Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ OFF·ROAD International Six Days Enduro ~ behind Smith in third, while Jonsson was fourth, one second slower than Edmondson. In the World Trophy team competition, Italy led the way via top performances in three classes. Stefano Passeri led the 125cc class, Mario Rinaldi headed the 350cc Four-Stroke class, and Sala stood on top of the 500cc class. Italy's lowest combined points/seconds of 14.97 put them in front of Sweden's 47.24 points and Czechoslovakia's 132.02 points. Great Britain was fourth with 204.35 points, while the U.S. squad rounded out the top five with 208.22 points, just 4.13 seconds behind Great Britain. Sweden led the way in the Junior World division with 133.39 points. Italy was second with 171.10, followed by Australia (190.79 points), the U.S. (208.63) and Holland (213.62). Day two U.S. Club rider Darren Sanford was one of many riders who struggled up this rocky and silty hill on day three. Three-time National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins earned a gold medal. U.S. Trophy team rider David Rhodes changes a rear tire after the first day. in the past,'they were charged $10 each in Australia. Even though the opening ceremonies were held on the first working day of the week - Monday, thousands turned out for the traditional parade through the hosting town. The parade featured the riders and support people from each country and it ended at a football field, where FIM President Joseph Vassen and other ISDE officials made speeches, and hundreds of school children from Cessnock and surrounding towns performed choreographed dancing routines. Even a couple of U.S. Trophy riders barely made it through the day. Riding a Suzuki RM125, Jon King came into the Parc Farme at the end of the day with his exhaust pipe smashed badly enough that it required replacement. Already fighting a bad cold, David Rhodes crashed his 350cc Husaberg fourstroke in a special test and injured his thumb. U.S. JUrllor World rider Kelby Pepper collided head-on with a chase rider and was still quite shaken when he had to ride a special test moments after the mishap. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was U.S. Club and Honda CRl25 rider Scott MCLaughlin, who recorded the quickest time in the 125cc class in one of the four special tests. However, the quickest times overall in the four tests were turned in by Sala (in two of them), Brit Paul Edmondson and Rodney Smith. These riders, along with Italian Club riders Giorgio Grasso, Tulio Pellegrinelli and Swedish Trophy rider Sven-Erik Jonsson, would consistently set the fastest special test times among themselves throughout the week. At the end of the first day, Sala headed the leaderboard, but only by one second over Smith. Edmondson was five seconds Day one 6 Rain showers on Monday and snow forecasted for Tuesday had many of the U.S. riders concerned, but sunny skies yet cold temperatures prevailed as the first rider left the Pare Farme (the bike impound area) at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Each day featured four special tests - two grass tracks and two terrain tests - and two approximately 70mile-long loops. The opening day proved uneventful for most of the Trophy and Junior World teams, but it would be a costly day for the Germans. Both the German Trophy and Junior World teams lost one rider, quickly knocking Germany out of top contention in both categories. U.S. Club team riders also took a beating. Prior to reaching the first check, Ken Brown, a 250cc rider, flipped over the handlebars while descending a steep hill that was supported by rows of railroad ties. Brown landed on his face and his motorcycle crashed down on the back of his head, crushing his helmet. He was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Newcastle with a broken jaw and many of his teeth knocked out. Brown underwent seven ho~s of surgery and would remain in the hospital for three weeks before returning home to Michigan, where he will undergo reconstructive surgery. Brown did manage to get out of the hospital for a few hours to spectate at the final MX special test before returning to the hospital. U.S Club rider Todd Mathwig also crashed in the same area as Brown and suffered a separated shoulder. In spite of the pain, Mathwig continued on Jind finished the day without losing a single route point, and would eventually finish the enduro and earn a silver medal by placing 71st in the 172-rider strong 250cc class. o Wednesday saw the U.S. Trophy team climb to fourth at the expense of Great Britain, as British Trophy rider Carl Tiley arrived late at a check and dropped 60 route points. That was enough to relegate Great Britain to sixth. Italy continued to pull away. Once again, the Italians topped three classes for the day: the 500 and 350cc Four-Stroke classes, and the 500cc (two-stroke) class. This helped give the Italians an amazingly low score of 37.15 and a commanding lead, with Sweden dropping further back in second with 105.20 points. Czechoslovakia hung on to third with 329.85 points, with the U.S. Trophy team fourth with 450.76. In fifth was the Aussie team with a 597:08-point total. Finland and South Africa's Trophy teams also lost riders. The South African team would eventually lose four of its six riders and finish dead last. However, the team's leader, Alfie Cox, who won the 250cc class at the Baja 1000 in 1990, would go on to earn a gold medal. Italy lost its grip on the lead in the Junior World class when Luca Savoldelli crashed on the trail, had to repair his bike, and was assessed 1380 penalty points for being 23 minutes late to a check. This dropped the team to sixth and gave Sweden the lead, with Czechoslovakia moving into second and Australia taking over third. The U.S. team dropped to fourth but was within striking distance of the Aussies. Two more U.S. Club riders retired on the second day. James Gray endoed on a downhill and bent his Yamaha YZ250 beyond repair, and Kevin Davis was left stranded when he lost the drain boIt in his Honda's radiator and his bike seized. The trail pace on day two was much tighter between checks than on day one, leaving little or no time to change tires at the end of the day. Many riders were seen pushing their motorcycles into impound on bare rims, including Gianmarco Rossi of Italy, the top 80cc rider. Austria's Heinz Kinigadner, a twotime 500cc World MX Champion, had to push his KTM into impound without a front axle. ''I'm a professional baker now, so I haven't had much practice changing tires lately," joked Kinigadner. "I'm a little slow." The fast trail pace didn't bother U.S. Trophy team rider Randy Hawkins: "The pace isn't bad but it's getting dusty out there. But if it doesn't rain soon, it's going to be real tough staying on time." Quick special-test times continued 10 be turned in by Sala, Rodney Smith, Johansson, Edmondson, Grasso and 250cc Enduro World Champion Pellegrinelli. Unfortunately for Smith, a crash in one of the tests cost the American approximately 20 seconds, dropping him

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