2006 ISDE New Zealand Day 6 Race Report - Dirt Rider Magazine

Though none of the four Americans on the U.S. FIM Junior World Trophy team won their respective final motocross tests on the last day of the 81st International Six Days Enduro at Taupo, New Zealand, their combined performances throughout the week easily lifted them to the top of the podium for only the third time in history.But don't think that the American Juniors simply rode around to collect their trophy. Ricky Dietrich got an excellent start and led the first few laps of the final E1 moto and ended up just a couple seconds behind eventual winner (of both the moto and individual overall honors, as well as being on the top World Trophy team and Manufacturer's team) Juha Salminen of Finland.Right after that, the final E2 moto roared off the line with Kurt Caselli leading the way. He also would lead a couple laps and settled for second place behind former world motocross champion Joel Smets of Belgium's 12th-place World Trophy team. Russell Bobbitt would also contribute to the U.S. team's efforts, finishing farther back in the pack along with American World Trophy team rider Jimmy Jarrett.The final E3 moto concluded the day, and no Americans went to the front off the start. But it didn't take too long for Junior World Trophy rider David Pearson to work his way up, the desert racer from Nevada calmly picking his way through the pack and showing the result of two months of training with Caselli on motocross tracks several times a week. Pearson would eventually finish eight seconds behind Spain's Xavier Galindo, whose team finished third in World Trophy.So, Team USA put even more time on runner-up France on Day Six, something it had done since taking the lead on Day Two. Australia finished third for the week."With the team we had this year, I was just kind of focused on doing as good as we all could together and not so much focusing on ," Caselli said. "It's kind of hard when we all come over here--we've got different ideas and different things going on; it's hard to get to get everybody together to make a good team and make us work together."So I kind of took charge a little bit and kind of bossed those kids around and told them, `Hey, we're going to walk tests,' and we're doing this and doing that, but it worked out really well."Though Caselli and Pearson will no longer be eligible for the Junior team when they turn 24 next year, other promising young riders are coming along, and they could help build an equally formidable World Trophy team, which finished 10th behind top three Finland, France and Spain. Jarrett's score in E2 was the best on the team. He and Paul Neff in E3 earned gold medals while Aaron Kopp and Ron Schmelzle in E1, Fred Hoess in E2 and Eric Bailey in E3 all finished on silver.Among the American Club teams, the Trail Riders of Houston did best and held on for an easy fourth place. Cole Kirkpatrick in E2 was the sole gold medalist on the team, with David Kamo and Luke McNeil finishing on silver, also in E2.Patrick Garrahan was the only rider of the seventh-place Gofasters.com team to earn a gold, getting his in E3. Teammates Daniel Janus (E3) and Brian Sperle (E2) claimed silvers.The Merced Dirt Riders in eighth were the only other American trio in the top 10. Sam Buffa in E1, Brian Sperle in E2 and Jordan Brandt in E3 all finished on silver.Brandon Johnson of the 77th-place Desert M.C. was the only other American gold medalist, earning his in E3. Losing Mike Monroe to injury on Day Three cost the team; Teddy Hahn finished on silver in E2.The final medal count for Team USA read: nine golds, 24 silvers, three bronzes and four DNFs.