7Bth International Six Days Enduro
Beach Park Resort
big hit for racers and spectators alike .
A good course layout kept the riders
happy (though some of the Trophy
ride rs felt it was a little too easy), and
the tropical climat e an d sandy be ac hes ga ve ch eckpoin t crews and s pectators , and even the competitors, some th ing t o e njoy after t he ri de wa s
completed each day. For some , you
could lie on the beach and watch the
riders hard at work at the same time.
STO RY BY KIT PALMER
PHOTOS BY STEVE BERKNER
AND KIT PALMER
FORTALEZA, BRAZIL, NOV. 2-7
This year's ISDE will no doubt go
I dow n in h is t o ry as on e of t h e
most memorab le ones, not jus t for the
racing but also for the location. Fran co Acerbis, of Acerbis Plastica fame ,
brought this year 's ISDE to South
America for the first time , and it was a
22
NOVEMBER 26, 2003'
c
u
e
The Czech Republic, this wasn't.
For the U.S. team and others, the
accommodations couldn't have been
any bette r. Mo st of th e Ame rica ns
stayed at the Beac h Pa rk Resort ,
whe re the hotel's parking lot dou bled
as Parc Ferme (start/finish /pit area ).
"The Six Days should be held here
every year ," said eventua l sil ver medalist Jeff Fredette while cooling
off in the resort's pool after a long
day in the saddle. "In the front of the
hotel you have a race , in the back,
you have vacation. "
In spite of all of the distractions and
te m ptations - the cl os e bea ch es , a
nea rby wate r park, Brazil ia n girls in
bikinis ev erywhere , po ols , and , yes,
eve n a wet ba r - the U.S. team did
quite well in Brazil. Of the 49 Americans who participated , 40 of them
came back with well-deserved medals:
