Simone Albergoni claims thirth consecutive double podium result

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Simone Albergoni brought his two race trip to North America to a close in style claiming runner-up finishes on both days in the Enduro 1 class at the GP of Canada, staged for the second consecutive year two hours north of Toronto in Parry Sounds.

Having claimed a double podium result at the GP of USA one week earlier with second and third place results Simone went one better in Canada and finished as runner-up to six-time world champion Juha Salminen on both days. Making it a great weekend for Yamaha at the GP of Canada Yamaha France rider Marc Germain claimed third on both days while Albergoni's UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Cristobal Guerrero placed in fourth on both days resulting in Yamaha claiming three of the top fourth places in the E1 class on both days of competition.

At the end of the first day just 12 seconds separated Albergoni from winner Salminen as the UFO Corse Yamaha team's number one rider finished close behind the current Enduro 1 championship leader just as he had on day one of the GP of USA. Winning two of the day's seven timed tests Simone, like all riders, found the unusually tight, single track enduro test challenging but performed consistently and without mistakes all day.

With Frenchman Marc Germain claiming third some 22 seconds behind Albergoni, Cristobal Guerrero's hopes of a podium finish ended when he made a costly mistake on the final run through the event's all natural extreme test. Posting a time eight seconds slower than his previous run, he placed less than six seconds adrift of Germain but in a strong fourth position none the less. Unable to get to grips with the soft, lose Canadian terrain the UFO Corse Yamaha team's third member Maurizio Micheluz finished seventh.

Day two saw Albergoni, Germain and Guerrero all repeat their day one finishing positions as the Yamaha mounted trio claimed second, third and fourth respectively in the E1 class. Despite Simone's best efforts he was unable to remain as close to Salminen as he was on day one and placed 26 seconds behind the Finn. Having tried everything in order to stop the day one winner from extending his lead Simone topped two of the day's tests, including the final test of the event.

With just under 10 seconds separating Yamaha France rider Marc Germain and UFO Corse Yamaha rider Cristobal Guerrero it was again the more experienced Frenchman that got the upper hand over his younger Spanish rival. With Cristobal not riding as well on lap one as he did during the later stages of the second day his lack of speed during the opening three tests ultimately kept him from finishing third. Maurizio Micheluz had a disappointing second day when he hit a rock in the extreme test and broke his rear chain guard. Despite losing 11 minutes fixing the problem Maurizio finished the day.
 
Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Second, Day 2 Second:
"Second position seems to be my position. Juha was very fast on both days. I tried several different things to be as fast as him but I couldn't beat him. I made some small mistakes but generally I had a good race and finished second on both days. I'm happy. "On the first day I pushed and pushed but I wasn't able to win. I was just 12 seconds behind Juha but he doesn't make any mistakes. Now I have to work hard before the next round of the series in Slovakia. I have to be a little bit faster everywhere. The GP of Canada hasn't been as hard as last year but it has been a nice race. I also have to thank the UFO Corse Yamaha team and my mechanic for their support and work for the two North American races, they've done a great job."
 
Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Fourth, Day 2 Fourth:
"Day one wasn't too bad finishing in fourth position. I made one mistake in the extreme test on the last lap, which cost me a lot of time. On the second day I didn't have a good feeling on the enduro test for some reason. After the first lap I started riding better and I got fourth again. Fourth isn't so bad but I want to be on the podium at all the races now. I have missed the podium on both days by less than 10 seconds, which is frustrating. I want to do at least on position better in Slovakia."
 
Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Seventh, Day 2 11th:
"It's not been the best of weekends for me. I didn't feel so comfortably with my riding on day one, although I didn't make too many mistakes, and finished seventh. On the second day I hit a rock on the extreme test and broke the rear chain guide mount and also damaged the rear wheel hub. I lost a lot of time fixing the damage but I continued just to try and take some championship points."