HUSQVARNA MOTORCYCLES SIGNS MIKAEL PERSSON FOR 2022 ENDUROGP ASSAULT.
FORMER 125CC ENDURO YOUTH CUP WORLD CHAMPION TO COMPETE IN ENDURO3 FOR HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING.
Husqvarna Factory Racing is pleased to confirm the signing of experienced enduro racer and former 125cc Enduro Youth Cup World Champion Mikael Persson for the 2022 season. Returning full-time to world championship competition following a number of years away from the series, Mikael will compete in the Enduro3 class on a TE 300i.
A dominant junior competitor on the EnduroGP World Championship scene back in 2015, in recent years Mikael has focused on competing in his national championship in Sweden. Winning the Swedish Enduro Championship in 2018, 2019, and 2021, Mikael also claimed victory in Sweden’s two most prestigious standalone events last year – Gotland Grand National and Novemberkasan.
In addition to his impressive national results, Mikael topped the Enduro1 class at the 2021 International Six Days Enduro in Italy while also finishing third overall, competing at the top of the results throughout the week-long event.
Mikael will ride as Husqvarna Motorcycles’ sole official EnduroGP competitor, and will join Billy Bolt in the team who will race in both the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship and FIM Hard Enduro World Championship for Husqvarna Factory Racing.
The FIM EnduroGP World Championship starts with round one in Lalin, Spain on May 6-8.
Mikael Persson:“I’m very, very happy to get this opportunity to return to the EnduroGP World Championship, especially with Husqvarna. As a Swede, competing officially for Husqvarna is a big honour. Being around familiar machinery and people I have known for many years, yeah, I can’t wait to get racing again. There are still some months to go before the start of the world championship, but my training and preparation has been going well. I headed to southern Europe early in the New Year to get familiar with the new bike, and since then I’ve just been riding and training. I’ve put a lot of hours in on the bike now and switching back to a 2-stroke, and back to being a full-time racer, is all going well. I’m enjoying the process. I’m building my way back into everything. I know that I have a lot of experience, and I’m 100% focused on doing the best I can, but I’m not putting myself under any crazy pressure – the team and myself know what we’re aiming for, and I’ll do all I can to be competing at the front of my class. This is a great opportunity for me, I’m certainly going to give my all and make the best of it.”
Andi Hölzl – Husqvarna factory Racing Team Manager:“We’re really happy to have Mikael in the team. He’s shown impressive pace in the EnduroGP World Championship as well of course as the International Six Days Enduro, where he was also extremely fast. As a Scandinavian, Mikael riding for Husqvarna Motorcycles is also something very special due to the rich Swedish history of the brand. He is a pleasure to work with, has great speed on the bike, but also has a lot of technical knowledge. I believe he will really progress through the 2022 season.”
Text/Bild: Husqvarna