Samuli Aro (born 12 April 1975 in Järvenpää) is a Finnish enduro rider. He is a five-time World Enduro Champion and has also won the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) World Trophy with Team Finland five times.
Aro debuted in the World Enduro Championship in 1998, and took his first world title in 2002 with Husqvarna in the 250 cc class. After moving to KTM for the 2003 season, he placed second in the championship behind Honda's Stefan Merriman. He went on to win the World Enduro Championship three times in a row; in 2004 in the Enduro 3 class, and in 2005 and 2006 in the Enduro 2 class.[1] In the 2008 season, after a second place to Honda rider Mika Ahola in 2007, Aro became one of the few enduro riders to win five world championship titles. He retired from the world championship after the 2009 season, during which he placed fourth in the standings.[2]
Career summary
edit| Season | Series | Class | Team | Wins | Final placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | World Enduro Championship | 125 cc | Yamaha | 0 | 19th |
| 1999 | World Enduro Championship | 125 cc | Yamaha | 0 | 9th |
| 2000 | World Enduro Championship | 250 cc | Yamaha | 0 | 8th |
| 2001 | World Enduro Championship | 250 cc | Husqvarna | 3 | 3rd |
| 2002 | World Enduro Championship | 250 cc | Husqvarna | 11 | 1st |
| 2003 | World Enduro Championship | 250 cc | KTM | 5 | 2nd |
| 2004 | World Enduro Championship | E3 | KTM | 11 | 1st |
| 2005 | World Enduro Championship | E2 | KTM | 5 | 1st |
| 2006 | World Enduro Championship | E2 | KTM | 6 | 1st |
| 2007 | World Enduro Championship | E2 | KTM | 2 | 2nd |
| 2008 | World Enduro Championship | E3 | KTM | 5 | 1st |
| 2009 | World Enduro Championship | E3 | KTM | 0 | 4th |
ISDE
edit| Season | Location | Class | Team | Final placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Coimbra, Portugal
|
World Trophy | Finland | 1st |
| 2000 |  Granada, Spain
|
World Trophy | Finland | 18th |
| 2001 |  Brive-la-Gaillarde, France
|
World Trophy | Finland | 16th |
| 2002 |  Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic
|
World Trophy | Finland | 1st |
| 2003 |  Fortaleza, Brazil
|
World Trophy | Finland | 1st |
| 2004 |  Kielce, Poland
|
World Trophy | Finland | 1st |
| 2005 |  Považská Bystrica, Slovakia
|
World Trophy | Finland | 2nd |
| 2006 |  Taupō, New Zealand
|
World Trophy | Finland | 1st |
| 2009 | Figueira da Foz, Portugal
|
World Trophy | Finland | 3rd |
References
edit- ^ "Samuli Aro varmisti enduron maailmanmestaruuden". MTV3 (in Finnish). 23 September 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
- ^ "Samuli Aro: Ura on nyt loppu!". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 13 September 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
External links
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