ISDE Day 3: Halfway There the Going Gets Tough

As many predicted, the 80th Maxxis International Six Days Enduro will be a "real" enduro, and as it reached the halfway mark, several racers ended up losing time or dropping out. Some suffered mechanical failures, but crashes seemed to be the most common cause of DNFs on Day Three.

Finland, for instance, suffered a setback when World Trophy team member Marko Tarkkala went down hard on the trail, was knocked unconscious and retired from the race. That left the Finns with the minimum five scoring riders on their elite squad. Italy continued to lead it over France followed by Finland, Sweden and Great Britain. In fact, the top seven remained identical to Day Two, and in the top 10, only Portugal and Slovakia swapped spots, with the host country dropping to ninth.

U.S. World Trophy rider Kurt Caselli provided a bright spot for the team. He set fast time among Americans in three of the day's tests. Jimmy Jarrett and John Barber both made amends for their mental lapse of Day Two and rebounded back up in the E2 class standings.

Quinn Cody representing the Athens Motorcycle Club also improved on his Day Two times, saying, "I had to make up for yesterday." In fact, he cruised to the best American times in two tests, which helped put him at the front of the U.S. pack in E3. Merced Dirt Riders Club team member Eric Ducray also had some good tests, and they helped propel him up to third-best American in E2.

While many lost time (and not just on Team USA), Junior World Trophy rider Cody Mastin perhaps summed it up best: "I'm doing better as the week goes on so that's a plus, I guess. The trail was fast, but it was a good pace. It kept things moving, and you weren't sitting around [at checks]. It was fun.

"I think Days One and Two were a lot tougher than today. It was getting technical, and you've always got to be on your toes and just watching what you're doing. Today, you were going so fast on these trails, in any given section you could eat it. I think Days Three and Four are going to be easier than Days One and Two, but it's getting rough."

And another thing he and others noticed was the amount of spectator support along the trail. "This year it seems like more than usual," Mastin replied when asked about the number of spectators. "Up on top of these mountains or hills or whatever you want to call them, there's just tons of people. It's great; it keeps you moving."

Dylan Debel of the Gofasters.com Club team concurred: "That's kind of the cool part because where you'd least expect people, that's where they are. There's tons of them; I like it.

Unofficial standings after Day 3

World Trophy
1. Italy
2. France
3. Finland
4. Sweden
5. Great Britain
6. Australia
7. Czech Republic
8. Portugal
9. Slovakia
10. Netherlands
11. USA

Junior World Trophy
1. Italy
2. France
3. Finland
4. Sweden
5. Australia
6. Netherlands
7. Slovakia
8. Portugal
9. USA

Club
1. Motoclub Lumezzane/Italy
2. Motoklub Jiretin--Pfanner/Czech Republic
3. Motoclub Azzuri/Italy
22. New Jersey Ridge Riders/USA (Brian Barnes, Wes McKnight, Luke McNeil)
24. Desert M.C./USA (Teddy Hahn, Brandon Johnson, John Yates)
27. Boise Ridge Riders/USA (David Kamo, Rich Libengood, Derek Steahly)
30. Missouri Mudders/USA (Donald Murray, Rick Thomas, Lars Valin)
35. Gofasters.com/USA (Scott Bright, Dylan Debel, Daniel Janus)
41. Athens M.C./USA (Quinn Cody, Michael Jolly, Steve Morefield)
51. Jafmar Racing/USA (Jeff Fredette, Jay Hall, J.D. Hammock)
65. Merced Dirt Riders/USA (Eric Ducray, Mark Johnson, Richard Jung)

Class E1
1. Marc Germain/France
2. Alessandro Belometti/Italy
3. Bartosz Oblucki/Poland
37. Fred Hoess/USA
42. Wally Palmer/USA
69. Teddy Hahn/USA
70. David Kamo/USA
78. Luke McNeil/USA
80. Brian Barnes/USA
81. Rick Thomas/USA
95. Donald Murray/USA

Class E2
1. Stefan Merriman/Australia
2. Petri Pohjamo/Finland
3. Giovanni Sala/Italy
10. Kurt Caselli/USA
30. Jimmy Jarrett/USA
40. Eric Ducray/USA
56. Russell Bobbitt/USA
60. John Barber/USA
65. Brandon Johnson/USA
81. Ryan Powell/USA
91. Jeff Fredette/USA
99. Wes McKnight/USA
101. Lars Valin/USA
108. Michael Jolly/USA
121. Derek Steahly/USA
132. Richard Jung/USA
141. J.D. Hammock/USA

Class E3
1. David Knight/Great Britain
2. Alessandro Zanni/Italy
3. Sebastien Guillaume/France
22. Quinn Cody/USA
31. Jason Dahners/USA
32. Aaron Kopp/USA
44. Dylan Debel/USA
50. Cody Mastin/USA
51. Rich Libengood/USA
58. Scott Bright/USA
62. Jay Hall/USA
63. John Yates/USA
83. Steve Morefield/USA
84. Daniel Janus/USA