Regarded as the toughest and most difficult race on the Swedish off road calendar, Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Joakim Ljunggren produced a master class in enduro riding to comfortably secure victory in this year‰Ûªs race at Vimmerby.
Knowing that he had the perfect opportunity to equal the all-time winner‰Ûªs record of six victories, Ljunggren began the event in a confident mood. Taking control of the race lead during the morning section, the Husqvarna rider ended lap one of three as the initial leader.
With competitors returning to complete the final two laps of the demanding course at night, Ljunggren focused on maintaining his lead. Knowing that with almost eight hours of racing still to run, he steadily chipped away at building his advantage. Ending lap two with a comfortable cushion over his nearest rivals, Ljunggren pushed on during the final tortuous lap to claim victory by over 11 minutes.
‰ÛÏIt‰Ûªs an incredible feeling to have won my sixth NovemberkÌ´san." Ljunggren said. "This is such an important race in Sweden and now I‰Ûªve been able to equal the all-time win list with this victory.
"The NovemberkÌ´san is always tough. It‰Ûªs such a long race in very difficult conditions ‰ÛÒ anything can happen. Plus with Pela Renet also competing I knew I would need to ride the perfect race if I wanted to win.
"From the beginning I felt very comfortable and settled into a strong pace. Ending the morning race with a small advantage gave me good confidence for the night race. Straight away I felt strong and never really ran into any problems, which can happen so easily in a race like this. I pushed on during the final lap and was able to extend my lead.
"After such a difficult year with injury it‰Ûªs perfect to have come away with the win here.‰Û
