Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DAY SIX B YKIT PALMER nother Six Days has come and stays at the sa m e hotel , and gone and Team USA is though it ' s n ot still looking for win numunu su al th at ber one. But yo u sure can't say we didn't give it one hell of a group are spli t up into two, three or try. som et imes even In Italy, everyth ing seem ed to go wrong fo r th e 36- r id e r fo ur ho tels. But m os t of th e time, strong u.s. team, from the con everyone 's tays at tainer not sho wing up until the day be fore the start, to losing a one h o te l a n d hangs ou t toge thWorld Trophy team rider on the first da y, to h e -h um times in er. man y of the special test s, to an Team meetings injury to one o f ou r chase riders. a re h eld al most All of this com bined led to a eve ry n ight a n d so mewhat disappoi nting fifth everyone is invi tplace fin ish in th e final stande d . At th e first meeting, the r idings . Also, an eighth-p lace finish ers are introd uce d in th e Junior World team di vi sion isn't anyth ing to ge t e xcited to eve ryo ne and The support people are the unsung heroes of the U.S.ISDE effort. the w eek's ag en about, either. Yes, on record, this year' s ISDE wasn't great by any means. ISDE in 1985. I haven 't missed one ISDE da is pretty much laid ou t. But the most event sin ce. important part of the meeting is the litt le But it could've been worse. I Wha t the reco rd books won' t show Every year, the AMA puts together paper that ge ts passe d around, where t years from now wa s the ou tstanding an ISDE tour package to help make travpeople are asked t o jot down their overall team effort that was put forth to elin g to Europe and at ten di ng the Six na mes to do volunteer work at checks or get all 36 riders on the trail and all but Days relatively easy and, in some cases, to help ou t in other ways. three of them to the finish in spite of the It 's not every da y that you get th e even cheaper than if yo u were to make seemingly endless hassles al ong the chance to pour gas for Scott Summers or all the arrangements yourself. The tour wa y. Of those 33 riders who did make it package usu ally takes care of things like Rodney Smith o r Ty Davis , but at the to th e finish line, eight of them earned air travel, hotel and rental-car arrangeISDE, your chances ar e better than ever. go ld m edals and 20 took home sil ver m ents. But th ere is a lot more to the Don't expect to fill up Jeff Emig 's m edal s. N ot too sh abby , reall y - and AMA tour package than a i r p la nes, Kawasaki at the Motocross des Nations. none of these things could've happened hotels and cars. Sometimes, tour members are w ithout the he lp o f the sup po rt cr ew, Basically, as soon as you sign up, you recruited to be "po inters" at the speci al many of whom spent the ir vacati o ns become a member of the American ISDE tests. It' s the po inters' job to point out tending checks, pouring gas, greasing team - or shoo 10. I say a member of th e the best lines in the speci al tests for the up foam inserts, o iling air filters. and support crew. Th e AMA also offers a American riders, and nine tim es out of fun stu ff like that. These people are the s imil a r to u r fo r the Mot ocross des 10, they will follo w your advice. Now, unsung heroes of the u.s. ISDE effort . Nations, but with th is tour, you are, for that 's gelling in volv ed. This ye ar in This yea r, approxi mately 150 peop le Italy, pointers - all wearing similar ly colthe mo st part. just a spectator, whereas from the United States, including the 36 with the ISDE tour, you are a member of ored T-shirts - were used in a number of . riders and many o f their famil y rnernthe team. tests, much to the delight of U.S. Trophy bers, attended this ye ar' s ISDE in Italy. What' s re all y coo l ab out the ISDE rider Chris Smith, who said, "You don 't · Even though many people attended this tour is that you get to hang out with the kn ow how good it feels to come into a year's eve nt, it some times surprises me riders - riders such as five-time National turn and see so meone in a bl ue shirt · that a lo t more people d on't attend the Enduro Champion Rand y H awkins, pointing out the good line," Smith said ISDE e very ye a r . T hi s le ads m e to Hare Scrambl es National Champion in Italy. "It makes such a diffe rence." believe that many. peop le perhaps don 't Usually, a major highlight of the Six Rodney Smith, Grand National Cross really un derstand what the Six Days is Country Champion Scott Summers and Days is the opening ceremony; which is · all abo ut, nor do th ey understand what ve ry s im ilar to that of the Ol ympics, off-road hero Ty Davis, just to name a · th e ISDE Tou r is all abo u t. I know I few . Usually, the entire American con wh ere riders and representatives parade didn't u ntil I took m y first trip to the tingent travels togeth er on one airp lane into a stad ium, marching to the beat of A I their country's national anthem. Again, all Americans are invited to march with the rid ers and participate in the parade a nd the fes tivi ties. Hope full y, one of • these days, the United States team will have the hon or of marching in with the prestigiou s World Trophy in hand. And that "some day" might not be too far off. Let me explain: In 1998, the ISDE will take p lace in Austral ia, an d the U.S. tea m will be in the final year of its "three-yea r plan" to wi n the Six Days. Last year, in Finland, Scoll Su mmers, Ty Da vi s, Ro d ney Smith, Ra nd y H awk in s, Steve Hatch and Chris Smith basically commi tted to a three-year deal that wou ld see these same six riders remain intact, as a team, u ntil 1998 in Aus tralia. Afte r Fin la nd, wh en the United States pla ced a promising third, the team - like ma ny others pretiy much tra veled to Italy this year to ga in more experience, since no one was rea lly expecting to beat Team Italia on its own turf. But next year will be different. Th e ultimate plan is to w in next year's ISDE in Australia, where all the teams will be on equal ground. In Australia, teams from Italy and from all over Euro pe will have to work out of containers, just lik e th e U.S. team does every ye ar. Sure, maybe the Australians will have a home-court advantag e, but the Aussies have never really been considered: a powerhouse team in the past, so , at best, th e Australian team will have just as mu ch as a chan ce to win as Italy, France - and the United States, for that mailer. Ma ybe the Six Da ys shou ld always be held in Australia, where the trails will be tough, unlike the majority of the tra ils thi s year in Italy. Win or lose, however, the Six Days is an amazing event to attend and, if yo u w ant. to be a part of. Where else can yo u mingle with Ty Da vis; eat dinner with Rodn e y Smith; p our gas fo r Steve Hatch ; hand tire-ir ons to Mike Lafferty; give a cup of w ater to Randy Hawkins; o r sha re the spotl ig ht w ith the en ti re U.S. team a t th e o pen ing ceremonies and, hopefully, next year, at the closin g ceremonies? f~ 30 YEARS AGO", SEPTEMBER 21 196 , 7 a r y Co nrad w as o n the cover of Cycle New s, flying a new Greev es 360 to the w in at th e - Cal if or nia State Championship Hare and Hound in Red Rock, -""~':;;;:.!i:"'....:::J California . Dusty Coppage brought his Tri umph TR6 across the line in seco nd p la ce, a n d Gene Dempsey took third ove ra ll. Gary Griffin was the first 250 across the line, finishing sixth overall ... Dan Haaby and his Ga ry Bra y-tuned BSA made racing history by becoming the fourth rider in the West to win what wa s cons ide red racing's most sough t-aft er dirt track titl e: th e Ascot ~Mile National Championship. H aab y' s win 'a lso m ade it th e eigh th straight year in a row that BSA won the title. Sammy Tanner finished second, also on a BSA, and Mel Lacher got th ird on a Harley. Ga ry Waldo won the Amateur final... Dick Kilgore won th e 500cc class at an AFM National Points Road Race hel d at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in California. Art Baumann wo n the 350cc Grand Prix class, Ron Pierce won the 250ec Grand Prix class, Fre d Muhlberg won the 175cc Grand Prix class; Moe Conserriere w on the 125cc Grand Prix class, and Ron Grant won the 100cc Grand Prix class. G ' ,J r-, 0"- 0",..... ci ,..... .... Q) ..0 S ... Q) 0.. ~ 95

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