Newly crowned Enduro 1 World Champion Antoine Meo made a determined and highly impressive start to the final round of the 2012 Enduro World Championship, the GP of France held in Brignoles, by claiming the overall fastest time during the Friday night Super Test. Two seconds faster than both Enduro 2 class winner Pela Renet and Enduro 3 victor David Knight, Meo opted not to make his usual cautious start, instead going all out and securing the fastest time.

Behind Antoine and his KTM in the Enduro 1 class was Finnish Husqvarna rider Matti Seistola. A little under two seconds slower than Meo, Seistola placed fractionally ahead of Thomas Oldrati aboard his Husaberg. Rodrig Thain (Honda), Fabien Planet (Sherco) and Lorenzo Santolino (Husqvarna) rounded out the top six.

The rider who arguably made the best start to the GP of France was Husaberg’s Pela Renet. Current leader of the Enduro 2 class, Renet finished ahead of his closest championship rival Cristobal Guerrero, who returns to competition following his shoulder dislocation sustained at the ISDE in Germany. Showing no ill effects of his shoulder injury Guerrero placed ahead of KTM team-mate Johnny Aubert.

David Knight was fastest out of the blocks in the Enduro 3 class, placing ahead of Enduro 3 World Champion Christophe Nambotin. With close to half a second separating the two riders Italian Manuel Monni made it a KTM one-two-three. Husaberg’s Joakim Ljunggren, Benoit Fortunato (Gas Gas) and Aigar Leok (TM) rounded out the top six.

In the Enduro Junior class Mathias Bellino was his usual fast, aggressive self, topping the class result sheet by three-and-a-half seconds. Spain’s Marc Sole (KTM) grabbed the runner-up spot ahead of Sweden’s Robert Kvarnstrom. British riders Alex Rockwell and Danny McCanney placed fourth and fifth with Enduro Youth World Champion Giacomo Redondi, who moved up into the Enduro Junior class for the GP of France, placed sixth.

British Husaberg rider Jamie McCanney topped the Enduro youth class, with a time that would have put his fifth in the Enduro Junior class. One-and-a-half seconds ahead of Portugal’s Luis Olivera, Jamie was joined inside the top three by a second Husaberg mounted rider, Matteo Bresolin who paced third.

Local rider and crowd favourite Ludivine Puy (Gas Gas) topped the Enduro Women’s class by the smallest or margins. Less than half a second ahead of Spain’s Laia Sanz (Gas Gas), the two riders showed that each is as determined as the other to secure this year’s EW world title. Third went to Jane Daniels (Husaberg).