hard but again my test times were really bad and after that I decided to try riding much calmer. Immediately my test times improved. They shouldn’t have because I wasn’t pushing anywhere near as hard as I could have but my special test times were better. Then on the last lap we made some changes to my suspension and I was quicker again. It shouldn’t have made a huge difference but it did. Now I know that I have some work to do before the race in Italy, where hopefully I will be able to push like I want to do and still feel confident with my bike. I’m sure things will be better for the world championship race in Italy.”
Marc Germain (Yamaha France) Day 1: Fifth, Day 2: Sixth
“Day one was not so bad for me. My problem was that I was too slow in the extreme special test. No matter how hard I pushed I couldn’t be any quicker, which meant that because it was so close between all the riders on the other tests I was always trying to catch back up to them. I wasn’t fast enough to win I think I was fast enough to finish on the podium. I made two more mistakes on the extreme test on day two. Because of that I wasn’t able to fight for the podium positions. Apart from that I am happy with my riding because I know that I have the speed to finish inside the top three. If I can improve my riding on the extreme tests then I know that my results will get stronger. I need to be a little faster in the mornings because you can’t afford to have any slow tests.”
Race classification Enduro 1
Round: 2 – Grand Prix of Portugal
Circuit: Fatima
Race: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 29′ 15.690
2 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +29′ 35.260
3 A. Belometti KTM ITA +29′ 37.720
4 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +29′ 56.050
5 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +29′ 57.650
6 P. Silvan KTM FIN +30′ 4.010
7 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +30′ 4.560
8 R. Larsson TM ITA +30′ 4.980
9 S. Tonelli Yamaha ITA +30′ 27.050
10 R. Michalik TM CZE +30′ 34.940
11 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +30′ 37.440
12 J. Gauthier Husqvarna FRA +30′ 42.970
13 M. Saarenkoski Husqvarna FIN +30′ 43.560
14 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +30′ 45.900
15 P. Bergvall Yamaha SWE +30′ 47.150
16 P. Duzellier Suzuki FRA +30′ 58.100
17 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +31′ 13.860
18 M. Szuster Honda POL +31′ 25.990
19 M. Hartmann KTM GER +31′ 30.030
20 J. Jou Yamaha ESP +31′ 30.370
Race 2: 3 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 36′ 26.660
2 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +36′ 47.940
3 A. Belometti KTM ITA +36′ 50.380
4 P. Silvan KTM FIN +36′ 58.440
5 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +37′ 13.060
6 M. Germain Yamaha FRA +37′ 17.520
7 B. Oblucki Yamaha POL +37′ 26.120
8 R. Larsson TM ITA +37′ 54.140
9 S. Tonelli Yamaha ITA +37′ 54.730
10 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +37′ 57.000
11 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +38′ 13.930
12 M. Szuster Honda POL +38′ 26.740
13 J. Gauthier Husqvarna FRA +38′ 49.230
14 M. Pievani Yamaha ITA +38′ 54.420
15 M. Hartmann KTM GER +38′ 55.250
16 D. Telini Yamaha ITA +39′ 10.050
17 P. Cagnoni Suzuki ITA +39′ 21.410
18 R. Hubers Yamaha NED +39′ 22.230
19 M. Olsen Kawasaki SWE +39′ 27.640
20 P. Duzellier Suzuki FRA +39′ 37.450
Championship standings Enduro 1
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 100
2 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 74
3 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 72
4 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 70
5 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 68
6 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 64
7 Richard Larsson TM ITA 61
8 Bartosz Oblucki Yamaha POL 58
9 Simone Tonelli Yamaha ITA 41
10 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 36
11 Peter Bergvall Yamaha SWE 30
12 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 27
13 Roman Michalik TM CZE 25
14 Julien Gauthier Husqvarna FRA 25
15 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 24
16 Xacob Agra Yamaha ESP 23
17 Michal Szuster Honda POL 17
18 Daniele Telini Yamaha ITA 13
19 Marcus Olsen Kawasaki SWE 13
20 Manuel Pievani Yamaha ITA 11
26 Joan Jou Yamaha ESP 1
27 David Lopez Yamaha ESP 1
Manufacturers standings Enduro 1
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 100
2 Honda 84
3 Yamaha 69
4 TM 62
5 Husqvarna 32
6 Suzuki 10
7 Kawasaki 2
Info photo Yamaha Racing