Factory Husqvarna riders figure prominently in international and American competition in a busy weekend for the legendary brand.
It was a busy weekend for factory Husqvarna riders racing both in FIM World Championship off-road and motocross series as well as AMA-sanctioned off-road racing in America.
Off-Road
Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing riders put in a dominant performance in the FIM Enduro World Championship in Enköping, Sweden, Saturday and Sunday.
Renet of France again asserted himself as the rider to beat in E2 by excelling in the rocky Swedish terrain, taking a class win on day one while also unofficially leading the event overall. He had to fight his way back from a a slow start on day two, but he nevertheless took the race lead on lap two and pulled away to a second win. Adding his Swedish double to a similar win at the previous GP of Finland has allowed Renet to amass a solid 34-point championship lead in the E2 class.
“The GP of Sweden has capped off an incredible two weeks for me,” Renet said. “I never expected to win all four days of the championship and come away from Sweden with a 34-point lead in my class. It’s been incredible. This weekend went pretty much perfect for me. The days were long and hard. It was very physical and you needed to try and save energy when you rode. Day one was good I didn’t have any trouble. I only really made one mistake on day two and that allowed Johnny Aubert to get close, but other than that it’s been great.”
Bellino’s Enduro 3 win came after a hard-fought battle with class rival Matt Phillips, to whom Bellino placed a close second on day one. On day two, Bellino won the first four special tests and parlayed that success into a win.
“It’s been a long and difficult GP, but to come away with a race win is fantastic,” Bellino said. “The conditions were tough so to win here in Sweden makes the result all the sweeter. On day one I felt like I had the speed but just was not strong enough to beat Matt Phillips in the enduro test. On day two I got the lead on lap one and gave it everything I had to win. Matti Seistola attacked hard but I had enough in hand to get the job done.”
Riding in his home race, Albin Elowson was the rider to beat in the 125 Youth Cup class, winning by over 3 minutes on day one. With his confidence high following his double win in Finland, Elowson recorded a massive three-minute margin of victory on day one. On day two Elowson took control of the points lead with a 3-2 scorecard.
Breaking through to secure her first race win of the series, Jane Daniels claimed an impressive day two victory in the Women’s Cup.
“I crashed too often on day one,” Daniels said. “I fell back to fifth but recovered to get second. I made some changes to how I rode on day two and was a lot faster. It’s been great to come away with the win on day two. I was close in Finland so to get it done here is just brilliant.”
The FIM Enduro World Championship continues with round six in Lumezzane, Italy, August 2-3.
“I had a good start and ran second for the first two laps,” Argubright said. “Then I got around Brendan Ritzman and was leading it. I had a good pace going, but on the last lap, Rory Sullivan was behind me and I tried to pick it up. That’s when I made a stupid mistake. I hit something and crashed–probably a stump–and he got by me for the lead.”
Argubright had to concede to a second-place finish at that point, but the championship is still within his grasp.
“I just knew I needed to finish on the podium,” Argubright said. “I still have a strong lead in the points and I’m hoping to wrap up the championship at the next round.”
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