The 2008 World Enduro Championship will be the last for the decorated UFO Corse Yamaha Racing Team as they plan to stop racing activities at the end of this season. After ten years including four world titles, seven honours at the ISDE and four consecutive Italian championships, the Italian crew will pull out of competitive commitments at world level as team owners.
The squad are one of the powerhouses of World Enduro backed, by Yamaha Motor Europe and Yamaha Motor Italia. They earned three 250cc four-stroke world championships (now the E1 class since 2004) in 2001, 2002 2003 and then the inaugural E1 world crown in ’04. Riders such as Stéphane Peterhansel, Peter Bergvall and Stefan Merriman have all worn the distinctive colours of the team and been world champions with WR machinery.
The 2008 line-up is also formidable, with new star Johnny Aubert currently leading the E2 series on the WR450F, allied with Fabrizio Dini, and then Simone Albergoni, Christobal Guerrero and Maurizio Micheluz all high up the rankings in the E1 category.
“It is a sad and regrettable decision but with the unstable commercial market, in particular in the US which is one of our main markets, UFO PLAST cannot sustain the competitive schedules of the team anymore,” commented Vito Consoloni owner of UFO Plast SRL. “For sure I know that I will miss a big part of my life but the decision has been inevitable. I would like to say a big thanks to all involved for so many years of support, but also for the large satisfaction we have been able to take due to victories and success all over the world.”
“We would like to make our final season a good one, and with Johnny Aubert and Simone Albergoni pushing for both the E1 and E2 titles we hope that we can finish on the best note possible,” he added.
“We are very sad that Vito had to take this decision,” said Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager. “They have been partners with Yamaha Motor Europe and Yamaha Motor Italia for many years and they have a very successful record with Yamaha WR machinery. But we respect their decision, knowing the difficulty their company is facing in the highly competitive market.”
“We will do our best to give them the support during the remainder of this season to try and end with the world title,” he continued. “I cannot understate Yamaha''s appreciation for the Consoloni family, and the friendship between us will always remain special to Yamaha.”
E2 WEC Standings after 4 of 8 rounds
1. Johnny Aubert, Yamaha WR450F (FRA): 183
2. Juha Salminen, KTM (FIN): 164
3. Alessandro Belometti, KTM (ITA): 135
7. Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha WR450F (ITA): 105
E1 WEC Standings after 4 of 8 rounds
1. Mika Ahola, Honda (FIN): 186
2. Ivan Cervantes, KTM (ESP): 176
3. Simone Albergoni, Yamaha WR250F (ITA): 165
4. Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha WR250F (ESP): 118
5. Marc Germain, Yamaha WR250F (FRA): 115
7. Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha WR250F (ITA): 103
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