Fuente: © Yamaha Racing
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YAMAHA: Enduro 1: Simone Albergoni on the 2008 season so far...

/noticias.info/ Italian force in the UFO Corse team for the E1, Simone Albergoni, has notched one victory and six podiums in the four rounds and eight days of the World Enduro Championship held so far this season and he is currently third in the standings. Here the 26 year old former double vice-champion comments on his campaign to-date...

The Enduro 1 class is extremely competitive this season, have you been pleased with your performances during the first half?

I was happy with the way I rode at the first two races – the GP of Sweden and the GP of Portugal. Since then I haven’t been completely happy with my performances. I spent some time training in Finland before the first race in Sweden, with Mika Ahola. I knew that I wouldn’t win the race but finishing second and third was really good. Portugal was also good. The conditions were tough, very muddy, and I won the first day and finished second on the second day.

After those first two races you were just three points away from leading the E1 championship. Now at the mid-way point of the season you’ve dropped back slightly, was there any reason why the Spanish and Polish GPs didn’t go so well?

I wasn’t happy with the way I rode in Spain. I wasn’t slow, I just wasn’t quite as fast as I was in Portugal. The frustrating thing is that I couldn’t work out why I wasn’t so fast. It was the same in Poland – I just wasn’t fast enough. The conditions at both races were extremely dusty but I’m normally fast in all conditions. Poland wasn’t a good race for me.

There was a 10-week gap in this year’s championship between rounds three and four. Do you think that disrupted your progress a little?

Possibly. I didn’t like the long break. I prefer a shorter season with all the races together. I didn’t do anything special during that time – I did my training, competed in some Italian championship races, and looked forward to the Polish GP. But I think it was too long between the third and fourth races, especially as we’d had three races in four weeks before that.

How does the WR250F you’re riding this season differ from the bike you rode last year?

Well, not so much. Of course I have made some small changes, but the bike is more or less the same like last year. I don’t think any of the UFO Yamaha team bikes have changed that much. The only major part that is different is the exhaust, because of the new rules. I did change the set-up of the front forks – I made them a little harder.

What is the best thing about your WR250F?

It’s hard to say what the one best thing is about the bike because for me it is many things – a good engine, a good chassis, and good suspension and good tyres. Together it makes a great bike.

Is there a specific terrain that the bike allows you to excel on?

I really enjoy the bike in muddy, rutted conditions. That might sound strange because I am Italian and Italians normally like hard ground, but the bike’s stability makes it really enjoyable to ride in the mud. There isn’t anywhere that the bike doesn’t perform well, but for me it’s in ruts that it is really good.

You’re up against two reigning world champions this season – Ivan Cervantes and Mika Ahola, what’s it like competing against them?

It’s good, but it’s tough. I expected them to be fast and they are. They are both different people and different riders, but they are both hard to beat. At the first two rounds I really felt like I was competing at their level – the three of us together. They were faster in Spain and Poland but I hope that I can be competitive against them again at the GP of Wales. We all want to beat each other but we all get on well.

The second half of the season sees the championship travel to Wales, France twice and finally Italy. That’s a long time to wait for your home race advantage?

Yes it is but I’m looking forward to the second half of the season. The race in Wales will be new for almost all riders and I’m hoping it’s going to be wet and difficult. The WEC races in France are always hard, so they should be good. The place where the WEC race will be held in Italy is OK, I have raced there before. The ground will be hard with a lot of stones – it’s a nice place.

Finally, with four rounds to go you’re just 20 points adrift of the lead in the E1 world championship standings. What do you think you have to do to work your way to the top of the class?

I worked hard before the race in Poland and things didn’t go so well, which leaves me a little unsure. I will continue doing my training and I hope that the races will go well for me. I have had made some small mistakes and hopefully I won’t make any more in the coming races. I’m looking forward to the next events and I hope the conditions will suit me. I know I can be as fast as Cervantes and Ahola, I just need to show it. notas_de_prensa_archivo