Stefan Merriman is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

-born Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n enduro

Enduro

Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on courses that are predominantly off-road. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges...

 rider competing in the World Enduro Championship

World Enduro Championship

The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...

. He won the championship in 2000 (250cc), 2001 (400cc), 2003 (250cc) and 2004 (Enduro 1).

In 2003, Merriman also got close to beating Juha Salminen

Juha Salminen

Juha Salminen is a Finnish enduro rider. He is a 13-time World Enduro Champion and has also won the German championship and the Spanish championship . In motocross, he won the Finnish championship in 2002...

 for the overall title, finishing second in the overall championship only three points (266 vs. 269) behind Salminen. He led the championship before the final heat where he finished second as Salminen took the win and the championship. In 2004, Merriman moved to Yamaha

Yamaha

Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...

, winning his fourth world title and placing third overall, behind Salminen and Samuli Aro

Samuli Aro

Samuli Aro is a Finnish enduro rider. He is a five-time World Enduro Champion and has also won the International Six Days Enduro World Trophy with Team Finland five times....

 and ahead of David Knight. The following year, he won eleven of the 18 rounds in the Enduro 2 class, but with four retirements could not challenge KTM

KTM

KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen...

's Samuli Aro

Samuli Aro

Samuli Aro is a Finnish enduro rider. He is a five-time World Enduro Champion and has also won the International Six Days Enduro World Trophy with Team Finland five times....

 for the title. In 2006, he took three wins and placed third in the championship.

Merriman signed with Aprilia

Aprilia

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...

 to race their V-Twin machine in the 2007 World Enduro Championship, and placed fifth in the E2 championship, with one second place as his best event result. In the 2008 season

2008 World Enduro Championship season

The 2008 World Enduro Championship season was the 19th season in the FIM World Enduro Championship. The season consisted of eight events and 16 races....

, he competed in the E3 class, winning three of the last four events and again placed fifth in the standings.

Career summary

Season	Series	Class	Team	Wins	Final placing
1998	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	250 cc	Husqvarna Husqvarna Motorcycles Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...	0	4th
1999	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	250 cc	Husqvarna Husqvarna Motorcycles Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...	8	2nd
2000	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	250 cc	Husqvarna Husqvarna Motorcycles Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...	7	1st
2001	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	400 cc	Husqvarna Husqvarna Motorcycles Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...	7	1st
2002	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	400 cc	Husqvarna Husqvarna Motorcycles Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...	5	2nd
2003	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	250 cc	Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...	9	1st
2004	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	E1	Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...	13	1st
2005	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	E2	Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...	11	2nd
2006	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	E2	Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...	3	3rd
2007	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	E2	Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...	0	5th
2008 2008 World Enduro Championship season The 2008 World Enduro Championship season was the 19th season in the FIM World Enduro Championship. The season consisted of eight events and 16 races....	World Enduro Championship World Enduro Championship The FIM World Enduro Championship is the world championship series for enduro, a popular form of off-road motorcycle sport. The championship currently features three classes , along with separate categories for junior and female riders. The WEC was first organized in 1990, and currently consists...	E3	Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...	3	5th