{"id":30155,"date":"2015-06-02T08:02:19","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T06:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enduro.nl\/?p=30155"},"modified":"2015-06-02T08:02:19","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T06:02:19","slug":"grand-prix-maxxis-of-greece-back-to-serres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/30155\/grand-prix-maxxis-of-greece-back-to-serres\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Prix Maxxis of Greece – Back to Serres!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Matthew<\/a>For the last five years the city of\u00a0Serres <\/strong>and the entire region of central Macedonia have been anxiously waiting for the return of the EWC! This weekend, the\u00a0Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship<\/strong> is back on pretty familiar soil\u2026<\/p>\n

Responsible for many Grand Prix in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010, plus the 2008 ISDE,\u00a0LAMS Auto – Moto Club<\/strong> of\u00a0Serres<\/strong>is finally back on track for the fourth Grand Prix of this season. Chaired by\u00a0Giorgios \u201cColonel\u201d VOUDOURIS<\/strong>,\u00a0LAMS <\/strong>is well-known in the global motorsports community. Apart from the World Enduro Championship they frequently organize international rally races and host a series of motorsport events in the local circuit. It came as no surprise that\u00a0FIM <\/strong>andAMOTOE <\/strong>(Greek Federation) chose\u00a0LAMS <\/strong>as the organizer of the 2015 EWC GP of Greece.<\/p>\n

One base, three special tests<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarding the tracks,\u00a0Sokrates KIOSSES<\/strong>, known for his excellent work as an EWC timekeeper and a\u00a0LAMS <\/strong>member, revealed to us in Portugal: \u201cThe paddocks will be situated in\u00a0Hotel Elpida Resort & Spa<\/strong>, which belongs to\u00a0Christos CONSTANTINIDIS<\/strong>, one of the main men behind this exceptional relationship between\u00a0ABC Communication <\/strong>and\u00a0Infomega<\/strong>. Riders, teams, Press and FIM members will have all of the hotel\u2019s modern facilities at their disposal. As was also the case in Gouveia, all special tests will be at the same place, in the area around\u00a0St George\u2019s church<\/strong>. It\u2019s a perfect solution for spectators and the enduro community, as anyone will have the opportunity to easily attend all special tests during the two days of racing. Friday\u2019s\u00a0KTM Super Test<\/strong> will be held in\u00a0Serres Circuit<\/strong>!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Serres <\/strong>is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece with the earliest mentions of it dating back to the 5th century BC. It has a population of more than 80.000 people and carries a long heritage from the Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The Old Metropolis of\u00a0Agioi Theodoroi<\/strong> and the\u00a0Monastery of St John the Baptist <\/strong>are both situated just a few kilometers outside\u00a0Serres<\/strong>. Even though it has been affected by the recent financial recession, the city still has a vibrant agricultural economy based in tobacco, rice, tomato and cattle farming. Situated 77km north-east of\u00a0Thessaloniki<\/strong>, it\u2019s a city that loves motorcycles sports and most importantly enduro.<\/p>\n

Who can really stop NAMBOTIN?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After his knee injury in Portugal\u2019s KTM Super Test, everybody thought it would be difficult for\u00a0Christophe NAMBOTIN (F \u2013 KTM) <\/strong>to fight against his E1 rivals during the weekend. But that wasn\u2019t the case. Starting Saturday with another crash, he was forced to let\u00a0Eero REMES (SF \u2013 TM)<\/strong> get the win. He came back stronger on Sunday to win again and regain the points lost. Who can really stop\u00a0Christophe NAMBOTIN<\/strong> in Greece? Even if the Finn\u2019s already counting two victories in 2015, it\u2019ll be hard for him to get closer to\u00a0NAMBOTIN <\/strong>in the overall standings if the KTM rider stays healthy. Behind the TM official rider, neither\u00a0Danny MCCANNEY (GB \u2013 Husqvarna)<\/strong>, nor\u00a0Cristobal GUERRERO (E \u2013 Yamaha)<\/strong>, nor\u00a0Marc BOURGEOIS (F \u2013 Yamaha)<\/strong>, nor\u00a0Lorenzo SANTOLINO (E \u2013 Sherco)<\/strong> nor evenSimone ALBERGONI (I \u2013 Kawasaki)<\/strong> seem able to cause some trouble to the \u201cNAMBOTINATOR<\/strong>\u201d. However, we expect these five riders to be offering some great fights for the final step of the podium. And let\u2019s not forget\u00a0Jonathan MANZI (I \u2013 Gas Gas)<\/strong>,\u00a0Gianluca MARTINI (I \u2013 Yamaha) <\/strong>and\u00a0Rudy MORONI (I \u2013 Sherco)<\/strong>, all looking faster and more comfortable on their bikes as time goes by.<\/p>\n

In Enduro 2,\u00a0Antoine MEO (F \u2013 KTM) <\/strong>might now have a lead of 19 points over\u00a0Pierre-Alexandre RENET (F \u2013 Husqvarna) <\/strong>and of 20 points over\u00a0Alex SALVINI (I \u2013 Honda)<\/strong>, but in Portugal he wasn\u2019t as dominant as during the two previous rounds. Suffering from some injuries at the start of the season, the Husqvarna official rider could return to the top spot in\u00a0Serres <\/strong>on his battle to close the gap with his fellow Frenchman. From his side,\u00a0SALVINI <\/strong>seems to be gaining momentum, certainly rejuvenated from his victory in Gouveia.\u00a0MEO <\/strong>will also have to keep an eye on\u00a0Johnny AUBERT (F \u2013 Beta)<\/strong>. Despite his DNF in Portugal, the Beta official rider really wants to prove he can finish on the podium in a city where he was crowned world champion in 2009. Moreover,\u00a0AUBERT <\/strong>will have to give it all as two young guns are pushing hard just behind him:\u00a0Jaume BETRIU (E \u2013 Husqvarna)<\/strong> andLo\u00efc LARRIEU (F \u2013 Sherco)<\/strong>. They have both shown great consistency in their results during the Iberic Tour and will give everything to do better before the end of the season. Also watch out forVictor GUERRERO (E \u2013 KTM)<\/strong> and\u00a0Oriol MENA (E \u2013 Beta)<\/strong> as they really wish to improve after a mediocre start in the season.<\/p>\n

E3: the madness is still on\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

In E3, once again there\u2019s a huge interest in Greece\u2019s two race days.\u00a0Mathias BELLINO (F \u2013 Husqvarna) <\/strong>may still be leading the standings but\u00a0Matti SEISTOLA (SF \u2013 Sherco)<\/strong> is only 4 points behind him. And\u00a0Matthew PHILLIPS (AUS \u2013 KTM)<\/strong>, after his double victory in Gouveia, has closed the gap to only 12 points. The Frenchman will have to win in order to keep his lead against\u00a0SEISTOLA<\/strong>who\u2019s \u201con a mission\u201d and\u00a0PHILLIPS <\/strong>who\u2019s back on top form, as he told us at the end of the Spain-Portugal tour. Adding\u00a0Aigar LEOK (EST \u2013 TM)<\/strong>,\u00a0Manuel MONNI (I \u2013 TM)<\/strong>, Jonathan BARRAGAN (E \u2013 Gas Gas)<\/strong>,\u00a0Thomas OLDRATI (I \u2013 Husqvarna) <\/strong>and\u00a0Luis CORREIA (P \u2013 Beta) <\/strong>you get a minimum of eight riders fighting for the podium. And if Frenchmen\u00a0J\u00e9r\u00e9my JOLY (KTM) <\/strong>and\u00a0J\u00e9r\u00e9my TARROUX (Sherco)<\/strong> step it up and avoid mechanical issues the \u201cbig bikes\u201d class will offer great spectacle with unpredictable outcome.<\/p>\n

Finally, it\u2019s going to be an intense weekend for the Juniors class too. The overall leader\u00a0Jamie MCCANNEY (GB \u2013 Husqvarna) <\/strong>is clearly threatened by\u00a0Giacomo REDONDI (I \u2013 Beta)<\/strong>,Alessandro BATTIG (I \u2013 Honda) <\/strong>and the revelation of 2015\u00a0Steve HOLCOMBE (GB \u2013 Beta)<\/strong>.Diogo VENTURA (P \u2013 Gas Gas) <\/strong>and\u00a0Luis OLIVEIRA (P \u2013 Yamaha)<\/strong> will have to catch up after a deceiving home Grand Prix. In FIM Youth Cup 125cc,\u00a0Josep GARCIA (E \u2013 Husqvarna) <\/strong>and Mikael PERSSON (S \u2013 Yamaha) <\/strong>should offer another outstanding duel, with the Frenchies\u00a0Luca GARELLO (Yamaha)<\/strong>,\u00a0David ABGRALL (Yamaha)<\/strong>,\u00a0Val\u00e9rian DEBAUD (Yamaha) <\/strong>and\u00a0Jean Baptiste NICOLOT (Yamaha) <\/strong>fighting for the last step of the podium.<\/p>\n

After five years of expectation everyone\u2019s looking forward to this Grand Prix\u00a0Maxxis\u00a0of Greece<\/strong> inSerres<\/strong>. There\u2019s no doubt that thousands of Greek spectators will be in the special tests to cheer for the elite of Enduro riders. We rest assured that the members of LAMS Moto Club<\/strong> will do their best to turn this 4th round of the season into a big public celebration in a city that loves motorcycle sports.<\/p>\n

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

– Serres (Central Macedonia);
\n– 77km north-east of Thessaloniki;
\n– Friday, June 5th: KTM Super Test;
\n– Saturday June 6th and Sunday June 7th: Races start 09h00 & finish around 16h30;
\n– Organizer:\u00a0LAMS<\/strong>;
\n– Websites: www.enduro-abc.com and serresewc.lams.gr;
\n– Track: 40kms \u2013 4 laps;
\n– Airport: Thessaloniki (77kms)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the last five years the city of\u00a0Serres and the entire region of central Macedonia have been anxiously waiting for the return of the EWC! This weekend, the\u00a0Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship is back on pretty familiar soil\u2026 Responsible for many Grand Prix in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010, plus the 2008 ISDE,\u00a0LAMS Auto…<\/p>\n

Lees meer “Grand Prix Maxxis of Greece – Back to Serres!”<\/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-30155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ekwk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30155","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=30155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}