Yamaha Miglio Team Manager Massimo Migliorati Sizes Up Enduro Season So Far

Enduro 1 News Yamaha Miglio Team Manager Massimo Migliorati Sizes Up Enduro Season So Far Returning to the Enduro World Championship at the start of 2015 following a six-year absence, Yamaha Racing's official representatives - Team Miglio Yamaha - have battled their way through the opening four rounds of the 2015 FIM Enduro World Championship. Ahead of the team's home GP in Italy, team manager Massimo Migliorati talks about their season so far… Massimo, the 2015 Enduro World Championship has just passed the half-way point. How would you summarise the year so far? MM: "I can say that things have been really good. I'm pleased with the progress we've made as a team and with our rider's performances. The final decision to enter the Enduro World Championship with an official Yamaha Racing team was taken last October, at a time when most other teams had already started their preparations for the year ahead. Considering this, our riders have done very well. We've learned a lot and enjoyed podium success, refined our race bikes and are really looking forward to the rest of the season." The team'​s presence within the EWC paddock is an impressive one. How hard was it getting everything ready for the start of the EWC series? MM: "We only had a very short period of time to get ready so we immediately started working hard. There were lots of things to be done, which was challenging given the time available. We had to find the correct people, two mechanics, as well as make a planning for the season. Time was also needed to search for the right sponsors and technical partners. The first race was in Chile presented it's own logistical challenges. I'm really proud that in the end we managed to have everything ready for the start of the season." Once the team was established what were the main areas of focus? MM: "We started with completely standard bikes, so the first and most important job was to adjust these to our riders' preferences and make them as competitive as possible. We started working with the brand new WR250F in December and straight away we had the first official testing sessions with Gianluca (Martini) and Cristobal (Guerrero). Every hour on the bikes gave us extra information. We had some data sent to us by the motocross teams via Yamaha Europe, but the majority of development was done in our own workshop in northern Italy. As well as wanting to do well this season the experiences and information gathered in 2015 will allow us to be fully ready for a title fight in 2016." Like all team's you've been focused on improving your bikes. What have been the main areas you'​ve been working on? MM: "We were forced to use the first few GPs to gather race data. Coming back from the opening round in Chile we made some changes, mostly to suspension, which seemed to work well in the next few races. We started the season with a really strong engine and our riders were happy with its performance from day one. The only engine adjustments that we might now make at each GP can be to the ECU and fuel injection maps. Our major point of focus was suspension and this is what we are still working on. We've also worked a lot on reducing the bike's overall weight. We're racing in a really competitive class, so getting better in every race is what we're trying to achieve." How would you evaluate the performances of the team'​s riders Cristobal Guerrero and Gianluca Martini? MM: "Overall I'm really satisfied by our riders' performances, but I know both can do better. With Cristobal we were a bit unlucky before the start of the season as he hurt his shoulder and didn't have time to fully prepare. We believe Cristobal hasn't reached 100 per cent of his potential yet, but we are getting there. As Enduro 1 is a highly competitive class with new, young and talented riders pushing really hard for the podium, Cristobal's physically condition is getting stronger too. As for Gianluca, it's his first season in Enduro 1 and our major goal is to allow him to gain experience. We want him to compete in as many races as possible this season in order to book progress. We've already seen Gianluca getting top results in some special tests but he has to focus on getting these results more frequently. Gianluca is strong as a rider and as a person and we need to help him get even stronger so he can be among the top guys in Enduro 1." The GP of Italy is up next, how do you feel ahead of your 'home' GP? MM: "After long trips to Chile, Spain, Portugal and Greece we're really happy to have a race literally outside our workshop's door. The start of the Italian GP is only 1.5km away from our factory workshop. It's a really important event for our team and we expect many friends, family and supporters to be there. The races in Italy are always hard but we know our riders are tough." Finally, 2015 is the first year you have been involved in the Enduro World Championship for many years. What's your opinion about today's EWC series? MM: "We now see riders who compete in the EWC have a more professional approach. From an organisational point of view, I believe it's much harder now to have real enduro races. Environmental and other organisational issues can seriously affect enduro. Overall, I'm happy about the races we've competed in this year. I think it would be a good thing to have even more classes in the EWC so any local or international riders could also participate."

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