Juha Salminen (born 27 September 1976 in
Vantaa
Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...
) is a
Finnish former professional motorcycle
enduro
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...
racer. He is a 13-time
World Enduro Champion (including the overall world championship titles from 2000 to 2004) and has also won the German championship (1998) and the Spanish championship (2000–2002).
He also competed in
motocross
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom.
History
Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...
, where he won the Finnish championship in 2002, and
endurocross, where he won four times the Barcelona Indoor Enduro in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. In addition to his personal titles, Salminen is a six-time winner of the
International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) World Trophy with Team Finland. In 2020, Salminen was named an
FIM
FIM may refer to:
Organizations and companies
* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation
* Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States
* Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media
* ...
Enduro Legend.
Racing career
Riding for
KTM, Salminen won six world titles in a row from 1999 to 2004. After the 2004 season, he wanted a new challenge and moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to ride for KTM in the
Grand National Cross Country
The Grand National Cross Country Series is an American motorcycle racing series. The off-road race series was founded by Dave Coombs in 1975 and is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The competition is similar to motocr ...
series. He won nine of the series' thirteen races and became the GNCC champion in his debut year. He was crowned both "
AMA
Amateur Athlete of the Year" and "GNCC Rider of the Year", chosen by fellow competitors. In 2006, Salminen clinched his second GNCC title at the Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC in
Yadkinville
Yadkinville is a town in Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,997 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the Piedmont Triad, it is the county seat and most populous city of Yadkin County.
History
T ...
, North Carolina.
Salminen returned to the World Enduro Championship for the 2007 season, with
David Knight replacing him in the KTM factory team in the US. Salminen won the first twelve races of the season, but had to miss out the Slovakian rounds due to breaking his
collarbone
The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...
in a British championship race in Britain. He returned to race for the season-ending rounds in France and secured his 12th world title. In the
2008 season, Salminen won nine of the sixteen rounds and broke compatriot
Kari Tiainen's record (77) for most wins in the world championship. However, a retirement in the first Spanish round proved costly for his title chase, and
Yamaha's
Johnny Aubert
Johnny Aubert (born 31 May 1980) is a French enduro rider and two-time world-champion. A former motocross rider, Aubert debuted in the World Enduro Championship riding for Yamaha in 2006. He claimed the world championship in the E2 class in t ...
became the first man to beat Salminen to the title since the 1998 season.
For the 2009 season, Salminen signed a three-year contract with the new
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
factory team. As BMW withdrew from the championship after non-satisfactory results, Salminen moved to
Husqvarna for 2011 and won a record eighth class title.
Career summary
ISDE
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salminen, Juha
1976 births
Enduro riders
Finnish motorcycle racers
Finnish motocross riders
Living people
Sportspeople from Vantaa