After four rounds of the Enduro World Championship, the E1, E2, E3, and EJ classes are dominated by racers using Akrapovič exhaust systems on their racing machines.

The fourth round of the Enduro World Championship took place in hot and dusty Portugal, and after eight races the championship has moved into the second half of the season. Only Antoine Méo’s exit from the Saturday race in the E1 class prevented racers with Akrapovič exhaust systems from claiming all the highest steps on the podium. In the Extreme test, Méo hit a rock and damaged his engine block. He then had to push his KTM 250 EXC-F to the pits, where the mechanics fixed it up and got it ready to win the Sunday race. With Méo out, his teammate Eero Remes delivered an excellent performance, finishing second.

In the E2 class, first and second places were claimed by Johnny Aubert (KTM) and Pierre-Alexandre Renet (Husaberg). “It’s been a great weekend for me,” said Renet, who won the second race. “Everything went well on the first day—I pushed hard but Johnny Aubert was really fast. Finishing in second position was great for my championship, though. I pushed really hard on the first lap on day two and managed to make really good times on the motocross and enduro tests. I had to keep pushing all day because Johnny and Cristobal Guerrero were both very close.”

Riding a two-stroke KTM 300 EXC equipped with a lightweight Akrapovič exhaust system, the invincible Christophe Nambotin racked up another two victories in Portugal: “I did win all the tests and I liked the extreme test, but it was very difficult physically today,” said the Frenchman, thanking his colleague David Knight, who helped him cross the river on Sunday: “If it hadn’t been for his help, it might not have been possible to finish.”

A glance at the overall standings after the first half of the championship shows that the racers and their bikes are in excellent shape. The E1 class is clearly dominated by Antoine Méo (KTM), Pierre-Alexandre Renet (Husaberg) is at the top of the E2 class, Christophe Nambotin (KTM) leads the E3 class by a full 50 points, and Mathias Bellino (Husaberg), a two-time winner in Portugal, heads the EJ class. Keep up the good work, guys!

Photo: Edmunds J. KTM Images