 |
International Six Day Enduro - Day five report November 7th, 2003 - By, Mark Fattore (M.A.) |
|
|
|
International Six Day Enduro - Day five report November 7th, 2003 - By, Mark Fattore (M.A.) |
|
|
With just one day remaining at the 2003 International Six Days’ Enduro (ISDE) in Brazil, it appears only the formalities remain before Belgian Stefan Everts adds
another claim to his already massive fame – that of outright individual champion. The celebrated 30-year-old motocrosser, who is riding his own Yamaha WR450 in the ISDE, will now enter tomorrow’s Supermoto special stage 16.18sec in advance of Aussie Stefan Merriman (Honda), and barring any incidents will clinch the individual crown – as an enduro rookie. “I originally wanted to ride in the ISDE for pleasure, but now I am racing for victory,” said Everts. “If I win, it also proves I am good at enduro, as well as motocross 2003 has already been the best year of my career, and now it may get even better.” Both Merriman and Everts won two special stages each on day five – they’ve now won 18 of 25 – with the latter also finishing second in two others. Merriman also showed unnerving consistency, only finishing outside the top three once – in special test four. In the overall classification, Finland’s Juha Salminen (KTM) looks safe in third, 1:31.33 behind Everts, with Spanish rider Ivan Cervantes fourth from another Finnish KTM rider, Kari Tainen. Cervantes was the big mover on day five, climbing from sixth to fourth – aided and abetted by the withdrawal of Frenchman Arnaud Demeester (Yamaha), who was a 250cc two-stroke (2T) competitor. Demeester lasted only a few hours before his Yamaha cried enough – after he had finished first and third in the opening two special stages. At that point, Demeester became only the fourth multiple special test winner after Everts, Merriman and Salminen. The single winners have been Cervantes, Freddy Blanc (KTM) and surprise packet, Italian Valtteri Salonen (KTM). In the five individual ISDE classes, it’s already a safe bet to declare the following riders champions in waiting: Helder Rodrigues (KTM, 125cc 2T), Merriman (250cc 2T), and Everts (400cc 4T). Of the troika, Merriman has the most secure tenure, with his lead over second-placed Tainen well over four minutes. Rodrigues and Everts still remain undefeated in their respective classes, and will be shooting for a whitewash in the final stage tomorrow. Two classes, however, will be tense affairs until the end: 250cc 4T and 500cc 4T. In the latter, Cervantes maintained the lead for the second day in succession, and even managed to stretch it out to 28.43sec – over a new second place. Belgian Johan Boonen (KTM) has now taken up the running, followed by Samuli Aro (KTM), Mike Ahola (VOR) and Anders Eriksson (Husqvarna). In 250cc 4T – dominated by Yamaha -- world champion Peter Bergvall from Sweden has Mario Rinaldi 26.55sec adrift, with the Italian rider eroding Bergvall’s lead by a further 10 seconds in today’s five special stages. Meanwhile, in addition to Merriman’s domination of the 250cc 2T class, Australia has three other riders ensconced in the top 10 in two other battles: 125cc 2T and 250cc 4T. In the two-stroke class, Damian Smith (Yamaha) remains in ninth, although 10th placed Herve Versace (KTM) and Belgian Marc Fraikin (KTM) are only a few seconds behind him. The threat of being usurped by another rider won’t be an issue for Glenn Kearney (Yamaha) in 250cc 4T, who is a clear sixth – 42 seconds behind fifth place, and a whopping 3:46 clear of seventh. ISDE rookie Ryan Bouquet (Yamaha) is in 10th, and managed to hold sway despite a nasty get off in the fourth special test. Kearney’s two compatriots in the Junior Trophy team, 21-year-old Anthony Roberts (Husqvarna) and Jake Stapleton (TM), both copped sanctions on day five, with Stapleton’s the most punitive – five minutes. The 18-year-old’s muffler began imploding just before the third special test – held right on the fringes of a beach – but he still managed to perform with aplomb for the rest of the day. However, when the extra five minutes was factored in, he dropped from 25th to 42 in the class standings. Roberts is 24th in 125cc 2T. Although Kearney enjoyed his best day of the ISDE, the woes for Roberts and Stapleton were too much to absorb, which saw the Australian Junior Trophy team drop from fifth to seventh, with Sweden and Holland slipping by. The fourth member of the Junior Trophy team, Michael Oliver, crashed on day one and broke his wrist. Out in front, Finland moved into the lead at the expense of defending champion France. If Finland can prevail in the Junior Trophy, it will collect a rare double – because the Senior Trophy team will almost certainly win its fifth title in the last eight years. The double has only been achieved twice since the junior trophy was established in 1985 – by the former East Germany in 1987 and by Finland on home soil in 1996. Italy is currently second in the Senior Trophy from France, Spain, Australia, Germany and America. Belgium was the big loser today, dropping from fifth to 10th after one of its riders failed to last the distance – an automatic two-hour penalty. Stefan Merriman - “Last night I went for a walk through some of the special tests, and picked out some lines that I thought might work – I had to try something different. However, when you try and stay away from the bumps, it also means you stay away from the berms – and that’s where you get most of your drive out of a corner. I certainly haven’t had enough training in whoops, because in Europe we don’t ride on that sort of terrain. These special tests are full-on motocross-type tests.” Glenn Kearney - “I crashed on the second last turn in the final test – can you believe it. Other than that, it was the same old same old.” Jake Stapleton - “The end fell out of my muffler just before the third special test. The bike was running shit after that. I also copped a five-minute penalty for my efforts.” Damian Smith - “I felt really good today, especially in that third test. I’m still feeling great, but the bulk of the hard work is now over. I crashed in the last test – the typical end-of-day syndrome.” Ryan Bouquet - “I cartwheeled myself big time in the fourth special test. I hit my shoulder and head pretty hard, and was seeing stars for a while. However, I suppose I could have done it in a worse place, so from that perspective I was pretty lucky.”
|
|
Individual classes after day five 125cc two-stroke
250cc two-stroke
250cc four-stroke
400cc four-stroke
500cc four-stroke
|
|
|
MCNEWS.COM.AU |
|