Podium finish for BMW Motorrad and Kirssi at WEC GP of Poland!

The BMW Motorrad Motorsport team had much to celebrate following the fourth round of the 2008 World Enduro Championship staged in Kwidzyn, Poland, as Enduro 2 class rider Simo Kirssi claimed BMW's first ever enduro world championship podium with a well deserved third place finish on day two.

Amazingly, it was only Kirssi's fourth ever WEC event but the Finn performed faultlessly during the race aboard his G 450 X to claim his highest ever world championship result. With team rider Anders Eriksson having come close to putting BMW on the podium at the season opening GP of Sweden, Kirssi surprised all with his speed and consistency as he put in good performances on the event's demanding motocross and enduro tests, and rode exceptionally well on the technical extreme test.

Furthermore, despite the tough conditions all BMW Motorrad Motorsport team riders finished the fourth round of the 2008 WEC series with no technical problems. BMW Motorrad Motorsport team rider Jeff Goblet was missing from competition in Poland due to injuries he sustained at a recent round of the Belgian Enduro Championship.

Third in the Enduro 2 class on the opening special test on day one marked an encouraging start to the GP of Poland for Simo Kirssi. Looking to continue his rise up the E2 class results after promising performances at the opening three rounds of this year's championship, Simo quickly showed that he would be challenging for a podium result despite his relative lack of international enduro experience. Faltering slightly on the opening lap's second and third special tests the Finn then improved his speed on lap two and on lap three placed as the E2 class runner-up on the extreme test. Repeating that result on the fourth and final extreme test Kirssi went on to place sixth in the final motocross test, which was enough to see him place fifth in class and finish just 12 seconds away from the final podium spot.

Realising that he had narrowly missed out on a podium result on day one Kirssi started day two steadily before getting into his stride on lap two. With competition for the third place position close between Kirssi, Frenchman Antoine Meo and Italian Alessandro Belometti, Kirssi put in a superb final lap finishing in fourth, second and fourth on the three consecutive special tests to edge ahead of Meo and claim his well deserved third place result.

While the GP of Poland was an extremely pleasing event for Kirssi it proved to be a frustrating one for seven-times enduro world champion Anders Eriksson in the Enduro 3 class. Returning to the place where he claimed his first ever WEC victory in 1993, Eriksson placed a disappointing 13th on day one. On day two the Swede performed notably better jumping to a strong seventh place result in the competitive Enduro 3 class

Simo Kirssi - Enduro 2 class: "It's been a hard weekend but it's great to have got my - and BMW's - first podium. The conditions were similar to Finland, which helped me and I enjoyed the race, but I never thought that I would finish on the podium. I struggled a little bit on the first lap on day one, even though I was pushing hard. But as the track got rougher I found things easier and my special test times improved.
On the first day I had some really good times on the extreme test, which was a bit of a surprise. In general I was happy with the way I rode on all the tests but I never expected to finish on the podium. My bike was perfect and I didn't have any problems at all, so I have to thank the BMW team for their support, because without them it wouldn't have been possible."

Anders Eriksson - Enduro 3 class: "I wasn't at all happy with the way things went on day one, but finishing seventh on day two was much better. I have been training a lot recently, and, well, maybe I did a bit too much riding. I seemed to be fighting my bike a lot and just didn't feel good. On day two I relaxed a lot and things were much better. It's been a tough race, as there was nowhere you could rest on the course. Yes it was really dusty, but apart from that it was a really good world championship race."

Wolfgang Fischer - BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager: "It's been a lot of hard work reaching this point but it's great to see a BMW rider on the podium. I have to thanks the team, Markus Theobald for designing the bike, and of course Simo for his superb performance. Considering that the GP of Poland was only Simo's fourth ever international enduro race, this makes his result even better.

"Less than 12 months ago Simo had no ambitions to be an enduro rider but ever since January he has really been bitten by the enduro bug and is enjoying competing in the world championship. He had some top three results on the extreme test during the weekend, which shows that he is really adapting to life in the WEC. The other thing that is extremely pleasing considering the tough conditions is the fact that the team didn't have any technical problems at all. The weekend has been a very encouraging step forward for everyone in the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team."

2008 World Enduro Championship Maxxis Grand Prix of Poland - Day 1

Enduro 2 class
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 1:19:25.50; 2. Jonny Aubert (Yamaha) 1:20:27.33; 3. Alessandro Belometti 1:22:59.11; 4. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1:22:59.71; 5. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:23:11.36; 6. Aaron Bernardez (Husqvarna) 1:23:38.52; 7. Valtteri Salonen (Husaberg) 1:24:02.11; 8. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1:24:10.10; 9. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1:24:34.65; 10. Hans Vogel (KTM) 1:25:00.88; 11. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1:25:00.95; 12 Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 1:25:17.54; 13. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 1:25:21.10; 14. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1:27:25.24; 15. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1:27:49.59; 16. Amel Advokaat (KTM) 1:28:27.38; 17. Filipe Zanol (Yamaha) 1:28:47.75; 18. Peter Kralik (KTM) 1:30:41.10; 19. Nicolas Joye (Husaberg) 1:32:15.26; 20. Sebastien Adielsson (Beta) 1:32:55.50

Enduro 3 class
1. Sebastien Guillaume (Husqvarna) 1:21:49.59; 2. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1:21:58.82; 3. Stefan Merriman (Aprilia) 1:22:05.01; 4. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1:22:31.88; 5. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 1:22:36.80; 6. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1:23:33.98; 7. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 1:24:52.71; 8. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 1:25:31.15; 9. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1:26:13.67; 10 Antoine Letellier (Aprilia) 1:26:44.57; 11. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 1:26:48.85; 12. Jordi Figueras (KTM) 1:27:00.43; 13. Anders Ericsson (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:27:04.76; 14. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1:27:27.25; 15. Euan McConnell (TM) 1:28:37.83; 16. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1:29:11.34; 17.Alessio Paoli (BETA) 1:29:34.46; 18. Andre Decker (Husqvarna) 1:33:44.48; 19. Gordon Clarke (TM) 1:34:38.38

Enduro Junior class
1. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 1:24:09.32; 2. Roni Nikander (KTM) 1:24:21.19; 3. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 1:24:31.44; 4. Oriol Mena (KTM) 1:25:25.79; 5. Mirko Gritti (Beta) 1:26:19.93; 6. Jeremy Joly (Sherco) 1:27:24.54; 7. Robert Kvarnstrom (TM) 1:28:06.85; 8. Edward Hubner (KTM) 1:28:15.97; 9. Lucas Puerta (Yamaha) 1:28:16.66; 10. Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna 1:28:48.20; 11. Armand Monleon (Yamaha) 1:29:38.29; 12. Bert Meyer (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:29:48.27; 13. Lauri Salonen (Honda) 1:29:50.10; 14. Martin Kuklik (KTM) 1:30:02.63; 15. David Gannac (Suzuki) 1:30:24.96; 16. Edoardo D'Ambrosio (TM) 1:30:53.29; 17. Jonas Karlsson (KTM) 1:31:26.00; 18. Marcin Frycz (KTM) 1:31:27.59; 19. Carl Sjoo (KTM) 1:31:29.55; 20. Carl Svensson (KTM)

2008 World Enduro Championship Maxxis Grand Prix of Poland - Day 2

Enduro 2 class
1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 1:05:52; 2. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 1:06:34.48; 3. Simo Kirssi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:08:35.88; 4. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna) 1:08:37.67; 5. Alessandro Belometti (KTM) 1:08:51.13; 6. Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 1:09:21.57; 7. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 1:09:31.02; 8. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 1:09:42.03; 9. Fabrizio Dini (Yamaha) 1:09:47.31; 10. Rodrig Thain (TM) 1:09:52.47; 11. Nicolas Deparrois (Gas Gas) 1:10:41.13; 12. Hans Vogel (Yamaha) 1:10:55.98; 13. Nicolas Paganon (Aprilia) 1:11:45.50; 14. Filipe Zanol (Yamaha) 1:12:20.48; 15. Daniel Persson (Husaberg) 1:12:25.51; 16. Andrea Belotti (KTM) 1:13:51.96; 17. Amel Advokaat (KTM) 1:14:01.95; 18. Rudy Cotton (Beta) 1:14:21.26; 19. Peter Kraklik (KTM) 1:14:40.22; 20. Mario Patrao (Suzuki) 1:15:21.53

Enduro 3 class
1. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 1:07:18.68; 2. Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) 1:07:26.30; 3. Samuli Aro (KTM) 1:08:20.66; 4. Sebastian Guillaume (Husqvarna) 1:08:24.27; 5. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 1:08:32.80; 6. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 1:09:43.07; 7. Anders Eriksson (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:10:58.83; 8. Bjorne Carlsson (Husaberg) 1:11:01.35; 9. Jordi Figueras (KTM) 1:12:00.48; 10. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 1:12:20.41; 11. Erwin Plekkenpol (Honda) 1:12:41.57; 12. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 1:12:41.67; 13. Euan McConnell (TM) 1:12:57.76; 14. Gordon Clarke (TM) 1:21:27.28

Enduro Junior class
1. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 1:09:19.36; 2. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 1:09:49.15; 3. Oriol Mena (KTM) 1:10:47.78; 4. Oscar Balletti (Honda) 1:11:24.54; 5. Roni Nikander (KTM) 1:11:36.21; 6. Robert Kapajcik (KTM) 1:11:55.39; 7. Robert Kvarnstrom (TM) 1:12:01.71; 8. Mirko Gritti (Honda) 1:12:20.96; 9. Jeremy Joly (Sherco) 1:12:49.19; 10. Bert Meyer (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 1:13:21.76; 11. Simon Wakely (Husqvarna) 1:13:37.40; 12. Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna) 1:13:43.60; 13. Armand Monleon (Yamaha) 1:13:44.62; 14. Seabastien Bozzo (Husqvarna) 1:14:00.07; 15. Edward Hubner (KTM) 1:14:08.28; 16. Adrien Metge (Husqvarna) 1:14:38.24; 17. Victor Karlsson (Honda) 1:14:41.63; 18. David Gannac (Suzuki) 1:14:58.27; 19. Philip McLaughlin (TM) 1:15:00.44; 20. Jonas Karlsson (KTM) 1:15:33.22