After a tight battle between Thomas Chareyre and Mauno Hermunen for being at the top of today's time practice in the unique tarmac track of Pleven, the French was finally the fastest. Gozzini and Thierry Van Den Bosch finished third and fourth respectively and will complete the top four riders who will take part in tomorrow's Superpole.

Home rider Angel Karanyotov imposed a blistering rhythm in the UEM Open class time practice and current red plate holder Uros Nastran could just be second almost a second behind the Bulgarian. 2010 UEM S3 Champion Lukas Höllbacher is not present this weekend in Bulgaria and local rider Antonio Todorov was the fastest in the S3 class.

S1



747 Motorsport TM Racing Factory's Thomas Chareyre clinched the best result in today's time practice just seven minutes before the session finished. The French exchanged the top position of the classification with Hermunen several times, but Thomas Chareyre managed to be six hundredths of a second fastest than the Finnish. Tomorrow the French will try to get his third Superpole of the season and get the red plate back from his team mate Gozzini.

Husqvarna CH Racing's Hermunen, who suffered a small crash during the free practice, managed to lead the time session in several occasions but he had to finally settle for the second best lap time. Hermunen is fifth in the FIM SuperMoto World Championship but he is confident that he can be among the top three riders, so tomorrow is one of his last chances to get a good result and climb some positions in the point standings.

Current red plate holder Gozzini had a puncture on his bike at the very beginning of the time practice but he managed to obtain the third best result just half of a second behind his team mate Thomas Chareyre. 747 Motorsport TM Racing Factory's Gozzini is leading the Championship with five points advantage over Thomas Chareyre, so he will try to get the Superpole tomorrow to have the best position in the starting grid and keep his leadership until the last Grand Prix in Salou.

Fourth was PMR H2O Aprilia Racing's Van Den Bosch, who had some problems with the settings of the bike, but he will be also fighting for the Superpole together with Thomas Chareyre, Hermunen and Gozzini. VDB is conscious that the track will not benefit his performance, but he is positive to keep his third position in the Championship.

Husqvarna CH Racing's Adrien Chareyre rode almost one second slower than his brother Thomas Chareyre and finished in fifth position. Adrien struggled with the settings of his bike in the last Grand Prix in Triscina, Sicily, but he seems ready to clinch a good result in tomorrow's races and improve his seventh position in the Championship.

Lazzarini is still recovering from his pulmonary bronchitis and could only finished sixth, followed by the two home riders Tonchev and Georgiev.

Hiemer is still having some difficulties in having his speed and rhythm back on his KTM machine and could only finish eleventh in today's time practice.

Occhini, who finished third overall in the Sicilian Grand Prix, was just fourteenth.

S1 Qualifying top ten: 1. Thomas Chareyre (FRA, TM), 1:24.069; 2. Mauno Hermunen (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:00.061; 3. Davide Gozzini (ITA, TM), +0:00.456; 4. Thierry van den Bosch (FRA, Aprilia), +0:00.885; 5. Adrien Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:00.924; 6. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA, Honda), +0:01.022; 7. Rosen Tonchev (BUL, KTM), +0:01.254; 8. Alexander Georgiev (BUL, KTM), +0:01.453; 9. Giovanni Bussei (ITA, Honda), +0:01.504; 10. Elia Sammartin (ITA, Honda), +0:01.560;

Complete results available at www.supermotos1.com/reslists.aspx

Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna teammates Cory Graffunder and Nick Burson used their summer break from desert racing to compete in some Extreme Enduro action. Already considered one of the best ever off-road racers ever to come from Canada, Graffunder returned home to confirm his reputation with a dominating win at the infamous Xtinction Extreme Enduro; then he slipped south of the border to make it into the mix at the National EnduroCross round in Indianapolis.


Cory Graffunder / Photo by www.offroadmotorcycles.ca

"It was great to be able to come back home to Canada and participate in such a cool race," Cory claims. "The course was definitely a big challenge... I have traveled to a lot of different places in the past few years to race against the toughest courses and best competitors in the world, so it is really exciting to see an event like this in Canada. Lee Fryberger and the gang that put this race on did an awesome job!"

Graffunder dazzled the spectators at this inaugural event while hammering his Husqvarna TC 250 to the checkers after an intense battle with his EnduroCross archrival Kyle Redmond (Graffunder and Redmond were fighting for top three positions in the national EX series leading up to the Indianapolis round held this past weekend). Scoring the fastest time in the morning qualifying sessions that saw only the top 30 riders advance to the finals, Cory was able to overcome all challengers -- and challenges -- on the treacherous Xtinction race course where many competitors struggled simply to complete a lap. "Qualifying went well, but the rain definitely made things interesting. I guess they had to remove some of the more evil sections that they had planned, since they would have been impossible," Cory notes. "Kyle Redmond and I had a great battle going! I was really pleased to get the win and I'm hoping that I can get back next year."


Nick Burson / Photo by www.offroadmotorcycles.ca

Accompanying Cory on his trip from California to race Xtinction in the Alberta badlands was his Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna teammate Nick Burson. The multi-time District 37 champ and defending U.S. Desert Racing #1 plate holder decided to jump into the mix at the Hare Scramble that was held the day prior to the Xtinction Xtreme Enduro. Nick spent the race trying to chase down the current Canadian Enduro Championship points leader, Jason Schrage. Although Schrage had the course dialed in, Burson's trip to Canada was rewarded with a solid second place finish. Good thing, because a crash in the Xtinction race the next day ripped the bars right off the bike when it tumbled off a cliff!

"Both riders have already proven to be 'extremely' versatile and very valuable members of our team," quips company president Mark Brady. "Seriously, we are all very proud of the way Cory and Nick did in Canada... note the name of the company is Husqvarna Motorcycles North America, not just USA."

At the recent dealer meeting held at Mid-Ohio in conjunction with AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, Husqvarna took the wraps off a couple more new 2011 models. In a fitting tribute to the AMA's "Marque Of The Year" brand new WR250 and WR300 demonstrate Husqvarna's ongoing commitment to two-strokes. The two big brothers to the previously announced 2011 WR150 make for a comprehensive range of serious 2-stroke enduro models.

A series of subtle upgrades to the WR250 and WR300 learned from World Enduro racing have been incorporated. Compared on the 2010 models, readily visible changes include new graphics, new rear racing mudguard with an integrated LED tail light and a new reinforced mount for the headlight/front number plate. These changes give the same race-ready look of the enduro models campaigned by World Enduro frontrunner Antoine Meo and match the looks of the rest of the 2011 Husqvarnas.

Less visible, but even more important from a technical point of view is the new Ducati Energia ignition. Borrowing from MotoGP championship-winning technology, this ignition allows for smoother power delivery and improved performance for both WR250 and WR300 displacements. Husqvarna riders in warmer climates will certainly appreciate the new thermostat which optimizes the working temperature of the engine.

In addition to the engine improvements, both bikes get revised rear suspension settings (based on the works bikes), as well as improved airboxes. Inside and out, top to bottom, Husqvarna has a complete renewal of their 2-stroke bikes for 2011.

Effective Sept. 30th, Scot Harden will step down as National Sales & Marketing Manager for Husqvarna Motorcycles North America, LLC. In preparation for Harden's departure, Husqvarna Marketing Dept responsibilities have been transferred to company President Mark Brady and the Husqvarna Sales Dept. With a focus on special projects, Harden remains with the company in an advisory capacity to help facilitate a smooth transition.

"This was certainly a tough decision to make however there is some exciting new terrain for me to explore and I really look forward to the challenge," notes the industry veteran. "I'll always be a Husqvarna rider at heart and I will continue to support the brand for years to come."

Harden began his career in 1973 as a Husqvarna factory Baja/Desert rider and he remained with the team until 1986, cementing his induction to the AMA Hall of Fame along the way. Throughout his career Harden has held executive sales, marketing and race team management positions with leading European motorcycle OEMs dating back to 1982. He returned to Husqvarna in 2008 and once back in the saddle he treated his sales and marketing role just like another race... strategic planning and intensive preparation followed by twisting the throttle to the stops!

"There is no question Scot played a major role in bringing Husqvarna back to national prominence after the brand had all but disappeared from the North American marketplace," explains Mark Brady, President of Husqvarna Motorcycles NA, LLC. "We are very grateful for all he accomplished. Between our national racing and press relations efforts alone Scot increased Husqvarna's visibility and brand name awareness a thousand fold. We are certainly indebted to him for making Husqvarna a household name in the off road scene once again," notes Brady.

"I wish Husqvarna, its parent company BMW, its loyal dealers, race teams, fans and customers continued success," says Harden. "Although I will pursue new opportunities in the future, I'll always look forward to seeing a Husqvarna leading the pack! Looking back over the past two years I am very proud of what our team in Woodcliff Lake has accomplished. One of the greatest sources of pride for me is the fact that a Husqvarna is carrying the number 1 plate in the desert again and seeing Husqvarna running up front in AMA National Enduro, GNCC and other major events like the 2-Stroke World Championships. Husqvarna's future has never looked brighter!"

Beginning Aug 2nd. Husqvarna dealers should direct questions regarding contingency, co-op advertising, rider support or any other marketing information to their Husqvarna Dealer Relations Manager.