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International Six Day Enduro - Day three report November 5th, 2003 - By, Mark Fattore (M.A.) |
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International Six Day Enduro - Day three report November 5th, 2003 - By, Mark Fattore (M.A.) |
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A spirited Australian World Trophy team moved back into sixth position when the 2003 International Six Days’ Enduro (ISDE) reached the halfway mark at Fortaleza,
Brazil, on November 5. With world champion Stefan Merriman (Honda) again the mainstay, collecting a third successive class (250cc two-stroke) and outright victory, Australia’s six-man team maintained the pressure on their more fancied rivals all day, with both Yamaha duo Damian Smith and Ryan Bouquet also clinching top 10 positions in the 125 two-stroke and 250cc four-stroke classes respectively. Australia also benefited from a Portugal nadir, which saw it slide from fifth to 11th in the World Trophy standings in one fell swoop after one of its riders failed to finish, and another was a distant finisher.Defending champion Finland, which has three current and former world champions in its stable of marquee riders – Juha Salminen (KTM), Mike Ahola (VOR) and Samuli Aro (KTM) -- continues to lead the World Trophy division by a comfortable three minutes, although second-placed Italy managed to trim the lead back by 20 seconds today. Italy is the third most successful nation in ISDE history behind Great Britain (16) and the Czech Republic (15), with 10 of its 12 successes coming since 1979. Meanwhile, France has now displaced Belgium out of third position in the 19-nation World Trophy, and Spain has moved up from sixth to fifth to replace the out of sorts Portugal. Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and America see out the top 10.In the corresponding Junior Trophy, Australia remains in a brilliant fifth position as it chases a second title to sit alongside the 1995 trophy, although it does now appear to be a three-way battle between reigning champion France, Finland and Italy – the archetypal strongholds of European enduro riding. Germany is fourth, nearly four minutes in front of the Australians. Australia’s star on the Junior Trophy front was again Glenn Kearney (Yamaha), who finished fifth in the opening three 250cc four-stroke special tests, and finished the day on that number – just 52.36sec behind winner Marc Germain in the Yamaha-dominated field.Kearney’s compatriots, Anthony Roberts (Husqvarna) and 18-year-old Jake Stapleton (TM), were 31st and 23rd respectively in their two classes – 125cc and 250cc two-stroke. Roberts’ result included the imposition of a one-minute penalty. Meanwhile, the final three riders in the World Trophy team – Kirk Hutton (Yamaha), Brad Williscroft (KTM) and Stuart Bennett (KTM) – continued to push hard in the sandy terrain, although there was some respite in the form of an enduro test held on a hard-packed trail – the bread and butter for Aussie riders.Emboldened by the ‘hometown’ conditions, all of the Aussies lifted for the 5km test, which was won by Merriman – his only victory for the day. While that test proved to be a boon for the posse from Down Under, it was an ‘annus horribillis’ for Yamaha’s Stefan Everts, who lost his composure as he laboured into 15th position in the 400cc four-stroke class – a massive 20 seconds slower than the time achieved by Merriman. Everts’ tumult came at a fortuitous time for Merriman, because the Belgian icon had managed to trim Merriman’s outright lead back to around five seconds – down from 16.67 – after blitzing the opening two tests.Everts recovered his faculties to win the final test, with the other one proving to be a happy hunting ground for French Junior Trophy wunderkind, Freddy Blanc (KTM). Of the 15 stages now contested in the 2003 ISDE, Merriman has won seven, with Everts (four) and multiple world enduro champion Juha Salminen (KTM, two) the other multiple winners.After all the vaudeville of day three, Merriman managed to extend his outright lead over Everts by a scant 0.35sec. His lead is now 17.10sec, with Salminen in third. The overall top 10 is made up of five 250cc two-stroke riders, and the balance four-stroke riders: three from the 500c and two from the 400s. Stefan Merriman - “I crashed in the first test this morning. It was a bugger because after walking over the test last night with the other guys, we had all our lines picked out. But when we arrived at the test this morning, the organisers had moved all the peg positions around, so the dynamics of the track had changed completely.”Glenn Kearney - “I finally got through a day without any crashes, which is good. Geez, it was dusty again today, but it did enjoy the test on the hard-packed terrain – it was more like we are used to in Australia.” Kirk Hutton - "That dust was worse than what we get in Queensland! I timed my run in one of the special stages better today after getting caught behind another rider yesterday. Stefan (Merriman) told me to pretend I was having problems with my goggles to delay my departure just a few extra seconds. It worked, because I didn’t get caught behind another rider, and produced my best result so far.”Ryan Bouquet - “I crashed twice in the tests today. I also got my foot wedged in a rock on the general trail, which also cost me a little time.” Damian Smith - "How good were some of those downhills today? It was like riding in a rollercoaster – great fun.”
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Individual classes after day three 125cc two-stroke
250cc two-stroke
250cc four-stroke
400cc four-stroke
500cc four-stroke
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MCNEWS.COM.AU |
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