Under perfect conditions, KTM’s Johnny Aubert made short work of the super test to post the fastest time of the evening. Putting in a mistake free ride, the Frenchman topped the Enduro 2 standings by over two seconds. Husqvarna’s Juha Salminen placed second behind the Frenchman, while Aubert’s teammate Cristobal Guerrero was third fastest.
“It was a good start to the race,” confirmed Aubert. “Although I didn’t feel fast my lap was very smooth and I made no mistakes. I think that helped me to set a good time. However, the real race starts tomorrow.”
KTM’s David Knight quickly showed his switch to two-stroke machinery for the GP of Italy was a positive one by leading the way in Enduro 3. Husaberg’s Joakim Ljunggren got his race off to a strong start to end the short evening run just seven tenths of a second behind the Manxman. Gas Gas’ Seb Guillaume was almost four seconds behind the leading duo to finish third.
Championship leader, Christophe Nambotin had a difficult start to his race. Making a mistake on the first water splash, the Frenchman then lost his line on the following set of logs and crashed. Bending his gear lever the KTM rider became stuck in first gear for the rest of the test. He was 12th fastest and sits 11 seconds behind Knight.
Getting his home race off to a fantastic start Bordone Ferrari’s Thomas Oldrati was fastest in Enduro 1. Sherco’s Fabien Planet finished one and a half seconds behind the Italian to claim the runner up spot with KTM’s Antoine Meo in third.
Setting the second fastest time of the evening, Husaberg’s Mathias Bellino was the clear leader of Enduro Junior. Finishing almost four seconds clear of KTM’s Mario Roman, Bellino is favourite for EJ honours. With Roman in second, Victor Guerrero (KTM) was third.
Portugal’s Luis Oliveira (Yamaha) topped the Enduro Youth Cup with Italy’s Giacomo Redondi second and Mattia Giulietti (Husaberg) third. Gas Gas’ Laia Sanz made short work of the super test to comfortably top the Women’s Cup class. Making her EWC debut, Britain’s Jane Daniels (Husaberg) was second fastest with Blandine Dufrene (Husaberg) in third.
