- Mika Ahola
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Ahola at the 2008 WEC GP of Italy.
Mika Ahola (born 13 December 1974) is a Finnish enduro rider and a five-time world champion. He is also a seven-time winner of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) World Trophy with Team Finland, and was the fastest overall in the competition in 1999, 2001 and 2002.
Ahola debuted in the World Enduro Championship in a Husqvarna in 1993, and became a regular title contender after joining the TM factory team in 1997. In 2001, he finished runner-up for the third time, after losing the 500 cc world title to Anders Eriksson by a single point. Ahola took three more wins than Eriksson, but a retirement in the second round in Slovakia proved costly for his title chase. After another second placing in 2002 and a third in 2003, he briefly moved to Husqvarna until signing for Honda for the 2006 season, which saw him finish second to KTM's Samuli Aro in the E2 class.
In 2007, Ahola took seven wins and finished on the podium in all but one event, beating compatriot Aro and Yamaha's Johnny Aubert to finally win the world championship. For the 2008 season, he moved to the E1 class and took his second world title ahead of KTM's Iván Cervantes.[1] Ahola went on to win a fourth consecutive title in 2010.[2] In 2011, he moved to the E3 class and became the first rider to win the world championship in all the three current categories.[3]
Career summary
Season Series Class Team Wins Final placing 1993 World Enduro Championship 125 cc Husqvarna 0 10th 1994 World Enduro Championship 125 cc Husqvarna 0 13th 1995 World Enduro Championship 125 cc Husqvarna 0 15th 1996 World Enduro Championship 125 cc Husqvarna 0 9th 1997 World Enduro Championship 125 cc TM 5 2nd 1998 World Enduro Championship 250 cc TM 3 9th 1999 World Enduro Championship 250 cc TM 1 3rd 2000 World Enduro Championship 250 cc TM 3 2nd 2001 World Enduro Championship 500 cc VOR 5 2nd 2002 World Enduro Championship 500 cc VOR 6 2nd 2003 World Enduro Championship 500 cc VOR 2 3rd 2004 World Enduro Championship E3 Husqvarna 0 4th 2005 World Enduro Championship E3 Husqvarna 0 4th 2006 World Enduro Championship E2 Honda 2 2nd 2007 World Enduro Championship E2 Honda 7 1st 2008 World Enduro Championship E1 Honda 9 1st 2009 World Enduro Championship E1 Honda 9 1st 2010 World Enduro Championship E2 Honda 10 1st 2011 World Enduro Championship E3 Honda 9 1st ISDE
Season Location Class Team Final placing 1993 
Assen, NetherlandsWorld Trophy Finland 10th 1994 
Tulsa, United StatesWorld Trophy Finland 5th 1995 
Jelenia Góra, PolandWorld Trophy Finland 3rd 1996 
Hämeenlinna, FinlandWorld Trophy Finland 1st 1997 
Brescia, ItalyWorld Trophy Finland 2nd 1998 
Traralgon, AustraliaWorld Trophy Finland 1st 1999 
Coimbra, PortugalWorld Trophy Finland 1st 2000 
Granada, SpainWorld Trophy Finland 18th 2001 
Brive-la-Gaillarde, FranceWorld Trophy Finland 16th 2002 
Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech RepublicWorld Trophy Finland 1st 2003 
Fortaleza, BrazilWorld Trophy Finland 1st 2004 Kielce, PolandWorld Trophy Finland 1st 2005 
Považská Bystrica, SlovakiaWorld Trophy Finland 2nd 2006 
Taupo, New ZealandWorld Trophy Finland 1st References
- ^ "Mika Ahola crowned E1 world champion". ABC-WEC.com. http://we.abc-wec.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=375&Itemid=17. Retrieved 21 October 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Mika Ahola ajoi neljännen enduron MM-kullan peräkkäin" (in Finnish). Keskisuomalainen. 25 September 2010. http://www.ksml.fi/uutiset/urheilu/mika-ahola-ajoi-nelj%C3%A4nnen-enduron-mm-kullan-per%C3%A4kk%C3%A4in/601708. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
- ^ "Salminen and Ahola - champions!". enduro-abc.com. 1 October 2011. http://www.enduro-abc.com/index.php?model=news&action=view_object&object_id=304. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
Categories:- 1974 births
- Living people
- Enduro riders
- Finnish motorcycle racers
- Finnish sportspeople stubs
- Motorcycle racing biography stubs
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