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/127148
Drew Smith Age: 31 Home: Stanhope, New Jersey Marital status: Single ISDE events ridden: I I ISDE record: 6 golds, 3 silvers, 1 bronze, 2 DNF Class/M. C.: Heavyweight FourStroke/ KTM Sponsors: Answer Prod., Silkolene, Smith Goggles, Metzeler, KTM Twenty-eight of America's top enduro riders will seek gold medals at the French ISDE in early September. ISDE U.S. Trophy and Jr. World Team rider profiles Onthe road to France By Kit Palmer Photos by Paul Clipper. Kinney Jones and Palmer The International. Six Days Enduro (ISDE) is to enduro riders what the WorId Series is to baseball players - the ultimate. The ISDE is the granddaddy of enduros, and being chosen to ride the ISDE is truely an honor in itself. In the U .S., three AMA Na tional Reliability Trials 28 Qual ifiers were held t~ help th~ AMA select our cou ntry's six best enduro riders to represen t the U.S. on th e World Trop hy team, and four riders (under the age of 24) to ride o n th e Jr. World (form erly Sil ver Vase) team for th e ISD E to be held in the rocky mountains of Mende, France, September 5-10. This year th e U.S. will be seeking its first World T rophy team win in th e 63-year history of th e ISDE. The one and o nly America n victory in the Vase team co mpetition ca me in 1973 when th e U.S. hosted th e Six Days. This year' s U.S. Trophy team will consist of Terry Cunningham, Drew Sm ith, Dave Bertram, Kevin Hines, Charles H alcomb a nd Larry Roeseler, while the Jr. World team will be made up of Kurt and Aar on Hough, Fre d Hoess and Randy Hawkins. For obv ious reasons, th e U.S. Jr. World team is also known as the "Four-H Club." Trophy team Terry Cunningham Age 29 Home Athens, Ohio Marital status: Marri ed ISDE events ridden: 5 ISDE record:3 golds, I silver, I DNF Class/motorcycle: 125cdCagiva Other accomplishments: Four-time National Enduro Champ ion Sponsors: Cagiva North America, Hi-Point Racing, Scott USA, Metzeler, Bel-Ray, Tsubaki, Bell. Mossbarger Racing T erry Cunningham is no stran~er to the ISDE, he's ridden five with good success. He's claimed three gold medals but was robbed of a fourth gold medal in Czechoslovakia when his side number plate fell off in th e final MX special test and was incorrectl y sco red and penalized 250 points, dropping him into the silver medal catagory. His only DNF came in Wales, England, in 1983, when he broke his leg while practicing a few da ys before the start. Since th en , Cunn ingham's career has been up-and-down with injuries slo wi n g his progress. La st yea r Cunningham mi ssed mo st 'of th e National Championship Enduro Series with a broken le~, and his comeback season thus far In 1988 has been rock y. H e's had all sorts of problems in this year's National Cham pio ns hi p En d uro competition, from mechanical gremlins to an inj ured hand, but he has shi ned brightly in th e ISDE Qualifier Series. Riding a 125cc Cagiva, wh ich he'll ride in France, Cunningham has proven he's Trop hy team ma terial by win ni ng th e 200cc class in every event, includi ng a second overall at the Idaho Four-Day. " I feel we hav e a pretty good Trophy team," says Cunningham. " It's going to be rocky and dusty in France, and LR. (Roeseler), Charlie (Halcomb) and Dave (Bertram) are good in th ose si tua tions . Kevin (H ines) is good in everything, and Drew (Sm ith) is always th ere no matter wh a t I th ink we have a good, balanced team." , Drew Smith is a veteran of ISDE com petitio n. This yea r' s ISD [ in Fra nce will be Smith 's 12th Six Days and he has six gold medal s to his credit Even though he ha s ridden th e Six Days II tim es, he still la ke the ISDE very seriously. Sm ith is known for his perseverance. Rar ely does he fail to fin ish an end uro, and he seems to thrive on the wors t riding co nditions. The New Jersey resident rarely comp lains or makes boneheaded mi stakes on th e trail. Few will argue that Smith is th e best four- stroke enduro rider in th e co un try, and he will be ridi ng a KTM 600 four-stroke in France. However, Smith has made his name known riding a Honda XR250 the past couple of years, which is what he rode In th e 1988 qualifier series. But Honda showed no interest in sponsoring Smith for the ISDE, so KTM quickly approached Smith and . said they would help him. Being from the eastern half of the U.S., where rain is common, you would think that mud riding would be Smith's specialty, but he actually likes competing on rock y terrain. " I' m a rock speci alist," said Smith. " I' m okay in the mud, but I like the rocks, and we shou ld see pl enty of rocks in France. " I feel we have a good, solid team," said Smith. " If France is tough, unlike Italy two years ago, we'll do well." Dave Bertram Agc30 Home: Benicia, California Marital status: Married