84th Maxxis FIM Internationals Six Days Enduro, Portugal France dominates; U.S. Juniors second
Kurt Caselli proved to be the fastest of the Americans, though he felt he had a mediocre day due to a couple crashes after setting the best time in the first test.
French squads dominated the three major categories of competition as the 84th Maxxis FIM
International Six Days Enduro got underway in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, this morning. After seven special test on the two-loop course, France leads World Trophy, Junior World Trophy and Women’s Trophy. Their American counterparts are fifth, second and third, respectively.
A warm and dusty day out on the trail saw trouble hit Team USA early with Ricky Dietrich, last year’s E1 and overall individual runner-up, DNFing the first special test due to a fried clutch. Within minutes of starting, the U.S. World Trophy sextet was reduced to a quintet and an extra chase rider/involved spectator.
“If anything’s going to happen, it usually happens on Day One or Two—[anything] major, anyway,” teammate Kurt Caselli lamented. So, the Six Days veteran shouldered the responsibility of leading the team, his time in that first test the fastest of the field. The rest of his day, unfortunately, was not quite as spectacular, as a few pesky crashes held him to fourth in E3 and 10th overall. Fellow teammates Destry Abbott (10th in E2) and Timmy Weigand (seventh in E1) put in solid rides as well, with Nathan Kanney (13th in E3) and Damon Huffman (20th in E1) rounding out the team’s scores.
Nothing like riding down some stairs to the beach, which is where the final test of each day will be held in Figueira da Foz. Russell Bobbitt leads a U.S. Junior World Trophy team that is thought to hold second place, pending release of official results later tonight.
They are now chasing a podium spot, hoping to match the third place of last year’s team.
The U.S. Juniors are also chasing history and trying to repeat the win of 2006 in New Zealand. Russell Bobbitt was a member of that quartet in the Southern Hemisphere, and he showed that experience in posting the best score of the four Americans under 24 years old with a 21st in E2.
Teammates Jamie Lanza (18th in E1), David Kamo (14th in E3) and Cory Buttrick (24th in E1) demonstrated the consistency and depth of the U.S. line-up, though Six Days newbie Buttrick flubbed his end-of-the-day tire change and checked in a couple minutes late. It was primarily a mental error and when asked afterwards his overall impressions of the first day of his first
ISDE, he answered, “That I need to practice changing tires more! That’s it.”
Europe's got history and ISDE racers like American Tim Weigand get to ride through it in many cases. Despite this being his first Six Days, Weigand put in a solid day for seventh in E1, the best American score in the class.
Maria Forsberg anchored the three women on Team USA by finishing third behind last year’s champion Ludivine Puy of France and veteran Jessica Jonsson of Sweden. Amanda Mastin finished the day ninth while Lacey Jones was 12th after some problems on a hill that was later rerouted.
Team USA also did well in the Club team competition, with the Gofasters.com trio third. Several American Club team racers turned in notable performances: Fred Hoess finished the first day of his 20th ISDE third in C1 while former Junior World Trophy team rider Ryan Powell led C2. Jordan Brandt, a former World Trophy team member, ended the day fifth in C3.
Day Two will repeat today’s loop and tests, but the lines will be more defined—a boon to those on early minutes like former motocrossers Huffman and Weigand.
Day 1 Video Recap - Produced by IGNITION3, courtesy of
ISDE.TV
World Trophy Standings:
1. France, 2:50:24.81
2. Finland, 2:51:16.71
3. Italy, 2:52:09.34
4. Australia, 2:55:26.57
5. USA, 2:55:44.42
Junior Trophy Standings:
1. France, 1:47:07.88
2. USA, 1:47:09.16
3. Spain, 1:47:29.99
4. Portugal, 1:48:25.93
5. Italy, 1:48:43.78
Women's Cup Standings:
1. France, 1:25:13.89
2. Sweden, 1:27:13.83
3. USA, 1:28:49.52
4. Australia, 1:29:17.95
5. Finland, 2:16L10.90
E1 Standings:
1. Eero Remes, FIN
2. Simone Albergoni, ITA
3. Julien Gauthier, FRA
4. Marc Germain, FRA
5. Michal Szuster, POL
7. Timmy Weigand, USA
20. Damon Huffman, USA
E2 Standings:
1. David Knight, GBR
2. Rodrig Thain, FRA
3. Juha Salminen, FIN
4. Oscar Balletti, ITA
5. Cristobal Guerrero, ESP
10. Destry Abbott, USA
DNF. Ricky Dietrich, USA
E3 Standings:
1. Christophe Nambotin, FRA
2. Samuli Aro, FIN
3. Antoine Meo, FRA
4. Kurt Caselli, USA
5. Alessandro Botturi, ITA
13. Nathan Kanney, USA
