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International Six Day Enduro - Day four report November 6th, 2003 - By, Mark Fattore (M.A.) |
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International Six Day Enduro - Day four report November 6th, 2003 - By, Mark Fattore (M.A.) |
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Seven-time world motocross champion Stefan Everts (Yamaha) displayed his full repertoire on day four of the International Six Days’ Enduro in Brazil on November 6,
displacing Australian Stefan Merriman (Honda) at the head of the individual standings in the process. The irrepressible Belgian, who is making his enduro debut in Brazil, won three of the five special tests on day four, extinguishing the 17.1sec lead Merriman held after day three – while building a 7.16sec lead of his own. While the unrelenting Everts was at the top of his game, day four provided its fair share of difficulties for Merriman, who crashed in two of the tests – and was baulked by slower riders when he was upright. Nevertheless, the reigning world 250cc two-stroke (2T) world champion still finished in the top three in two of the tests, and will be looking to right the ship on day five – following the same 246km route as today. While Everts’ individual effort gained momentum on day four, the cause of Belgium in the 19-country World Trophy event floundered, after countryman Thierry Klutz (Gas Gas) endured a dismal day. As a result, Belgium finished ninth overall, and slipped from fourth to fifth in the overall standings – a direct swap with Spain. Meanwhile, Australia remains in sixth position, just over five minutes in front of Germany, and a similar distance behind Belgium. As for the top three, there is no change – defending champion Finland a comfortable leader from Italy and France with only one day of bona-fide competition remaining. That’s because the final day’s route is just 16km long, encompassing a single Supermotard test – not the environment to make a dramatic charge up the leaderboard. Of the six-man Australian Senior Trophy team, 250cc four-stroke (4T) pilot Ryan Bouquet and Kirk Hutton (Yamaha, 250cc 2T) enjoyed their most productive ISDE days yet, improving two and four positions respectively in their class standings. Stuart Bennett (KTM) also made big strides in the 400cc 4T division, jumping three spots to 13th. Merriman (250cc 2T) and Damian Smith (Yamaha, 125cc 2T) maintained their positions – first and ninth – while Brad Williscroft (KTM) dropped one spot to 21st in 250cc 2T. In the stoush for Junior Trophy honours, it was very much a case of consolidation on day four, with the 15-nation ladder remaining unchanged. At the sharp end, current title holder France, Finland and Italy represent the top three – with just 1:34.55 separating the trio. Then follows Germany, Australia, Sweden and the Netherlands. The Aussie Junior Trophy incumbents – Glenn Kearney (Yamaha), Jake Stapleton (TM) and Anthony Roberts (Husqvarna) – again rode with poise on day four, with Kearney (250cc 4T) scoring his best result in the opening 6km special enduro test – fourth, just one spot behind recently crowed world champion Peter Bergvall (Yamaha). Stapleton – who at 18 is the youngest Junior Trophy rider by three years – is currently 25th in the 250cc 2T class, and Roberts 22nd in 125cc 2T. In the individual ISDE classes, only two riders remain undefeated at two-thirds race distance: Everts in 400cc 4T and Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues Helder (KTM) in 125cc 2T. The latter’s 100 per cent record remained intact today by as a scant 1.68sec, with Polish rider Kurowski Lukasz (KTM) pushing him all the way. In comparison, Everts advance over KTM legend Juha Salminen was a leisurely 23.22sec – his biggest winning margin to date. While Rodrigues and Everts have managed to maintain unblemished log books in their respective classes, the same cannot be said for the 250cc 4T and 500cc 4T battles, which have been a little more egalitarian in their outlook. They have both followed a parallel path – one rider won the opening two days, before different winners on days three and four. In the overall individual classification, Everts and Merriman are followed by Salminen, Arnaud Demeester (Yamaha), Kari Tainen (KTM) and Spanish rider Ivan Cervantes (KTM) – the latter making a big leap from 10th to sixth in one fell swoop. Cervantes also jumped two spots to take over leadership of the 500cc 4T class from Johan Boonen (KTM), who slipped to third. Mike Ahola (VOR) is second, but just 22.24sec separates the three – once class which is set to go down to the wire. Stefan Merriman - “I crashed a few times, and then got stuck behind a lot of riders on the special tests. In Europe, if you are one of the fast guys, you go first, and you don’t have this problem of catching up to slower riders and losing valuable time while you’re trying to get past. It’s crazy mixing everyone together.” Glenn Kearney - “With a bit of rain we had last night, the special tests were great this morning – but they were back to their normal selves this afternoon. Oh, the dust! There was too much road again for my liking, but that’s been the case since day one.” Kirk Hutton - “I got caught behind a rider in a special test, and lost all my rhythm. If you don’t stay on top of a test mentally, then you’re in trouble. I felt great yesterday, but ordinary today, but that’s the way it goes. I crashed on a drop-off on the general trail. I thought I’d wheelie over it in third gear, but the next thing I knew I was on my arse.” Jake Stapleton - “I didn’t crash, but I probably wasn’t going as fast as yesterday. It’s hard to find a balance sometimes. There is just way too much tar. At one stage all I could see was a haze on the horizon. I now think I’m ready to cross the Nullarbor after what we’ve been through!” Damian Smith - "The greenies would have loved some of today’s course – on the beach and over lots of natural vegetation. Somehow I don’t think the environmental cause is that strong in Brazil. I had the little Yamaha working hard today – it was a good outing.” STStuart Bennett - “A bloody wasp attacked me in the second last test. I could feel it working its way from the front to the back of my torso, and helping itself to snacks on the way around. I had to take off my jersey to get rid of it. Otherwise, another standard type of day.” |
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Individual classes after day four 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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