The race weekend at Puchov, Slovakia delivered a tough opening day on Saturday with the competitors' toughest opponent being the torrential rain that turned the 65 km track into a cold and slippery obstacle course for round nine of the current World Championship.

But conditions failed to foil this year's outstanding front runner in E2. Aubert was challenged by Bartosz Oblucki who led the race throughout the day on a terrain similar to his own country, neighboring Poland, but Aubert slipped past him in final stages.

"Johnny very fast today but Oblucki was leading right up until the last special when he caught him and went on to win the race. It was a day that suited the French riders," KTM's team boss Fabio Farioli said.

"Today the extreme test was almost impossible and there were many crashes right throughout the day." he commented after Saturday's battle with the elements came to a conclusion.

The rain stopped before Sunday's race and organizers made modifications to the tests after conditions on Saturday made it practically impossible to ride. With an easier day ahead of his Aubert went out an put in another race that Farioli described as "perfect". Italian Alessandro Belometti returned to the track after injuring his hand last weekend in Finland and finished in a good eighth place and was thirteenth on Sunday.

Samuli Aro of the KTM Enduro Factory Team put in a good weekend in very tough conditions to twice finish second on the E3 podium in the ninth and tenth round of the current world Championship in Puchov, central Slovakia.

The event kicked off on Friday with the Super Test, run in front of 4000 people on the banks of the Vah river and the glory went to KTM Enduro Factory's E3 championship leader Cervantes. But when overnight and continual rain on Saturday turned the 65 km track into a mud bath.

While Aro of Finland crossed the line in second his factory team-mate and championship leader Ivan Cervantes, with his 4-stroke KTM machine needed all the help he could in conditions that that according to team boss Fabio Farioli were near impossible to ride.

"Saturday was a very difficult day with the mud and the rain. The extreme test was nearly impossible. The track is very difficult and many of the riders are complaining so there will be some changes overnight," he said. "Ivan (Cervantes) was fifth but he was the top four-stroke rider today. The two-strokes are much lighter and easier to rider in the mud and rain."

The rain stopped in time for Sunday's race but much of the track was still mud soaked, although it did dry out during the course of the race. Organisers had modified several of the tests that proved almost impossible on Saturday, however while Aro again came home second, Cervantes was again the first 4-stroke bike in on another tough racing day repeating his result of the opening day.

The Spanish factory rider still has a 17-point lead going into the next rounds that take place in Mexico in July.

KTM Enduro Factory Racing E1 rider Simone Albergoni and KTM-supported rider Thomas Oldrati, both if Italy overcame a difficult weekend's racing in Rounds 9 & 10 of the World Championship to be on the podium for the Austrian manufacturer.

Albergoni was third in Saturday's race and Oldrati was third in on Sunday in an eventful weekend where the weather played a major role in the outcome of the event. . The two races kicked off the second half of the Enduro World Championship season in Puchov, Slovakia, a hilly, forested area that has an established tradition of Enduro racing on a 65 km track to be covered 3.5 times on each of the race days.

The teams knew in advance that it would be a difficult race weekend, especially if it rained and at least on Saturday that was the case. The weekend started with the Super Test on Friday evening, the extra test in front of a crowd that makes the sport more accessible to the public and gives rider the opportunity to show off their skills.

Some 4000 motor sport fans gathered on the banks of the Vah River to watch the riders go through their paces with Ivan Cervantes of KTM's E3 team taking the glory and Oldrati in second place. But Saturday proved very tough with continual rain that turned many hills on the course into extremely difficult slippery slopes.

At the end of a tough first day the E1 KTM Enduro Factory team was on the podium with Albergoni in third place but like most riders, Eero Remes, in his rookie year with the factory team and Oldrati, who is racing his first year in the senior division, both had their share of difficulties.

Oldrati finished a creditable sixth and the young Finn in eighth place on a day that factory team boss Fabio Farioli summarised as follows: "Everybody made mistakes today so the winner was the one who made the least mistakes."

The rain held off for Sunday's race and the track dried out as the day progressed. Organisers also made some amendments to the tests, making both the Enduro and the Extreme test easier than it had been on Saturday.

Albergoni had been leading for most of the way but eventually had to settle for fourth place, while Oldrati finished in third place.

World Enduro results

E2 Results Saturday 1. Johnny Aubert, France, KTM 2. Bartosz Oblucki, Poland, Husqvarna 3. Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg 4. Juha Salminen, Finland, BMW 5. Simo Kirssi, Finland, BMW

E2 Results Sunday 1. Johnny Aubert, France, KTM 2. Bartosz Oblucki, Poland, Husqvarna 3. Juha Salminen, Finland, BMW 4. Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg 5. Rodrig Thain, France, TM

E3 Results Saturday 1. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas 2. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM 3. Stefan Svitko, Slovakia, KTM 4. Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM 5. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM

E3 Results Sunday 1. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas 2. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM 3. Sebastien Guillaume, France, Husqvarna 4. Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM 5. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM

Standings after Rounds 9 & 10 1. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM, 227 2. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas, 210 3. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM, 202 4. Sebastien Guillaume, France Husqvarna, 181 5. Marcus Kehr, Germany, KTM 156

E1 Results Saturday 1. Mika Ahola, France, Honda 2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna 3. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM 4. Fabien Planet, France, KTM 5. Julien Gauthier, France, Honda

E1 Results Sunday 1. Mika Ahola, France, Honda 2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna 3. Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM 4. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM 5. Julien Gauthier, France, Honda

Standings after Rounds 9 & 10 1. Mika Ahola, France, Honda, 247 2. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna, 208 3. Simone Albergoni, Italy, KTM, 203 4. Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM, 173 5. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM, 153