Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

tice them before the eve nt. While they are allo we d to wa lk the cou rses befo reh and, ri ding a test once at a leisurely pace lets the rider better learn its intricacies. These tests ar e located at va rio us p laces alo ng the trail, and ar e generally the favorite spots for spectato rs, since the riders are go in g w ide open . Each rider is timed through the special tests, . and for every secon d it ta kes h im to co mplete the test, a point is registered against the ri d er. Technicall y, special tes ts are timed to th e hu ndredth of a se co n d . The w hole id ea here is to get through the test as quickly as possible. Frequently, the top riders are only sepa ra ted by a few seconds (points) after rid in g a ll of the tests. Man y tim es it is at the se tests that the final outcome of the Six Days is decided . Ho wever, this is not always the case. Ta ke last year in Holland for example, w here it ra in ed ne arly every day 'an d ma de so me sections of the trail nearl y im pa ssible. This meant that most of the rid ers were arrivi ng at the checks late, someti m es ex t rem e ly la te, a nd w ere picking up hundred s of route poin ts at a time. In effect, this made the special-test times meaningless. Tulsa has also been kn own to tum nas ty when it rains, and it's conceivable that this could again be the case this year. At the end of each day, all of a rider's points are totaled , and his score is compared to the other riders. The rider who amasses the lowest amount of points is thus declared as the day's overall winner, and class winners are also figured . This is where another potentially confusing aspect of the Six Days figures into the equation - "Evaluation Points." Evaluation Points reflect the difference in points from one rider to another, but only in their respective classes. For example, the rider w ho has reco rded the least amount of points in his class is gi ven zero evaluation points (that's good) . The difference between the leader's score and the next-best rider's sco re - say a total of 10 s econ d s - is assessed to that second-p lace rider. His Eva luation Point score is 10 (that's not as good). The third-place rider would have : the next-lowest score (say 13 seconds, if he was 13 s eco n ds s lo w e r than the lead er). At the end of each day, each class will have one rid er with zero evaluation points. Assuming all s ix World Trophy Team members finish the event, th e team wi th the lowest combined Eval uation Point score accumulated throughout all six days is the event winner. As yo u can see, the number-one pri ority is getting all six members to the finish line in order to have a chance to win. Even if a team accumulates more eval uation (Left) Not only do the riders know how to tw ist th e throttle, but wrenches as well. At the Six Days , the rider Is required to bit his own mecha nic. No one else can touch his bike for six straight days. (Above) This photo was laken at the John Z1nk Ranch during a Qualif ier a few years ago. As you can see , a little bit of rain could make things tough . points than other teams - if it is the only team with all of its riders still competing at the finish, it is declared as the winning squad. It can happen, and has happened before. There are many unique rules at th e Six Days. For one, no one but the rider can touch his motorcycle throughout the course of the week. He must perform all mechanical duties himself; receiving outside assis tance is grounds for disqualification. Plus, all work done to the motorcycle on the trail must be completed using tools and parts supplied and carried by the rider himself. In other words, no one can hand him a part - say a piston - while he is stuck ou t on the trail. At the designated pit areas, he can be supplied parts, such as tires and tubes, from the outside, but still, no one can physically hand a rider a tool or part. There are many penalties for which a rider can be excluded. Riders can be penalized for failing to kill the engine while refueling; for being towed or pushed by another vehicle or person; for not observing traffic regula tio ns; for refueling outside official areas; for u n au th oriz ed communications with acco mpanying support crews, i. e . radios; for arriving at a time check more Soecial tes times oe lest. (I denotes class oIacino t r than one hour later than his original due time; for missing a route or time check; for exceeding the noise level; for working on his motorcycle in "p are ferme" (other than in designa ted working areas); for starting his motorcycle in the parc ferme or work area; for starting the bike before the start signal; for riding against the designated di rection during the final test and, of course, for swapping of riders. One thing you'll hear a lot at Tulsa is people talking about being "on gold," "on silver," and lion bronze." They are referring to Go ld, Silver and Bronze Medals which are deservedly awarded to ISDE finishers. But don't confuse the ISDE with the Olympics, where a Gold Medal means first place, Silver second, and Bronze third . IS DE medals are awarded at the end of Day Six, based on percentages of the individual points totals in a rider's class. Finishing within 10% of the winning rider's point total equals a Gold Medal; scoring between 11 and 50% of the winner's score nets a Silver; after tha t, all those who finish the event earn a Bronze Medal. So earning a Gold Medal doesn't necessarily mean you won your class, but it does mean you did d amn good-nonetheless . Trail oe nallv coinlS Denotes classifICation two~d Troohvl 1) ab 2 3 4 5 I . (TF) (227.33(6) 107 217.20(1) 115 223.80(4) 109 224.22(5) 187 223.58(3 TF TF TF C CombIned soecJaI test times IDOintsl tor!he day I I I De tescJass " lacinafor !he day no i.Jlte-start oenaIlv ooints Aider scountrY Riders number Perhaps the highlight of the whole Six Days is the Final MX Special Test. This takes place on the last day and is the only time that the competitors actually compete hea ds-up in a multi -lap , MX shootout. Many an ISDE has been decided here. Since most classes have more entrants than most starting ga tes ca n hold, each class is broken down into divisions, determined by riders with similar scores after Day Five. The race is scored much lik e the grass-track tests (to the hundredth of a second), but in the final moto, more than one rider ra ces at the same time. Basically, it's a mo tocross with headlights. The rider's actual finishing position isn't as important as the time he takes to complete the given laps. If a rider fails to finish the MX test, he is awarded the same score as the last-place finisher. Technically, a rider is competing against another rider who may have already raced a moto or two earlier. Remember, they're racing agains t the clock. If all of this gets a little overwhelming, just re mem ber that w hen it 's all over, the team with the lowest combined evaluation points re turns to thei r. home country with the prestigious World Trophy in hand. It's rea lly that simple. £N SvenerikJonsson 226.()()(3) Eric Lejeune 240.72(11) Kent Karlson 236.01(6) Anders Eriksson 224.48(1) Mario Rinaldi 224.84(2) 240.9 412) 241.98(3) 244..42(4) 259.33(8) 238.54(1) cb 276.95(3) B 268.95(1) S 295.31(4) S 306.48 I 274.97(2) I ( 1349.19) HUSOVARNA 257.9 7(2)) 120 HUSABERG 274.9 3(5) ® 240 0 240 0 240 0 300 0 HUSABERG 295.31(4) HUSABERG 266.10(3) KTM 273.84(4) ([@ 1483.78 134.59 1494.88 145.69 1519.59 170.40 1535.87 186.68 ® G Medal status E~tion Points (. . . poIlII~ Z Z Z , This Is an example of an actual results sheet from last year's ISDE In Holland . The results sheet at Tulsa will probably look a lillie different but the Infonnatlon will be the same. 37

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