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The American Motorcyclist Association
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Posted November 13, 2006 Email Print this article Print

Opening ceremonies were the first order of business in New Zealand as racers prepared for the ISDE. The ceremonies displayed local indigenous culture (above left) and offered opportunities for flag-waving (Ron Schmelzel waves the stars and stripes, above right).

635 riders gather in New Zealand for the 81st International Six Days Enduro

By Steve Berkner

Final preparations for the 81st International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), taking place in Taupo, New Zealand, concluded with opening ceremonies held Sunday evening. After a rest day on Monday, ISDE competition starts Tuesday.

U.S. riders Patrick Garrahan and Brian Sperle walk a special test in preparation for the ISDE.

The calm before the competition

Sunday is the color of opening ceremonies. Tuesday the competition begins for real.

In between, the hundreds of riders at the International Six Days Enduro have one day to rest. What they do with it — how they prepare for the intense test to come — is up to them.

"It's really up to each individual rider on how they want to use the off day, " said U.S. World Trophy Team Manager Bruce Wakeley. "They've worked hard all week getting bikes prepped, attending meetings and walking tests. Monday, the off day, is really theirs to do as they please.

"Some of them take time off to do a little sightseeing, others do laundry. Others are spending the whole day walking tests. As manager we let them do what they need to do. They all have a big week ahead of them and each of them needs some space."

The peace and quiet ends 7 a.m. Tuesday morning as the first of this year's 635-rider field will leave parc ferme and day one of the ISDE begins. — Steve Berkner

The opening ceremony brought to a close a week of bike prep that saw the 40 U.S. riders and their support crews working outside, under awnings, during some extreme weather conditions. Throughout the week, daytime temperatures fluctuated between 40 and 70 degrees with each day's weather ranging from sunshine to rain to sleet and sunshine again. To make conditions worse, the Lake Taupo area, located about 200 miles south of Auckland on New Zealand's North Island, saw wind gusts reach 90 miles an hour on Thursday.

The beginning of the week was a little tense as the Team USA shipping container was held up for a couple of extra days as New Zealand customs officials required containers to be fumigated before they could be delivered. The U.S. container arrived Thursday morning, while some countries' containers arrived late Friday afternoon. The last U.S. rider impounded his bike on Saturday.

During the New Zealand Six Days, the U.S. will be represented by a six-rider World Trophy Team, a four-rider Junior Trophy Team (made up of riders 23 and younger) and 10 three-rider club teams.

Riding on the U.S. Trophy Team are Ron Schmelzle, Aaron Kopp, Fred Hoess, Jimmy Jarrett, Paul Neff and Eric Bailey. The USA Junior Trophy team, which on paper looks to stand a very strong chance of topping the Junior Trophy competition, is made up of Kurt Caselli, David Pearson, Russell Bobbitt and Ricky Dietrick.

A record number of 635 riders are entered in this year's ISDE with riders representing 31 countries. Eighteen countries are entered in the World Trophy and Junior Trophy categories.

This is the first time that the ISDE has been held in New Zealand and the fourth time the event has been held in the southern hemisphere. The competition, known as the "Olympics of Motorcycling," will once again see the world's best enduro riders battle for Individual, World Trophy and Junior Trophy team glory.