Christophe Nambotin (KTM) could be capable of delivering his first Senior world title – but it won’t come easy. The big man himself – David Knight (KTM) returns to the track fitter and faster than before and wants his title back, while Sweden’s Joakim Ljunggren has been looking quick all winter and wants to win too. As yet no one knows which way this is set to run, but here’s a helping hand to break it down…
Christophe Nambotin #2
Nationality: French
Team: KTM Enduro Factory
Bike: KTM 300 EXC
With five wins to his tally, Christophe challenged Mika Ahola throughout the entire 2011 season. However a non-score in Turkey and a hand injury in France prevented him from becoming a bigger threat to Ahola’s title chase. A move to the KTM Enduro Factory team for 2012 should again see Christophe as one of the main riders to battle it out for E3 honours.
Joakim Ljunggren #3
Nationality: Swedish
Team: Husaberg Factory Team
Bike: Husaberg TE 300
A switch to two-stroke machinery for the 2011 season saw Joakim finish third overall in the highly competitive Enduro 3. Although short of claiming a win, seven podium results marked a successful season for the Swede making him a rider that must not be counted out of title contention.
Marko Tarkkala #4
Nationality: Finnish
Team: Beta
Bike: Beta RR 498
After two difficult seasons during 2009 and 2010, Marko bounced back to a much-improved fourth overall in Enduro 3 collecting four podium-finishes along the way. Now on factory machinery with Beta in 2012, Tarkkala is showing all the signs of returning to his best.
Oriol Mena #5
Nationality: Spanish
Team: Husaberg Factory Team
Bike: Husaberg FE 570
Since winning the 2009 Junior title with Husaberg, Mena has continued to improve his results in the Senior classes achieving a personal best of fifth overall in 2011. Working again with Husaberg for 2012, Oriol will be aiming for his first podium result.
David Knight #14
Nationality: British
Team: KTM Enduro Factory
Bike: KTM 500 EXC
For one of the strongest riders in the paddock, 2011 marked an injury-hit year for the defending Enduro 3 world champion. Injuring his hips during the opening round of the series in Spain, Knight was forced to undergo surgery to correct his damaged hips but not before winning round two in Portugal. Entering 2012 fit and healthy, David will be determined to win his title back.
And Finally…
Behind the top five enters a long list of riders easily capable of upsetting the masses. Multiple German enduro champion Marcus Kehr (KTM) ended his 2011 season in tenth but suffered badly because of his five non-finishes due to injury. Moving to Gas Gas for 2012, Frenchman Sebastien Guillaume has shown impressive speed with a second place result during the Spanish enduro opener. However injury rules him out of South America.
Estonian Aigar Leok (TM) was one of the surprise packages of 2011. Carding a sixth place finish in the Enduro 2 World Championship in his debut season, Leok shows all the signs of following in the success of fellow motocross expats, Antoine Meo, Jonny Aubert and Pela Renet. Not forgetting Benoit Fortunato (Gas Gas), Sebastien Bozzo (Beta) and another motocross expat KTM’s Manuel Monni ensures Enduro 3 is stacked with talent in 2012.
