Under blue skies and ideal conditions round six of the hotly contested Finnish Enduro Championship took place in the sandy forests of Vekarajärvellä.

Fresh from the recent announcement of his confirmed participation in Finland’s Trophy Team at this year’s ISDE in Germany, Roni Nikander (KTM) arrived in Vekarajarvella determined for a strong result. Quickly adapting to the fast paced terrain, Nikander opened up an early advantage over Beta’s Marko Tarkkala.

Regrouping from a small fall during the second cross test, he eventually placed over 53 seconds clear of Tarkkala to claim a well-earned victory.

“It’s been a good day for me,” said Nikander. “Aside from one crash I didn’t have any major problems. The course was fun but extremely fast in places. It’s nice to have won.”

Beta's Marko Tarkkala charges hard... © Jani Hovi / Xracing.fi

Unable to consistently match the leader’s pace, Tarkkala ended his day as runner up. “I’m not completely satisfied with my result as I made some costly errors and I lost a bit of time. But second overall is ok and my goal of winning the championship for Beta is still intact.”

Completing the top three was KTM’s Jari Mattila. “My aim was to match Marko’s pace but unfortunately I couldn’t. I had some setup issues with my bike and it was not possible to push how I wanted.”

Lauri Pohjonen finished over one-minute behind Mattila to place fourth with Oskari Kantonen rounding out the top five.

Round seven of the Finnish Enduro Championship continues in Jamsa, August 11.

Jari Mattila ended his day third... © Jani Hovi / Xracing.fi

Finnish Enduro Championship – Round Six

Results:

1. Roni Nikander

2. Marko Tarkkala +0.53sec

3. Jari Mattila + 1min 14sec

4. Lauri Pohjonen + 2min 24sec

5. Oskari Kantonen + 3min 01sec