Career
After the 2004 season, he wanted a new challenge and moved to the United States to ride for KTM in the Grand National Cross Country series. He was crowned both "American Medical Association 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, 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 United States. He returned to race for the season-ending rounds in France and secured his 12th world title.
However, a retirement in the first Spanish round proved costly for his title chase, and Yamaha"s Johnny Aubert became the first man to beat Salminen to the title since the 1998 season. Foreign the 2009 season, Salminen signed a three-year contract with the new Bayerische Motoren Werke factory team
