Bellino, Meo, McCanney win World Enduro Titles

Husqvarna wins two and KTM wins two at the French World Enduro Championship finale.

Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing team riders Mathias Bellino and Jamie McCanney scored FIM Enduro World titles for Husqvarna at the AMV GP of France in Revista, France. While KTM rider Antoine Meo landed one himself just before jetting off to Morocco to take part in the Oiibya Morocco Rally.

Bellino wrapped up the Enduro 3 World Championship and McCanney secured the Enduro Junior title, while Meo bagged the Enduro 2 title and Laia Sanz won the Women’s World Enduro Championship, and Mikael Persson won both the event and the Youth Cup title. Bellino, McCanney and Meo wrapped up their title drives at the end of Day One in the two-day format. All three entered the event with comfortable point advantages over their closest rivals, and each rider netted the necessary points to bring home the gold.

Bellino landed the Enduro 3 title with a runner-up finish to rival Matthew Phillips after finishing just 15 seconds behind him on Day One. On Day Two, Bellino went on to score the win.

“It’s been an amazing weekend – the perfect end to what has been an amazing season,” Bellino said. “From being injured last year, then deciding to switch to a two-stroke, and now winning the Enduro 3 world title at the end of what’s been a great year, it’s just amazing. I had a good lead in the championship coming into this race, but the bad weather on day one made things a little challenging for me. I didn’t feel any pressure, but second was the best I could do. The most important thing was winning the title. On day two I was able to end the championship with a win, just like I started it. It’s been a great year and this title is for everyone in the team that has supported me.”

McCanney, meawhile faced more of a challenge, as he was suffering from a painful sinus infection–a condition that has affected the Manxman on more than one occasion this season. McCanney battled through the pain to finish fourth on Day One and clinch the Enduro Junior world title.

“It’s a great feeling to have won the Enduro Junior title,” McCanney said. “I knew I didn’t have to win either day in France, but I wanted to end the season with the best results I could. I struggled with a sinus infection. It’s something that’s been a problem throughout the season, and I’ll have an operation soon, which will hopefully fix it. I basically did what I needed to do. The conditions were a little mixed with the rain we had on the first day, but my focus was not to make any mistakes and get the points I needed to secure the title. I have to say a huge thanks to all the team, they’ve been incredible this season. I decided not to race on day two because of my sinus infection.”

Meo battled with Honda rider Alex Salvini in Enduro 2 during Day One, with Salvini taking the day’s win. But Meo’s 17 championship points for finishing the day in second place put the title out of reach for Salvini. Salvini went on to score the overall win in the class, with Meo second overall after Day Two.

“It’s great to finally win the Enduro 2 world championship,” Meo said. “It’s a special title for me, winning KTM’s first EWC title on a 350. It was a strange day. I’ve been riding a rally bike a lot recently, so it took some time to feel at home back on an enduro bike. But I got the title, so a great day.”

2015 FIM Enduro World Championship
AMV GP of France
Revista, France
Results: October 3-4, 2015 (Round 7 of 7)

Day 1
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes-TM/40:50.46
2. Christophe Nambotin-KTM/41:19.40
3. Anthony Boissiere-She/41:40.37

Enduro 2
1. Alex Salvini-Hon/47:22.40;
2. Antoine Meo-KTM/47:33.85
3. Jeremy Tarroux-She/47:34.80

Enduro 3
1. Matthew Phillips-KTM/47:33.09
2. Mathias Bellino-Hus/47:48.58
3. Matti Seistola-She/48:08.42

Enduro Junior
1. Steve Holcombe-Bet/48:08.74
2. Alessandro Battig/Hon-48:28.24
3. Giacomo Redondi-Bet/48:54.60

Youth Cup
1. Mikael Persson-Yam/48:50.25
2. Josep Garcia-Hus/49:02.69
3. Jack Edmondson-KTM/50:42.63

Enduro Women
1. Laia Sanz-KTM/36:33.75
2. Jane Daniels-Hus/38:02.80
3. Jessica Gardiner-She/40:07.93

Day 2
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes-TM/47:14.16
2. Christophe Nambotin-KTM/47:25.73
3. Anthony Boissiere-She/47:40.33

Enduro 2
1. Alex Salvini-Hon/47:04.82
2. Jeremy Tarroux-She/47:44.79
3. Jaume Betriu-Hu/47:58.97

Enduro 3
1. Mathias Bellino-Hus/47:34.14
2. Matti Seistola-She/47:44.26
3. Jonathan Barragan-Gas/47:46.79

Enduro Junior
1. Steve Holcombe-Bet/48:06.39
2. Alessandro Battig-Hon/48:22.14
3. Giacomo Redondi-Bet/48:31.02

Youth Cup
1. Mikael Persson-Yam/48:09.91
2. Josep Garcia-Hus/48:14.49
3. Jack Edmondson-KTM/50:36.76

Enduro Women
1. Jane Daniels-Hus/37:42.13
2. Jessica Gardiner-She/38:06.69
3. Jemma Wilson-Yam/41:07.98

2015 FIM Enduro World Championship Final Points Standings (After 7 of 7 rounds)
Enduro 1
1. Eero Remes-261
2. Christophe Nambotin-248
3. Lorenzo Santolino-179

Enduro 2
1. Antoine Meo-245
2. Alex Salvini-231
3. Pela Renet-175

Enduro 3
1. Mathias Bellino-254
2. Matthew Phillips-221
3. Matti Seistola-195

Enduro Junior
1. Jamie McCanney-233
2. Giacomo Redondi-213
3. Steve Holcombe-206

Youth Cup
1. Mikael Persson-226
2. Josep Garcia-196
3. Jack Edmondson-159

Enduro Women
1. Laia Sanz-140
2. Jane Daniels-133
3. Jessica Gardiner-98