Johnny Aubert

Published: 10th July 2007

Author: Words and photos by Jonty Edmunds

After going from WEC newcomer to race winner in less than three months, Frenchman Johnny Aubert now has his sights firmly set on winning the E2 world.

On May 7 last year Frenchman Johnny Aubert stunned the enduro world by claiming victory in only his second ever WEC event. With an almost complete lack of international enduro experience, the E2 class rookie turned the series on its head and left many wondering how the then little-known rider had achieved what no other competitor in the history of the WEC had.

Up against on-form, uninjured and seasoned WEC campaigners, Aubert's leap almost straight to the top step of the E2 podium was a major surprise. A rider who as a youngster was once viewed by many as France's next Jean-Michel Bayle, having seen injury repeatedly deny him the results he was capable of achieving as a professional motocross rider Aubert, at the age of 26, seemed to have found his calling.

But for Aubert competing in the WEC was something he'd never considered until the end of '05 when, after countless seasons ruined by injury and struggling to make ends meet, he finally decided he'd had enough of motocross. The 80cc world MX champ back in '93, Aubert's dreams of making it as a professional motocross racer had been dashed.

 "I was 17 when I turned professional," recalls Aubert who would eventually bring his motocross career to a close injured, dejected and ready to "get a normal job". "I raced for the Platini Kawasaki team on a 125. My first year in the GPs went quite well, I qualified at every race, made some good results and finished about 32nd or 33rd in the world championship."

But during his first years of the world championship circuit Aubert "made", as he puts it, "lots of big crashes". "Whenever I was starting to ride fast I would get injured and then have to stay at home for some months. I was fast or injured.

"In '99 I was fourth in the 125cc world championship after the first two races. But then I crashed with Grant Langston in Brazil and I badly damaged my knee. I was at home for six months after that. I started again but had more problems and my motivation went down."

Continuing to compete in the world championship up until the end of '03, Johnny decided to try something new in '04 and signed to race in the States. "I raced in the GPs in '03 and then went to the US in '04. I was with a small team in Europe, my bike wasn't so fast, so I decided to try something new."

But things didn't work out for Johnny in the US as a crash at the first round of the AMA Supercross series while competing on a 125cc Suzuki saw him break two vertebrae which resulted in him returning home for close to five months.

"I returned to GPs in '05," recalls Johnny, "but I had no real motivation and no money. In the middle of the season I stopped. I was racing full-time but not earning any money. I stayed home for five or six months after that not racing and that's when the UFO Corse Yamaha team contacted me."

The rest, as they say, is history and with the UFO Yamaha team looking to recruit a rider from outside of the WEC Aubert headed to Italy.

"The team saw me ride and asked if I wanted to try racing in the WEC. I said yes, signed the contract and for the first time in many years I had some money in my pocket," recalls Johnny. "It was strange for me because I had scored some good results in motocross for 10 years or so but wasn't able to earn any money from it. I didn't have an enduro licence, I couldn't change tyres, had never ridden in an enduro and the team were going to pay me. I thought the team were crazy but I also realised that I had a chance to turn things around."

So for the '06 WEC season the team's championship aspirations fell on the shoulders of Aubert and his Italian team-mate Fabrizio Dini. With absolutely no international enduro experience, few expected Aubert to do more than simply compete and learn during his debut season. But as the '06 season drew closer the last-minute re-signing of Stefan Merriman to compete in the E2 class for UFO Yamaha meant that Aubert would take a number two rider role within the team.

Aubert's first official outing for the team was the Genoa Indoor Enduro. Clearly still a little unsure of his new surroundings - and faced for the first time with rocks, logs and water hazards rather than whoops and table-tops - in one evening Aubert went from being the rider no-one really knew about to the rider everyone wanted to know about as he finished as an impressive runner-up to David Knight.

What happened next ensured Aubert's talents were well and truly noted and, more importantly, showed that his impressive indoor performance was certainly not a one off. With the '06 WEC series starting with the first ever winter enduro in Sweden, Aubert finished third in the E2 class on both days.

Johnny's debut WEC performance was little short of brilliant. With most non-Scandinavians struggling to get to grips with the conditions, Aubert's double podium finish was arguably the best WEC debut ride ever seen. Well out of his comfort zone and with much still to learn, the Frenchman showed that he was not only serious about his new career as an enduro rider but more than capable of dealing with adverse and unfamiliar conditions.

From Sweden the series travelled to Portugal, bringing with it a completely new set of challenges - but Johnny showed that his lack of experience wasn't going to stop him achieving great things in his debut season. Fourth on day one, having struggled to master the extreme test and having crashed on the enduro test, on day two Aubert did the unthinkable. He claimed his first WEC victory.

"It was absolutely fantastic to have had such a great weekend," recalls Aubert thinking back to the first time he stood on top of a world championship podium. "I couldn't believe it at first. On day two I wanted to fight for a position on the podium and I did that. Winning my first world championship race in my first season of enduros was fantastic."

Having claimed his first world championship victory after just four days of competition, Aubert instantly became France's new enduro star. Just two races into the '06 WEC season Aubert had shown that he could adapt quickly to unfamiliar conditions and had the speed to win. But surely a world championship title in his first year was too much to ask even of Aubert?

"Many people started asking me if I thought I could win the world championship after my good start but I always knew it would be hard. I showed that I could be fast but I still had a lot to learn."

Throughout '06 Aubert remained extremely level-headed about his chances of winning the E2 world championship - even after he backed up his impressive Portuguese result with a winning ride at the third round of the series. But as things turned out Johnny didn't win the E2 world title in '06.

With Samuli Aro going on to defend his title, Aubert ended up fourth - the result of three no-scores. After failing to finish the second day of the GP of Italy, Aubert finished on the podium on both days in Canada and the States, returned to the top step of the podium once more in Slovakia and then crashed out of the final round of the year, his home GP.

So what does Aubert think of his performances during '06? "For the first year I think I did pretty well. I finished with three day wins and finished on the podium at seven races. Yeah, it was a good season really."

With one season of WEC competition under his belt and riding for a familiar team and racing familiar machinery, Aubert's goal for '07 is an obvious one - to try and win the E2 world championship.

So his hopes were high as Johnny headed to Sweden following impressive results in the early rounds of the Italian Enduro Championship. But a group of fast Scandinavians prevented Johnny from repeating the double podium finish he scored 12 months earlier and after ending up fifth on both days Aubert left Sweden a little further behind the E2 championship leaders than he had in '06. But he was optimistic of strong results in Spain and Portugal.

"Samuli and Mika were both very fast in Sweden so it was always going to be difficult to win. I pushed to finish as high as I could, my results weren't so bad. I learned last year that you don't need to win every day to win a championship. The important thing is not to score zero points at any race."

Strong results were exactly what Aubert got as the series arrived in southern Europe. Winning both days in Spain before going on to win both days in Portugal, Johnny took the lead of the E2 championship to once again show that Mika Ahola and Samuli Aro weren't the only two riders fast enough to win.

Paddock gossips were quick to say that the only reason Aubert had won in Spain was because the event essentially had three motocross tests. "That's why a good result in Portugal was important to me," explains Aubert. "Yes, the tests were good for me in Spain but I knew that I won because I was the fastest, not simply because the race was easy."

In Portugal Aubert collected another double E2 class win to not only silence his critics as the race was anything but easy but also to move to the head of the E2 championship standings.

"It really annoys me when people tell me that it is easy for me to be fast in enduros because I am a motocross rider," adds Johnny. "I think I am fast because my style suits enduro, I have some good skills, I am smooth but also quite aggressive. Just because I come from motocross means nothing.

"This year Fred Bolley is racing in the WEC. He is a motocross racer, a former world champion and he hasn't won any races like I did in my first year. It doesn't matter if you come from motocross, from trials or from road racing. The only thing that matters is the result. If you are fast enough you can win."

 As leader of the E2 world championship, Aubert arrived at the UFO Yamaha team's home GP hoping to defend - if not extend - his class lead. Disappointingly, Johnny headed home from the event that marked the midway point of the series dejected and back in third position in the championship having failed to finish the second day due to a sudden engine problem when in sight of the finish.

Although Aubert now faces an uphill battle to move himself back into a position from where he can again challenge for the title one thing is certain - he won't give up on the championship without a fight.

And if Johnny does or doesn't win the E2 world championship this season another thing that's certain is that the Frenchman's future lies within enduro. "I am completely finished with motocross," he explains. "I have some good memories of motocross but a lot of bad memories. The last two or three years were really difficult for me in motocross. I am really happy with the UFO Yamaha team, my mechanic and my bike. My home is with enduro now."