2026 FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy
USA breaks through at 2026 FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy
The United States claimed its first FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy victory after controlling the tenth edition of the event from the opening test through to the finish at Zschopau, Germany.
Fred Hoess, Billy Burns and Terry Cunningham put the USA at the head of the Vintage Veterans Trophy classification on the opening day and progressively built their advantage across four days of competition, eventually leading Austria and Italy onto the final podium.
More than 400 riders representing over 17 nations descended on one of Europeβs great enduro strongholds for the September 29-October 3 event, with the paddock and headquarters established at the historic former DKW and MZ motorcycle factory in Zschopau.
The Saxon town has hosted enduro competition since 1955 and the surrounding forests, rocky trails, hills and mud have long played a part in Germanyβs off-road history. The 2012 FIM International Six Days Enduro was also staged in the region, while Zschopau most recently hosted the final round of the 2025 EnduroGP World Championship.
USA strikes first in traditional acceleration test
Following the opening ceremony and nations parade in central Zschopau, competition began with the traditional acceleration test and a relatively short 36-kilometre liaison.
The USA immediately established itself as the team to beat. Hoess on a Husqvarna, Burns on a Can-Am and Cunningham on another Husqvarna all placed inside the top 12 overall on the opening test to put the Americans at the head of the Vintage Veterans Trophy classification.
Defending champion Germany began strongly in second place, aided by Bert von Zitzewitz topping the individual Vintage Veterans standings aboard his 1981 Maico 490 GS. Austria sat third, only four seconds behind Germany, while Spain was another second back in fourth.
France completed the early top five, but with the Netherlands and Italy both less than a second behind the French the acceleration test had done little more than establish the starting order before the considerably harder riding to come.
Oliver Schulz put his 1980 Maico GS 440 on top of the Vintage Silver Vase individual classification, while Thomas Baumann led the Vintage Club Team riders and Spainβs Francesc Puey headed the Vintage Individual category.
Hoess leads USA through first serious test
Day Two marked the first genuine endurance challenge. Riders faced two laps of a 40-kilometre course, with two Cross Tests and an Enduro Test on each lap for a total of six timed tests.
Fine weather kept the terrain relatively manageable, but the length and technical nature of the day began to expose the difference between simply keeping an old motorcycle running and racing one quickly.
The Americans responded by increasing their advantage. The USA won the day by eight seconds from Austria and carried a 15-second overall lead into Day Three.
Austria climbed into second overall while Italy made one of the biggest moves of the day, advancing four positions to third. France sat fourth and the Czech Republic fifth.
Hoess was also beginning to emerge as the dominant individual force in the Vintage Veterans Trophy. The American won Day Two ahead of Italyβs Tullio Pellegrinelli on his Puch-Frigerio, with Czech Jawa rider Lubomir Vojkuvka third.
Italy was simultaneously taking command elsewhere. Vintage Silver Vase Italia built a one-minute-and-eight-second lead over Silver Vase 17 Kramer Werkxx, while MC Simson Suhl occupied third.
Tagliamento 1 moved to the top of the Vintage Club Team standings with a 1m12s advantage over Club Team Germany 12, while MSC Mauer held third. Francesc Puey again led the Vintage Individual category, backing up his opening-day performance on the Suzuki.
Mud turns up the pressure on Day Three
The complexion of the event changed dramatically on Day Three when rain arrived in Zschopau and transformed the already demanding terrain.
Rather than opening the door for their rivals, the worsening conditions played into the hands of the USA. Hoess, Burns and Cunningham stretched their Vintage Veterans Trophy advantage from just 15 seconds to more than one minute and 13 seconds, effectively putting one hand on the trophy with only the final cross test remaining.
Hoess was again the class benchmark, winning the day by 23 seconds. Pellegrinelli narrowly secured second from Germanyβs Uwe Weber, the Italian beating Weber by only two-tenths of a second.
Austria retained second overall despite some late drama when Christian Kaiserβs Puch-Frigerio stopped as he arrived at the end-of-day service. Crucially, the failure happened close enough to the work area for Kaiser to push the bike in and repair the problem within the permitted service period.
Italy strengthened its hold on third while defending champion Germany recovered to fourth and the Czech Republic completed the top five.
The Italians were even more dominant in the Vintage Silver Vase. Their lead grew to 1m52s over Kramer Werkxx, with MC Simson Suhl third.
Tagliamento 1 was disappearing up the road in the Vintage Club Team contest, stretching its margin beyond four minutes. Club Team Germany 12 remained second while Club Team Germany 2 climbed from fifth to third, although only 33 seconds separated them from U.S. Leonessa DβItalia 1903.
The Vintage Individual contest remained more fluid. Polandβs Michal Korpas took the Day Three honours on his Honda ahead of Great Britainβs Alex Pringle, while early leader Puey slipped to third for the day.
Australian trio takes on Zschopau
Australia was represented by Ricky Madden, Ashley Sprenger and Andrew Dennett, with the trio making one of the longest journeys of any national contingent to compete in Germany.
Madden raced a Maico GS 400 he had found in Australia as a collection of parts after the motorcycle had reportedly spent around 40 years dismantled. Many late nights in the workshop followed before the Maico was ready to make the trip to Europe.
At 61, Madden was contesting his third FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy after a racing career that had previously included multiple International Six Days Enduros. Sprenger and Dennett lined up on Husqvarnas.
The Australian summed up much of the appeal of the event when explaining that riders who had competed against one another more than 30 years earlier were again lining up together on machinery from their original era.
The FIMβs daily reports did not provide Australiaβs final Vintage Veterans Trophy placing, but the Australian presence highlighted the increasingly international nature of an event that has grown into far more than a European historic-bike gathering.
USA seals first Vintage Veterans Trophy victory
Only the Final Cross Test remained on Day Four, and the sizeable margin accumulated through the mud on Friday meant the USA simply needed to finish cleanly to secure the nationβs first Vintage Veterans Trophy victory.
They did considerably more than that.
Hoess completed his outstanding week by winning the final Vintage Veterans test ahead of Austriaβs Bernhard Walzer and Italyβs Pellegrinelli, putting the finishing touch on a near faultless performance from the American trio.
Hoess, Burns and Cunningham therefore delivered the United States its first FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy success, while Austria finished as runner-up after a consistently strong four days.
Italyβs late charge secured third, while outgoing champion Germany had to settle for fourth on home soil. The Czech Republic completed the final top five.
For Burns, who had also raced at Zschopau during the 2012 ISDE, the result completed a campaign that had begun with the team merely hoping to build momentum. The 58-year-old Can-Am rider had spoken earlier in the week about the significance of competing alongside names such as Pellegrinelli, Giorgio Grasso and AMA Hall of Famer and American team-mate Cunningham. By Saturday evening he was celebrating alongside Cunningham and Hoess as an FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy winner.
Italian teams dominate Silver Vase and Club honours
Italy enjoyed a particularly successful final day across the supporting team classifications.
Vintage Silver Vase Italia β Stefano Bosco on a Kramer, Federico Fregnan on a Fantic Motor and Giuseppe Gallino aboard a Puch β completed a start-to-finish victory by a substantial 2m40s.
Silver Vase 17 Kramer Werkxx finished second, while MC Simson Suhl won a much tighter fight for third, edging MC Scuderia Norelli by only four seconds. Silver Vase Germany 1 completed the top five.
Gallino also won the final Silver Vase test, leading Frank Philippaerts and Andrea Rastrelli to an Italian clean sweep of the top three on the day.
Tagliamento 1 converted its huge Day Three advantage into overall victory in the Vintage Club Team category, eventually winning by more than three minutes.
Club Team Germany 12 and Club Team Germany 2 completed the podium, with MSC Mauer climbing to fourth ahead of U.S. Leonessa DβItalia 1903.
Mario Graziani gave Italy another individual test victory in the Club Team division aboard his Maico, ahead of Dutchman Anton van de Wetering and Czech KTM rider Petr Dokoupil.
The final Vintage Individual test went to Czech rider Pavel Koncicky on a KTM, just one second ahead of Great Britainβs Matt Yates, with Italyβs Michele Brezzaro third.
Slovakia next for FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy
The tenth edition of the FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy thus concluded with a new nation on top of the premier team classification and another reminder of how competitive the vintage scene has become.
The championship now heads to Slovakia in 2027, with PovaΕΎskΓ‘ Bystrica and Sverepec scheduled to host the next FIM Enduro Vintage Trophy from August 25-29.
That region brings its own considerable enduro history, having previously hosted the International Six Days Enduro in 1977, 1982, 1991 and 2005.
