The 2013 Maxxis FIM Enduro World Championship kicked off over the weekend at Talca in Chile where competitors were faced with tough, dusty and dry conditions.

On day one it was Antoine Meo who took the Enduro 1 victory ahead of Juha Salminen and Matt Seistola. Salminen was unable to keep pace with Meo as the day progressed and following a costly crash on the opening extreme test, Finland’s Seistola battled hard all day to recover and finish the day on the podium.

In the Enduro 2 class, Pierre Alexandre Renet held off KTM’s Johnny Aubert to take the win. With Aubert winning each of the day’s three cross tests, Renet fought back by setting impressive times in the enduro test to secure a four-second win.

Behind Renet and Aubert was Alex Salvini who set the fastest time in the day’s final extreme test to earn himself the third and final spot on the podium.

Taking his first race win since the snow covered GP of Sweden in 2009, Husaberg’s Joakim Ljunggren won the Enduro 3 category. Feeling comfortable in the dry and dusty terrain, the Swede topped three of the day’s ten special tests to secure victory.

Although claiming four special test wins, France’s Christophe Nambotin suffered numerous crashes finished up in second position. In third place, ending his day over 40 seconds behind Nambotin, was Estonia’s Aigar Leok.

In the Enduro Junior class, it was the 2012 Enduro Youth Cup champion Redondi that took the win on day one, while Britain’s Danny McCanney finished second with Sweden’s Robert Kvarnstrom ending his day in third.

France’s Loic Larrieu claimed fourth with Australia’s Matthew Phillips taking fifth on debut for Huqsvarna in the EWC series.

After setting the fastest E1 time during day two’s opening enduro test, Meo slipped back down the running order as Italy’s Thomas Oldrati took control of the race lead – but Meo pushed hard througout to day to reclaim the lead and score his second victory of the event.

After looking strong throughout the day, Oldrati was unable to fend off the late charge from Meo and was forced to settle for second position. Improving greatly on his day one result of seventh, Finland’s Eero Remes placed third to secure his debut podium result for TM Racing.

The Enduro 2 class saw a new winner emerge with Italy’s Alex Salvini claiming victory on day two. The win cam after a hard fought battle with Spain’s Ivan Cervantes and France’s Johnny Aubert.

With little to separate the trio throughout the day, Salvini topped the day’s final enduro test to claim a 14-second margin of victory. Jumping up two positions from his day one result of fourth, Cervantes finished second with Aubert in third.

In the Enduro 3 class, France’s Nambotin ended day two as a winner. Although he struggled to find a comfortable rhythm on the dry and dust terrain, the Frenchman delivered some impressive performances. Topping five of the day’s nine special tests to secure a solid 18-second win.

Sweden’s Joakim Ljunggren continued his run of good form to end his day as runner-up, proving that he will be a strong contender in this year’s championship. France’s Rodrig Thain bettered his day one result of fourth to secure a podium result with third position.

Italy’s Redondi repeated his winning result from day one in the Enduro Junior class, while Spain’s Mario Roman took the runner-up spot. Australian debutant Phillips ended day two with an impressive third overall.

Overall it was Meo who claimed the Enduro 1 victory over Salminen and Seistola. Renet scored the Enduro 2 overall win with Aubert and Salvini rounding out the podium.

Ljunggren topped the podium in the Enduro 3 class with Nambotin and Leok taking second and third respectively. In the Enduro Junior class Redondi took the overall win from McCanney and Kvarnstrom – Australia’s Phillips was fifth overall.

Click here for detailed results