Team managers will be Fabio Farioli and Kari Tiainen, two hard-boiled Enduro and rally pros, who have won about a dozen WorldChamptionship titles.The targets for this season are set already: Go for titles at theChampionship!
The Bosses speaking: Fabio Farioli and Kari Tiainen
It was a surprise to many that Ivan Cervantes went from E3 to E1, what was the reasoning and how is he getting on?
Fabio Farioli: KTM has a new winning bike, Ivan likes it very much and his riding style is perfect for a small 4-stroke 250 EXC-F. This year there will be the best conditions to lead the Championship. But don’t forget Alessandro Belometti with the 125 EXC …
What is the effect of Juha Salminen’s move to the USA on the KTM Enduro Racing Team?
Kari Tiainen: After 7 years working together it’s a bit strange to prepair for the season without Juha, but the team is fully motivated as ever. With Marko Tarkkala we got a young talented rider who for sure wants to prove that he deserves his place in the number one team.
David Knight was the top privateer rider in 2004 with a great 2nd place in E3, do you expect that he will have advantages on the full factory team in 2005?
Fabio Farioli: Knight is the man, he will get all the advantages of a fully supported factory rider and he has good relations with all the team members. The strongest man for the best results!
How do you think that the 250 EXC-F will work compared to the 125 EXC 2-strokes that your riders raced in E2 last season?
Kari Tiainen: I‘m very confident about the E1 class, a new great bike pushes the riders motivation to a higher level.
GNCC-style events are becoming more and more popular, are the KTM Enduro factory riders also contesting these types of events?
Fabio Farioli: All our riders are involved in these competitions, this year they are already leading the Italian (Belometti and Botturi), Spanish (Cervantes) and British (Knight) GNCC Championships. These events are also attractive for amateur riders like me …
How is Samuli Aro adapting to riding the smaller capacity bike after winning the world title in E3?
Kari Tiainen: Samuli simply is a great talent and it‘s the same with the bike he rides. Our 450 EXC is very competitive like we saw last season and it‘s so close to his old 525 … I don‘t see any trouble with Samuli’s change to the 450 EXC.
Info KtmPress, photo copyright D. Agrati
