FIM Gala Ceremony 2013 - Enduro -

Enduro Tadeusz Błażusiak

FIM SuperEnduro World Champion

Matthew Phillips

FIM Junior Enduro World Champion

Antoine Meo

FIM E1 Enduro World Champion

Alex Salvini

FIM E2 Enduro World Champion

Christophe Nambotin

FIM E3 Enduro World Champion

67

© Good-Shoot

Tadeusz Błażusiak

FIM SuperEnduro World Champion Born on 26 April 1983 in Nowy Targ, Poland

68

TADDY BLAZUSIAK LIFTS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE TITLE Claiming a record-breaking fourth consecutive world title, Poland’s Taddy Błażusiak – KTM was crowned the 2013 FIM SuperEnduro World Champion. However with a strong line-up of riders entered in the three round championship Błażusiak had a tough fight on his hands to retain his number one ranking.

Injured in a training crash just days before the opening round of the championship in Lodz, Poland, Błażusiak was almost a non-starter for his home race. However refusing to concede defeat, the KTM rider arrived at the Atlas Arena determined to take his place on the start line.

Grabbing the holeshot in the night’s first Final, Błażusiak unbelievably claimed a start-to-finish win. With the start order reversed for the second final, it was Britain’s Jonny Walker – KTM who avoided a first corner crash to emerge as the race leader. With a clear track at his disposal, Walker opened up an advantage over the chasing pack and won the race. Returning to the top step of podium for final number three, Błażusiak recorded his second victory of the night and left Poland as the early championship leader.

spirits. Claiming the holeshot in the opening final, the KTM rider immediately opened up a comfortable advantage over his rivals to take the race win. In final number two, it was Manxman David Knight – Honda that led the way.

Forcing his way to the front of the field, Knight claimed his first victory of the season. For the third and final race of the night, Błażusiak recorded a start to finish to extend his series lead.

With the final round of the season in France remaining, the Polish rider was all but assured of clinching the title.

Knowing a trouble-free night was all that was needed to be crowned champion, Błażusiak did exactly that. Placing first in the initial final, he followed Spain’s Dani Gilbert – Husaberg, home for second in race two to wrap up the 2013 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship with one race to spare.

Claiming the last race win of the season in final number three, Knight secured the runner-up result in the championship. Aided by his race win in Poland, Walker took the third and final step of the podium.

With his injuries healed, Błażusiak entered round two of the series in Barcelona, Spain in February in confident © Good-Shoot 69

Š Future 7

Matthew Phillips

FIM Junior Enduro World Champion Born on 21 June 1991 in Tasmania, Australia

70

AUSTRALIAN ROOKIE MATT PHILLIPS STAMPS HIS MARK Despite 2013 being Husqvarna rider Matt Phillips’ debut season of FIM Enduro World Championship competition, the young Australian impressively ended it as the newly crowned FIM Junior Enduro World Champion.

Competing in the EWC for the first time, Phillips was a relatively unknown entity in the Enduro Junior category. But needing only one round of the series to formalise himself with the competition, the youngster from Tasmania quickly established himself as a serious threat for title honours. At round one in Chile it was the 2012 FIM Youth Enduro World Cup Winner Giacomo Redondi – KTM, that secured a double win. However at the following round in Argentina, Phillips hit his stride and won day one. Second on day two to Italy’s Rudi Moroni – KTM, Phillips placed himself at the top of the championship standings.

Back in Europe, Phillips built on his winning momentum gained in South America. Brimming with confidence, he claimed four consecutive race wins at the GP of Spain

and Portugal. Topping the standings in both Romania and Greece, the nineteen-year old moved to within striking distance of securing his first ever world title.

Although with the final round of the season proving to be a tough one due to torrential rain, he gave way to Manxman Danny McCanney – Gas Gas on day one.

Finishing second to the Manx rider, Phillips nevertheless ended the day as the newly crowned FIM Junior Enduro World Champion.

Despite being unable to win again for the rest of the season, Redondi’s six remaining podium results helped him to finish as runner-up to Phillips. Ending his year just eight points behind Redondi, and boosted in part due to his victory in France, McCanney claimed the third and final step of the championship podium.

Winning day one in Romania, Spain’s Mario Roman – Husaberg placed fourth. Ending his year on a high with victory on day two at the GPs of Greece and France, Loic Larrieu – Husaberg rounded out the top five. © Future 7 71

Š Future 7

Antoine Meo

FIM E1 Enduro World Champion Born on 29 August 1984 in Digne, France

72

ANTOINE MEO DOMINATES TO CLAIM FOURTH EWC TITLE Entering the 2013 FIM E1 Enduro World Championship as the defending champion, France’s Antoine Meo – KTM was the favourite to retain the E1 title honours.

However with a strong line-up of riders competing in the class along with the return of the 2011 E1 World Champion, Finland’s Juha Salminen – Husqvarna, few expected Meo to dominate the season in the manner that he did.

Meo began his year in determined fashion by claiming a double win in Chile while his closest rival Salminen struggled to fifth position on day two, the KTM rider was able to gain an early advantage on the Finn. Seven days later at the GP of Argentina in San Juan, Meo overcame a number of small mistakes to secure his third and fourth wins of the year.

On day one at the GP of Spain the defending champ suffered his first loss of the season. Crashing heavily on the opening enduro test, a notably de-tuned Meo was forced to dig deep in order to simply finish the race.

Unable to fare better than fifth, he allowed Finland’s Matti Seistola – Husqvarna to claim an impressive and unexpected win. Battered and bruised, Meo gallantly

fought back on day two to secure the top step of the podium.

Meo’s day two win in Spain ultimately sparked an eight-race winning streak, allowing the Frenchman to successfully defend his title at the penultimate round of the series, the GP of Greece. Despite not needing to fight for the win in order to collect the championship, Meo opted to lift the Enduro 1 title in style. Charging hard throughout the day he steadily increased his advantage to comfortably top the standings.

With the title already his, Antoine opted to contest the final round of the season in France on a KTM 125 EXC two-stroke. Battling through heavy mud and rain on day one he capitalised on a mistake by early leader Jeremy Tarroux – Sherco to take the win. On a revised course for day two, Tarroux recorded the final victory of the E1 season.

Behind Meo, the battle for the runner-up result raged between Husqvarna teammates Salminen and Seistola, with the former eventually coming out on top in this internal battle as the pairing placed second and third respectively in the final series standings. © Future 7 73

Š Future 7

Alex Salvini

FIM E2 Enduro World Champion Born on 5 September 1985 in Bologna, Italy

74

ALEX SALVINI SECURES FIRST EVER FIM WORLD TITLE With four previously crowned FIM Enduro World champions fighting for victory in the 2013 FIM Enduro 2 World Championship, nobody expected Alex Salvini – Honda, to end the year as the new title holder, but he deservedly did.

On day one at the opening round of the championship in Chile, it was defending champion Pierre Alexandre Renet – Husaberg, who claimed the win, finishing ahead of Johnny Aubert – KTM, in second with Salvini third.

But on day two, the Honda rider delivered a flawless performance. Taking control of the race lead early on, he maintained his advantage over Ivan Cervantes – KTM, to secure his debut career win. He was to follow this up with a double win at the next round in Argentina to leave South America leading the series.

At round three at the GP of Spain, Cervantes placed his KTM on the top step of the podium on both days to reduce the points gap to Salvini. Though fighting back at round four in Portugal, Salvini beat Cervantes by just six seconds to win day one. Confident in the terrain

and determined not to be beaten, Salvini again led his classmates home on day two. With the championship now entering the second half of the season, the Italian had established himself as the rider to beat in E2.

In Romania, Aubert collected the race win on day one with Salvini finishing close behind in second. However on day two Salvini regained control of the top step of the podium to record his sixth race win of the year. At the penultimate round in Greece, he again delivered another stunning performance. Second on day one to Renet, he beat his rival by just three tenths of a second to win day two and edge ever closer to his first world title.

The final round of the season held in France presented riders with some of the muddiest conditions experienced for some time. Salvini kept his cool to win both days and with it the Enduro 2 World Championship, becoming the first Italian to net an EWC title since Mateo Rubin in 2000. Faring well in the slippery conditions, Renet bettered Cervantes by five points to end his season as runner-up.

© Future 7 75

Š Future 7

Christophe Nambotin

FIM E3 Enduro World Champion Born on 1 August 1984 in AmbĂŠrieu-en-Bugey, France

76

CHRISTOPHE NAMBOTIN RULES SUPREME Claiming eleven race wins in the 2013 FIM E3 Enduro World Championship, France’s Christophe Nambotin – KTM, easily defended his E3 World crown.

With a pre-season injury to his finger hampering his progress, the Frenchman entered the opening round of the season in Chile slightly underprepared. Unsure of how his fitness would fare in the scorching South American heat, the KTM rider came close to winning day one in Chile. Battling with rival Joakim Ljunggren – Husaberg for the victory, Nambotin crashed on the final lap and handed the Swede the win. It was a rare mistake from the Frenchman, but it was one he would not repeat on day two as he claimed his first win of the series.

One week later, he won again, taking victory on day one at the GP of Argentina. Heading for a double win, the Frenchman ran into trouble when his KTM ground to a halt during the penultimate special test. Needing over thirty seconds to restart, he saw his chance of winning disappear and dropped back to fourth. Capitalising on Nambotin’s misfortune, Estonia’s Aigar Leok – TM, claimed a surprising win with Ljunggren second.

Back in Europe for round three at the GP of Spain, Nambotin was determined to put his misfortunes in South America behind him. Setting a blisteringly fast pace from the opening test, he set times that few could match and marched on to claim victory. It seemed the

Nambotin of old was back and with confidence booming, the Frenchman continued his winning ways.

Starting a successful run in Spain that would see him collect nine consecutive day wins, it was not until the final day of the championship in France, where he crashed out of the race while in the lead on day two, that Nambotin was beaten. His crash allowed Mathias Bellino – Husaberg, to sneak through for the win, bringing the former Enduro Junior World Champion’s campaign to a victorious close. However the title was already secure, claimed by Nambotin at the penultimate round of the season in Greece.

With no one seemingly able to challenge the KTM rider, the fight for the runner-up position between Leok and Ljunggren took centre stage throughout 2013. Equally matched, neither rider was able to gain a clear advantage over the other. In the end it was Leok who eventually ended the year second to Nambotin. Finishing just six points behind him, Ljunggren was third.

Delivering his best performance to date, Portugal’s Luis Correia – Beta, recorded four podium results to take fourth. Missing the opening two rounds of the season due to injury, Bellino produced a stunning second half of the season. Capping his year off with a win on day two in France, the Frenchman completed the top five.

© Future 7 77