Lettenbichler and Goblet complete IEWC series

Lettenbichler and Goblet complete IEWC series

BMW Motorrad Motorsport team riders Andreas Lettenbichler and Jean-Francois Goblet were in action at the weekend at the third and final round of the 07/08 Indoor Enduro World Cup (IEWC), staged in Genoa Italy, completing their participation in the first ever FIM sanctioned indoor enduro series.



With the three-round championship attracting many of the world’s best indoor enduro riders, the final event of the series proved to be every bit as tough as the opening two rounds, which were staged in Spain and Germany during December of last year.

Qualifying for the finals in Germany, Andreas Lettenbichler disappointingly missed out on making it into the main event in Genoa despite some impressive riding during his qualification races. With the track housed within Genoa’s Palasport Fiera being much faster than either of the first two rounds of the championship, former trials rider Lettenbichler showed promise despite having hoped for a more technical course.

Recording a lap time faster than many of his more experienced competitors during the night’s timed practice session, Andreas was struck by bad luck and crashed during each of his qualifying races. After coming seventh in his qualifying heat, Andreas then claimed a solid runner-up result in his supplementary heat before again placing seventh in his heat race.

With just two riders passing through into the finals from the ‘Last Chance Qualifier’ (LCQ), Lettenbichler was unfortunate to collide with Cyril Despres, which ended his hopes of a place in the final. Despite not making it through into the final, Andreas showed improved speed and looked at home competing against the world’s best indoor riders.

Disappointingly, the third and final round of the IEWC was to be a frustrating one for Lettenbichler’s team-mate, Jean-Francois Goblet. Hoping to qualify for the finals, Goblet placed ninth in his qualifying heat race followed by seventh in the supplementary qualifying race, which ended his chances of progressing through into the finals.

Andreas Lettenbichler: “I’ve really enjoyed the racing but I had too many crashes, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I had a big crash with Cyril Despres in the LCQ race – we touched handlebars and I came off the track! Then I went out and tried to catch Alessandro Botturi but I crashed again so the race was over for me. The supplementary heat race was not too bad for me. I got second place behind Jonny Aubert but the LCQ had some very good riders, like David Knight.

“I think I rode quite well tonight and felt faster than at the other rounds in Barcelona and Munich. I did some training on the bike; we made some changes to the suspension, and the bike was easier to ride here. The track was faster than Munich and a bit longer, which didn’t really suit me, but like I said I enjoyed it. Although I didn’t make it through into the final I enjoyed the racing, and – importantly – my speed is improving.”



Results – ‘07/’08 Indoor Enduro World Cup Final Championship Standings
1. David Knight (KTM) 42pts; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 23pts; 3. Mika Ahola (Honda) 22pts; 4. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 19pts; 5. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 16pts; 6. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna) 15 pts; 7. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 10 pts; 8. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 8pts; 9. Gregory Eyries (Yamaha) 8pts; 10.Tom Sagar (KTM) 7pts; 11. Simone Albergoni (Yamaha) 7pts; 12.Fabio Mossini (Honda) 6pts; 13. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 5pts; 14. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 5pts; 15. Sebastian Guillaume (Husqvarna) 2pts; 16. Jonny Aubert (Yamaha) 2pts; 17. Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1pt