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R icky Dietrich took no prison- ers as he swept both days of the of the Apex Sports/Yama- ha Spanish Peaks Enduro, the fourth and final round of the AMA ISDE Qualifier series held near Walsenburg, Colorado. Promoted by the Pikes Peak Enduro Club, the course con- nected tight, rocky, virgin trail to a tricky three-mile enduro-terrain special test and a 1.8-mile grass track located adja- cent to the pit area. The highlight of the course grass track featured a 30-foot- long trailer converted to an Evel Knievel- style ramp jump with a seven-foot drop onto the flat that kept the spectators entertained and the riders nervous. An alternate, more time-consuming bypass was utilized for those who were aerially challenged. With this being the final round of the series used to determine the riders who will represent the USA at the ISDE in New Zealand, November 14-19, some riders were under pressure to do well here to overshadow their pre- vious problems or inconsistencies. With a rider's best two scores of the series counting toward qualification, and only one under his belt so far, a third- overall finish in Idaho, Carter Power- sports/Maxxis/Kawasaki KX450F-mount- ed Dietrich was one of those who need- ed a good result today. Dietrich didn't fal- ter as he topped KTM-mounted David Pearson by three seconds on day one, and increased his margin of victory on the sec- ond day to 24 seconds over Pearson to take the LOI 2 (250cc two-stroke and 450cc four-stroke) win and the $900 in prize money for the overall win. Dietrich was one of only two riders in the top ten to improve his score over day one, which was the advantage he needed to lock up the win and, hopefully, a Trophy Team ride to New Zealand in November. "After only being ahead by three sec- onds after day one, I knew I had no room to slack at all and I just went for it on Sunday," Dietrich noted. "Looking at the scores, I was pretty even with Dave in the grass track, but I had an advantage in the terrain test and knew I had to stay on it." In fact, after the first two tests on day one which were won by Jordan Brandt and Wally Palmer, Pearson and Dietrich split wins evenly in the remaining special tests, each winning three grass track and three terrain tests. "The only problem I had this weekend, was on Saturday, at about 10 miles out I got a little squirrelly and smashed my hand into a rock wall," continued Dietrich. "Mike Monroe pulled up as I was taking off my glove and two of my fin- gers were black, Mike was, like, 'whoa!' I thought they were broken, but a couple of ibuprofen made the pain go away and they didn't bother me after that. I really enjoyed this race, these tight rocky trails are different than what I'm used to riding and that made it a lot of fun!" While Dietrich rode with a smooth, calculated style, that didn't necessarily reflect the speed at which he was travel- ing, Pearson rode like a man possessed, seemingly twisting and forcing the big 525 KTM into the corners and over the rocks with a combination of confidence and abandon that seemed to elevate his efforts above the others while leaving a trail of dusty, rocky carnage in his wake. While his efforts didn't reward him with the win, they were enough to substantial- ly gap Paul Neff and his Skagit Powersports KTM 525 for the LOI 3 (Over 290cc two-stroke/Over 475cc four-stroke) win by over a minute. A solid placing today was just what Neff needed as mechanicals at the Idaho and Tennessee rounds had left him in a do or die situation coming into Colorado. "I felt like I got a lot of the past prob- lems out of my system and am riding bet- ter than ever," said the 19-year-old rider from Puyallup, Washington. "As much as I'd like to make either the Junior or Trophy team, I don't know how realistic that is given the level of talent out there right now." Neff also praised the course, noting that, "The course was a bit short, but because it was so tough I felt like I had gotten my fill of riding and was ready to be done when it was over. I really liked the terrain test; you had to be very pre- cise when picking your lines and I thought the grass track held up really well, although I didn't jump the trailer jump because I didn't want to take a chance of breaking my bike again." KTM 300-mounted Jordan Brandt, as mentioned above got off to a fast start by winning the first special test of day one. Consistently quick scores kept him in the hunt, as he finished 13 seconds behind Neff for third in LOI 3 and sixth overall. Cole Kirkpatrick narrowly edged out Suzuki RM250-mounted Wally Palmer for fourth overall and second in LOI 2. Spanish Peaks Enduro Walsenburg, CO Round 4 July 7-8, 2006 JULY 26, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 44 AMA Two-Day ISDE Qualifier Series AMA Two-Day ISDE Qualifier Series Dietrich Tougher Than Rock! BY GEORGE PENNINGTON Ricky Dietrich took back-to-back wins, claiming a perfect score for the weekend. (Left) Colorado's Stroh Ranch was host to the fourth and final round of the ISDE Qualifier series, and offered riders a challenging, technical course.