In only his third ever indoor enduro event Husaberg factory rider Joakim Ljunggren has claimed his first podium result, finishing in a well deserved third position overall at the second round of the ’10 Indoor Enduro World Cup behind US Endurocross champion Taddy Blazusiak and defending IEWC title holder Ivan Cervantes. Impressing many with his strong performances at the series opener in Sheffield, Joakim showed that his seventh, fourth and fifth place finishes in the UK were certainly not lucky results as he placed fourth, third and fourth in Italy.
“I’m really pleased with the way everything’s gone here in Italy,” commented the Swede. “I was a little tired before the racing started because after the Endurocross event in Las Vegas I took a weeks holiday in Hawaii and I had a little jetlag. Once I was out on the track I felt fine and I couldn’t have asked for a better night really.”
With Poland’s Taddy Blazusiak setting a pace that no rider could match Joakim, who again raced aboard Husaberg’s FE390 machine, performed consistently in all three finals, showing great speed and making few mistakes. “Taddy was incredibly fast all night but I really felt that I was as good as any of the other riders. I didn’t make any mistakes in any of the finals, and was really pleased with my speed. I’m really enjoying the indoor events and although I don’t have as much experience as some of the riders I feel like things are going really well for my first year. This is only my third indoor enduro race after Sheffield and Las Vegas so this is a great result for Husaberg.”
One thing that unquestionably helped Joakim in Genoa is the time he spent practicing with Blazusiak in the States prior to the US Endurocross final in Las Vegas. “I really learned a lot, just little things mainly but things that will help me improve. Although the event in Vegas didn’t go so well, although I won the night race, I learned a lot, which I think is already helping me.”
In Italy things certainly went well for Joakim. With several riders fast but inconsistent, Joakim started well, raced smart, and kept himself out of trouble. “Each of the three races went well really. I didn’t get the best start in the first race but I managed to move up a place or two so I ended up fourth, which was a good start. The second race was my best. I got an ok start but I found some great lines in the first couple of corners, which helped me get into third. That’s where I finished after a good race.”
The final race of the night was arguably the most important for Joakim as he knew that an overall top three result was up for grabs. Needing to finish ahead of multiple trials world champion Dougie Lampkin in order to clinch third Joakim made an all-important pass to move ahead of the British rider. In finishing fourth Joakim ensured that he joined Blazusiak and Cervantes on the podium.
“In the final race I knew I needed to finish in front of Dougie Lampkin to get third overall. I past him early on in the race before he made a mistake. After that I was really only interested in securing third overall. Mika Ahola passed me and although I felt that I could have passed him back I decided to it play safe. Finishing on the podium with Taddy and Ivan Cervantes is great, I just hope I can continue to ride well at the next event in Spain in the New Year.”
While Joakim Ljunggren ensured Husaberg had plenty to celebrate in Genoa newly signed Spaniard Xavi Galindo knew before the racing started that things were going to be hard. Back riding again for just one-week after breaking his leg at the Red Bull Romaniacs event, Xavi qualified for the finals but knew that there was no way he would be competitive.
“I’m just pleased to have qualified for the finals,” explained Xavi. “You have to be really fit for indoor enduro races and with only one-week on a bike I knew I would struggle. I was so tired. My leg didn’t give me any problems, which is great, and by the time the championship gets to Spain in January I hope to be fitter and stronger. Racing the FE390 for the first time was great. The bike is perfect for indoor enduro racing.”
More than disappointed with the fact that he failed to qualify for the final was Husaberg’s Enduro Junior World Champion Oriol Mena. Unable to secure a transfer position in his heat race Oriol battled to the very end of his LCQ race, but just missed qualifying. Running at the front of the race for three laps a fall as he exited the challenging rock section ended his night.
Joining Husaberg factory riders Ljunggren and Galindo in the finals was Italian rider Alessandro Botturi. Competing for the Iron Racing Team the vastly experienced WEC rider performed well on his international Husaberg debut in both the first and third finals scoring IEWC points on both occasions.
Source: http://www.husaberg.com/Fantastic-podium-result-for-Ljunggren-at-IEWC-in-Italy.23.0.html?nodeID=617&cHash=c1af9086a0
