Johnny Aubert signs with KTM for two more years
French Enduro specialist and ruling E2 World Champion Johnny Aubert has signed with the KTM Factory Enduro team for another two years and will race in the competitive E1 class for Orange in 2010 and 2011.


The Frenchman won the 2009 E2 world championship title in superb style riding the more powerful KTM 450 EXC machine. In fact, Aubert won every race he entered right up until an injury to his finger prevented him starting in the second race in Greece and the two final rounds in France. Now Aubert will face off with a slew of top riders in the highly competitive E1 class onboard the KTM 250 EXC-F bike. Aubert will ride alongside younger teammate Eero Remes of Finland in E1.


"I had a very good season with KTM in my first season and it was very important for me to sign for two more years. For sure it is the best team in Enduro and I want the best," Aubert commented after the signing at the KTM headquarters in Mattighofen, Austria.


Aubert said it was a new motivation for him to move to E1. He has already been working with the 250 bike, his KTM mechanics and team for several months and has adjusted his physical training program to suit the challenges of the smaller machine. "Now I am fast with this bike and I am very happy riding it," he said. When it comes to the fight for the title, he also left no doubt about his intention for 2010, saying: "I hope to win all the races again this year!"


KTM Offroad Racing Director Pit Beirer confirmed he was pleased to sign a rider of the high caliber of Aubert and to secure his services for the Austrian brand through to the end of the 2011 season. "We are confident that Johnny is going to be very fast in E1. It is a very competitive class of Enduro racing and we know with Johnny on the KTM 250 EXC-F we can look forward to some great races. He already has two world championship titles to his name and he will be fighting for his third this season," Beirer said.


Aubert and Remes, the two KTM E1 competitors for 2010 will be joined in the KTM Factory Enduro Team by Ivan Cervantes (reigning E3 world Champion) and Thomas Oldrati who fight for the E2 title. Simone Albergoni will ride orange to contest the E3. The eight venue 16 round 2010 World Championship competition kicks off in Valverdi del Camino in Spain on April 10, 2010.


Find the full interview with Johnny Aubert on the KTM You Tube chanell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsvoME78F9Y

HUSQVARNA ZIP-TY RACING CONTINUE WINNING WAYS AT WORCS
Davis Dominates In The Desert, Again!

March 3, 2010 - Woodcliff Lake, NJ - One week after being crowned kings of the Adelanto GP, Team Husqvarna Zip-Ty Racing was back on a winning track at round #2 of the WORCS series in Primm, Nevada. Team head honcho Ty Davis continues to lead by example and his protégés Pro Class racer Bobby Garrison and Pro2 Class competitor Cory Graffunder were also on the gas in the Nevada desert.

Ty Davis proved once again why he is one of the fastest vet riders on the planet as he won the 30+ and Vet Pro Class to start things off right on Saturday. "The sand sections were getting pretty whooped out at the end of the day, but the conditions were perfect for racing," says Davis. "The 30+ race was a blast... it was in the Vet Pro Class that there were some challengers." Ty was battling with another cagey veteran Paul Krause right off the start. "That old guy is still pretty fast," laughed Davis of his high desert neighbor and long-time competitor. However Ty's cunning combined with the flawless performance of his TXC 450 soon had him out front and cruising to the class win. "The bike is a rocketship!" exclaims Davis... and in fact it propelled him to wins in the 30+A, 40+A and Vet Pro classes on the weekend.

Saturday's victories inspired Team Husqvarna's young gun Bobby Garrison in the Pro class. After winning on the WR 125 the week before in Adelanto, Garrison was back on the gas on his regular Husqvarna Zip-Ty Racing TC 450 mount. "The little 2-stroke was a blast at the GP, but I needed the big bike for the WORCS course in Primm," Garrison explains. The Pro main featured a dead-engine start and it took Bobby two kicks to get the big thumper lit as more than half the pack got away from him. "Guess I was spoiled by how easy the WR 125 kicked over," he shrugs. However he worked his way up from around 20th to 11th by the end of the first lap and put on a charge that carried him up to 8th by the third lap and into a 4th place dice with Timmy Weigand that continued to the checkered flag. "I gave it all I had to catch him, but was just not able to make it stick," said a spent Garrison. Still, his fine 5th place finish moves him up to 6th overall in the series standings just a few points out of first.


Husqvarna 2010 WR 300In the Pro2 ranks, Cory Graffunder swapped the WR 250 2-stroke he raced to 3rd place at Adelanto the week before for the bigger WR 300. "There is no replacement for displacement in the desert," says the Canadian racer... no comment about the Olympic hockey gold medals, please! Cory fired his Husqvarna up on the first kick and rocketed to the holeshot. "I was going pretty good from what I remember," Graffunder recollects, "then, BOOM!" He hit a hole that pitched him off the bike when it was wide open on the back stretch and crashed hard. "I rang my bell pretty good and wadded the bike up, so I decided to park it for the day." Can you blame him?


"All in all, it was another great weekend for Team Husqvarna Zip-Ty Racing," concludes Davis. "Cory grabbed the holeshot and looked great in his first Pro2 race... well, up until he planted himself, and Garrison was really on the gas in the Pro Main." Naturally Ty neglected to mention the three class wins he bagged on the weekend. "We would like to thank all of our sponsors, families and friends for their support as without them, none of this would be possible."

Next Race: Best In The Desert GPR Stabilizers U.S. Hare Scrambles, Laughlin, Nevada March 5-7.