{"id":20643,"date":"2013-09-02T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2013-09-02T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enduro.nl\/?p=20643"},"modified":"2013-09-02T12:00:22","modified_gmt":"2013-09-02T10:00:22","slug":"wec-preview-st-flour-set-for-explosive-ewc-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/20643\/wec-preview-st-flour-set-for-explosive-ewc-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"WEC preview: St Flour Set For Explosive EWC Finale!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Matthew<\/a>Returning to action following a two-month summer break, the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship <\/strong>heads to\u00a0St Flour<\/strong> in France for the seventh and final round of the season. With the French fanatical about their enduro, the\u00a0Grand Prix\u00a0AMV\u00a0of France<\/strong> is set to bring the 2013 EWC season to an exciting and dramatic close in\u00a0St Flour <\/strong>on September 6-8.<\/p>\n

With three world titles already awarded, the\u00a0Grand Prix\u00a0AMV\u00a0of France <\/strong>eagerly awaits the outcome of the hotly contest Enduro 2, Enduro Junior and Women\u2019s Cup categories.<\/p>\n

Better than in 2009?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, it is the\u00a0Moto Club du Haut Cantal <\/strong>that has been designated by the\u00a0FIM <\/strong>and the\u00a0French Motorcycling Federation (FFM)<\/strong> to organize the seventh round of the 2013 EWC series. For this assignment, the big question posed by experts is as follows:\u00a0“Can the Moto Club du Haut Cantal do better than in 2009? <\/em>\u00bb To this\u00a0St\u00e9phane FAGHEON<\/strong>, President of a club that needs no introduction, answers in the columns of French magazine\u00a0Moto Verte<\/strong>: ”\u00a0Our goal is to do as well or better than in 2009. And we are actively working for over a year and a half for it … <\/em>” Remarks confirmed by\u00a0Gio SALA (FIM Race Inspector)<\/strong>:”\u00a0The 2013 race is much more difficult than in 2009. It looks like a real enduro race with very technical sections were everyone will suffer – including the champions!<\/em>”<\/p>\n

With a more difficult and technical track than four years ago, there’s something to test the stars of the EWC and excite all the masses of enduro enthusiasts whether they are French, Spanish or Italian. For 2013 the paddock will be at the foot of\u00a0St Pierre Cathedral<\/strong>, in the main square of\u00a0St Flour.<\/strong> Regarding the special tests, the president of\u00a0MCHC <\/strong>says: “We have sought the proximity to the city center. The Enduro test is in the same place than in 2009, just 5 minutes from downtown, but it will be much longer.
\n\u201cFor their part, the Xtreme Test and Cross Test will be located on the outskirts of the city. The public can go by foot or even by shuttle bus that we will organize with one of our sponsors. The Xtreme test will take place in the ruins of an old farmhouse and should be worth a visit while the Cross Test will be in a large field with various passages between the trees.<\/em>”
\nIn addition, the\u00a0KTM Super Test<\/strong> will be held on Friday night, as it was four years ago, near the exit of the A75 from 19.00. And of course, the legendary “c\u00f4te des \u00e9coliers<\/strong>” will be part of one of the many technical sections of the liaison…<\/p>\n

St Flour<\/strong> is located in the region of\u00a0Auvergne <\/strong>and department of\u00a0Cantal<\/strong>. This charming town of about 7000 inhabitants is situated on a large volcanic place of Cantal,\u00a0Plant\u00e8ze<\/strong>, at 900 meters of altitude.\u00a0St Flour <\/strong>is situated 74 kilometers east of\u00a0Aurillac <\/strong>and 100 kilometers south of\u00a0Clermont-Ferrand<\/strong>. It is also located on the axis of the A75 highway from\u00a0Paris <\/strong>to\u00a0B\u00e9ziers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Can SALVINI be crown on Saturday?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the\u00a0Enduro 1<\/strong> class, after the fourth title of\u00a0Antoine MEO (FRA – KTM)<\/strong> was confirmed at the Grand Prix of Greece last June, it only remains to define the Vice-Champion. Spectators will delight in a tense battle between\u00a0Juha SALMINEN (FIN – HVA)<\/strong> and teammate\u00a0Matti SEISTOLA (FIN – HVA)<\/strong> for this symbolic role. Only two points separate the two Finns in the provisional standings and there\u2019s no doubt that they both have their sights set on claiming that runner-up result. We will also have to count on the official KTM of\u00a0Meo<\/strong>, who without pressure should ensure the show he did last year in Brignoles. Three riders can expect to make a final two spots in the E1 top five. Indeed,\u00a0Eero REMES (SF – TM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Cristobal GUERRERO (ESP – KTM)<\/strong> and\u00a0Jeremy JOLY (F – Honda)<\/strong> are very close and they will watch the slightest mistake of one or the other.<\/p>\n

As the only major championship yet to be decided, the\u00a0Enduro 2 <\/strong>category awaits it\u2019s new champion of 2013. Indeed, despite a 33-point lead over his nearest rival\u00a0Pierre-Alexandre RENET (F – Husaberg)<\/strong>, the leader\u00a0Alex SALVINI (I – HM Honda) <\/strong>is not yet safe from a bad luck… but the Italian can settle for a 9th place result on Saturday to be crowned champion on day one. The runner-up is also yet to be determined. And it\u2019s likely that this position will be fought out until the very end.\u00a0RENET <\/strong>is only seven points clear of Ivan CERVANTES (ESP – KTM) <\/strong>and 11 of\u00a0Johnny AUBERT (FRA – KTM)<\/strong>. The Husaberg racer will attempt to contain the various attacks of the KTM duo while attempting to delay the crowning of\u00a0SALVINI<\/strong>. Behind this quartet, we will also count on the return of David KNIGHT (GB – Honda)<\/strong> who is finally recovered from his bad wrist injury and could become a deciding factor in the race for the Vice-Champion. Finally,\u00a0Victor GUERRERO (ESP – KTM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Oriol MENA (E – Husaberg)<\/strong> and\u00a0Lorenzo SANTOLINO (E – HVA)<\/strong> should provide a great show for the last runner-up in the Top 5.<\/p>\n

Christophe NAMBOTIN (FRA – KTM)<\/strong> was crowned the\u00a0Enduro 3<\/strong> World Champion in June in Kastoria (Greece) so the race for second place remains very open between Joakim LJUNGGREN (S – Husaberg) <\/strong>and\u00a0Aigar LEOK (EST – TM)<\/strong>. The Estonian has however the advantage leading into\u00a0St Flour<\/strong> and holds a 10-point lead over the Swede. But\u00a0LJUNGGREN <\/strong>won\u2019t want to let\u00a0Leok <\/strong>beat him, as a final third place would be a disappointing end to his season.\u00a0LEOK <\/strong>and\u00a0LJUNGGREN <\/strong>will also have to keep an eye on\u00a0Luis CORREIA (P – Beta)<\/strong>,\u00a0Manuel MONNI (I – KTM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Deny PHILIPPAERTS (I – Beta)<\/strong>, the comeback of\u00a0Rodrig THAIN (F – Gas Gas)<\/strong> and of course\u00a0Mathias BELLINO (F – Husaberg)<\/strong> who will focus, on his land, to win his first Senior race..<\/p>\n

Will PHILLIPS Win In Enduro Junior?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the\u00a0Enduro Junior<\/strong> class, the title seems to be headed the direction of the Australian\u00a0Matthew PHILLIPS (AUS – HVA)<\/strong>. Now 29 points ahead of his rival\u00a0Giacomo REDONDI (I – KTM)<\/strong>, the official HVA has all the cards to be crowned champion on Saturday evening. But will the “Minotaur<\/strong>“, as nicknamed by his manager\u00a0Fabrizio AZZALIN<\/strong>, withstand the pressure? Hoping he won\u2019t is\u00a0Redondi <\/strong>who has a very small chance of title. Based on the results of the last Grand Prix, the two young prodigies must also contend with the former crossman\u00a0Lo\u00efc LARRIEU (F – Husaberg)<\/strong>,\u00a0Mario ROMAN (E – Husaberg) <\/strong>and\u00a0Danny MCCANNEY (GB – Gas Gas)<\/strong>. Moving into EJ for the GP of France, 2013 FIM Youth Cup 125cc World Champion\u00a0Jamie MCCANNEY (GB – Husaberg)<\/strong> is eager to show what he can do against his peers as he prepares for his assault on the class next season. In\u00a0FIM Youth Cup 125cc<\/strong>, with the absence of the World Champion, the way seems open for\u00a0Albin ELOWSON (S – Husaberg)<\/strong>,\u00a0Benjamin HERRERA (CL – TM)<\/strong> and\u00a0Dawid CIUCCI (I – KTM) <\/strong>to contend for victory.<\/p>\n

Matthew PHILLIPS (AUS – HVA) has never been so close from his first World Title<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, in the\u00a0Women<\/strong>’s class, despite only being six points ahead of\u00a0Jessica GARDINER (AUS – Sherco)<\/strong>, one wonders who will stop\u00a0La\u00efa SANZ (E – Honda)<\/strong> in her quest for a second world title. Behind her,\u00a0GARDINER <\/strong>will have to withstand the attacks of\u00a0Jane DANIELS (GB – Husaberg)<\/strong> to maintain her position as runner-up. For their part, the French\u00a0Juliette BERREZ (Yam)<\/strong>,\u00a0Geraldine FOURNEL (Husaberg)<\/strong>,\u00a0Audrey ROSSAT (KTM) <\/strong>and\u00a0Samantha TICHET (KTM)<\/strong> will want to shine in front of their audience while\u00a0Jemma WILSON (AUS – Honda) <\/strong>will try to continue her improvement on the International level.<\/p>\n

The caravan of the EWC therefore lays its bags for the last time of the year in one enduro\u2019s Meccas in\u00a0St Flour,<\/strong> France. All the many enduro fans expected will witness a thrilling final in the Junior and E2 categories and the second crowning of global motorcycle sports Queen,\u00a0La\u00efa SANZ<\/strong>. See you on Friday, September 6th at 19:00 in the heart of\u00a0St Flour <\/strong>for a grand finale!<\/p>\n

Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 St Flour (Department of Cantal) ;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 74 kms East of Aurillac ;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Friday 6 September : KTM Super Test : 19h00 ;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September : Start : 9h00 et Arrival: 16h00 ;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Organizer :\u00a0Moto Club Haut Cantal<\/strong>;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Website: www.enduro-abc.com and www.mchautcantal.free.fr;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Track : 50kms \u2013 4 laps ;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Free Access ;
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Airport : Clermont : 100 Kilometers \u2013 Lyon : 240 Kilometers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Returning to action following a two-month summer break, the FIM Maxxis Enduro World Championship heads to\u00a0St Flour in France for the seventh and final round of the season. With the French fanatical about their enduro, the\u00a0Grand Prix\u00a0AMV\u00a0of France is set to bring the 2013 EWC season to an exciting and dramatic close in\u00a0St Flour on…<\/p>\n

Lees meer “WEC preview: St Flour Set For Explosive EWC Finale!”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ekwk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}