For Enduro 3 rider, Marko Tarkkala, the GP of Italy was one of his most competitive races of the season so far. Feeling confident in his riding, the Finnish rider fought for a top five result on day one. Holding down fifth position midway through the day, a small mistake in the extreme test cost his some valuable time. Dropping down the leader board, the Beta rider charged hard to recover from his mistake ending his day in seventh but less than four seconds short of a top five result.

On day two, Tarkkala was again involved in a tight race for a strong result. Fending off a tough challenge from both Marcus Kehr and Sebastien Guillaume, Tarkkala placed sixth.

In what was his home race of the season, Oscar Balletti delivered two highly competitive results in Enduro 2. Enjoying the difficult nature of the dry and rocky terrain in the energy sapping Italian sunshine, Balletti ended day one in sixth and just three seconds short of a top five result.

Determined to record a top result in front of his home support Balletti rode strong on day two and moved up one position to finish fifth.

Marko Tarkkala - Enduro 3: “The weekend was quite good. On day one I had a small problem in the extreme test when I stalled the engine and lost a bit of time. I rode well to recover from that and finished three seconds behind fifth place in seventh. On day two I had a really good battle with Marcus Kehr and Sebastien Guillaume throughout the day and in the end I managed to beat them to finish sixth. I’m happy with how this weekend has gone and can see a lot of improvement. Even though the conditions were tough we were very competitive and that gives me a lot of confidence leading into the next two races in Sweden and Finland."

Fabrizio Dini - Team Manager: “Oscar rode very well this weekend. A couple of mistakes set him back on day one and he finished fifth. On day two he was fighting for a top three result but again had a crash in the enduro test that cost him a lot of time and he finished fifth. His speed is very fast but we need to work on limiting his mistakes. Marko also rode very well and we can see a lot of improvement. Overall, it was a good home race for us and I can see the team continuing to develop as a whole.”

The Enduro World Championship continues on August 25-26 with the GP of Sweden.