Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1053896
OFF-ROAD 93RD FIM INTERNATIONAL SIX DAYS ENDURO NOVEMBER 12-17, 2018 VINA DEL MAR, CHILE P48 equipment into 40-foot ship- ping containers for the months- long overseas voyage and work out of rental vehicles just as the Americans, Australians, Japanese and South American teams must do when a Euro- pean country hosts the race. But what may have been a bigger factor was the terrain and the way Chile's special tests were laid out. While many expected the dry, dusty condi- tions, the U.S. riders in particu- lar noted how technically chal- lenging it was to have so many off-cambers in the tests, most of which were labeled "enduro tests" instead of the "cross tests" or grass tracks that often favor Europeans. That was reflected in the CLUB HOPPING Two other American teams finished among the top 10 Clubs with Gas- Gas North America (Travis Coy, Tyler Vore and Trent Whisenant) sixth and Missouri Mudders (James King, Nick O'Bryant and Talon Soenksen) eighth in the 106-team competition. Other American teams included Eric Cleve- land Memorial (Jarred Hall, Jared Schlapia and Ryan Smith—all first- timers) in 15th, Moto-Promo (Adam Froman, A.J. Lehr and Drew Lehr) at 67th, Elizabeth Scott Community (Destry Abbott [who crashed out of his 10th ISDE for his first DNF], Jayson Densley and Brian Storrie) at 78th and 82nd-place SRT Racing. LAST MINUTE When Kailub Russell decided to un- dergo surgery in order to give himself the best chance to recover earlier and prepare for 2019, it meant that the U.S. World Trophy team needed a replace- ment and after a few days, Steward Baylor got the nod and said yes. Even though he's been to Six Days before and done well, he had little time to prepare and actually had to ride the 450 XC-F that was shipped to Chile for Russell to ride, Russell's suspen- sion settings softer than what Baylor desired. "I would definitely say I was underprepared," Baylor admitted. "I had like a week and a half [to get ready] and I wasn't home—I was on the road the entire time—so I never went home to pack anything. Luckily, the guy living with me and my fiancé, they got every- thing packed up for me and brought it to the last [National] enduro so I could take it. We didn't forget anything but a CamelBak so I guess we did all right as last-minute as it was." Briefly... Though somewhat disappointed to finish second overall, Taylor Robert (111) dominated the E2 class. U.S. Junior Ben Kelley (115) finished the final moto 12th, earning 11th E2 for the week.