Yamaha's Merriman on the podium in ISDE

2006 FIM International Six Days Enduro – Taupo New Zealand (November 14-19 November)

Germain finishes fourth in E1 class Yamaha France rider Marc Germain has finished in fourth place in the overall Enduro 1 class at the 81st running of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) staged in Taupo, New Zealand. Competing aboard his WR250F Marc performed brilliantly to win the E1 class on the opening day of the competition and continued to perform well on days two, three and four despite being disadvantaged by being the first rider in the event. On day five, the wettest day of the competition, Marc placed just 17th in the E1 class but he showed great speed again at the sixth and final day’s motocross race, which placed him just outside the top three in the E1 final standings.

Topping the Enduro 1 class in New Zealand was former World Enduro Champion Juha Salminen, who returned to international enduro competition after two years of racing in the US GNCC series. In winning the Enduro 1 class Salminen helped Finland win the Trophy Team competition.

Finishing as runner-up in E1 was Italian Simone Albergoni, who also placed second in this year’s E1 world championship. Third was reigning E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes.

Backing up Marc Germain’s strong performance UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz ended the event in eighth in the Enduro 1 class, producing one of Italy’s best individual performances. Finishing in sixth, 10th, fifth, eighth and sixth respectively on the first five days Maurizio added a solid ISDE performance to his season of strong WEC results. Early in the week former world championship motocross rider Darryl King was well placed in the Enduro 1 class aboard his WR250F but was forced to retire from the event on day three due to an injured elbow. Finishing close behind Micheluz in the final E1 class standing Australian Yamaha rider Christopher Hollis placed an eventual 10th while countryman Anthony Roberts finished his week in 14th on his WR and French veteran David Fretigne piloted his Yamaha to 15th having placed third on day one.

Mark Germain (Yamaha France) Enduro 1 class – Fourth: “On day one I knew I could win because I like flat, grassy special tests. Once the special tests started to get rougher I wasn’t quite fast enough. It was an advantage being the first rider on day one but after that it’s difficult being the first rider on the special tests. I found that the course on day four was not so hard for me, despite the weather not being so good. We spent a long time riding on big stone roads in the forest. Being the first rider in the event the tracks were pretty nice to ride, but with the soft ground I think that it would have been difficult for the riders at the back of the entry. It’s been a great race but there were not so many spectators during the week. The organisation was really good, the track was well marked, and I liked the special tests – for me it has been a good six days.”   Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class – Eighth: “It has been a difficult event, especially on day four and five. The conditions are very soft in many places, which made it hard to not make any mistakes on some of the special tests because of the ruts. But I have enjoyed the race, especially the third day, which was my best. I am also pleased with my riding during the week. I didn’t make too many mistakes and generally everything went well.”

Merriman on the podium in E2 class UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman claimed a well deserved podium at the end of the 81st ISDE finishing third in the highly competitive Enduro 2 class. Although competing for Australia the New Zealand born rider had a promising start aboard his WR450F with a victory on day one taking an early E2 class lead. Placing in third on day two Merriman then finished as runner-up on days three, four and five to claim his eventual third place in the finalrankings.

Winning the Enduro 2 class was Finn Samuli Aro. Competing for the Finnish Trophy team along with E1 class winner Juha Salminen Samuli won just two of the event’s six days in the E2 class but his consistency ensured that come the end of the competition he was the rider to beat in E2. Following Samuli home was countryman Mika Ahola in the runner-up position.

Taking part in his first ever ISDE competition as part of the French Trophy team UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert performed like an experienced six days rider and claimed an impressive fifth overall in the Enduro 2 class. Finishing third on the opening day Johnny then finished in fifth on days two, three, four and five to place close behind US rider Kurt Caselli.

Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class – Third: “The event certainly hasn’t been easy, it’s been really challenging on days four and five. Just staying upright on some of the special tests has been tough and trying to push 100 per cent has been really difficult. As far as Six Days go I reckon it’s one of the best we’ve had for several years. I reckon that some of the Club team riders must have found it tough from day three onwards because there were some really difficult sections on the course and tests. The Australian team has ridden really well. The weather and terrain conditions suit the Scandinavians and the British riders more than the Aussies, so the team result is great. I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to win the E2 class but there are so many things that have to go right in the six days to win. I caught quite a lot of riders on the special tests, which cost me time, but dealing with slower riders is a part of the ISDE.”

Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class – Fifth: “I was not exactly sure what to expect from my first ISDE but I am happy that it has gone well for me. I think that the French team have also ridden well, and I am proud to have been a part of it. I have learned a lot from this experience and although the conditions changed a lot during the week I enjoyed the event. The final motocross race was amazing, it was an incredible feeling racing against Joel Smets.”

Stefan Merriman   

81st ISDE – Results

Enduro 1 class 1. Juha Salminen (KTM) 2.31:19.08; 2. Simone Albergoni (Honda) 2.34:16.59; 3. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 2.34:56.99; 4. Marc Germain (Yamaha) 2.35:37.88; 5. Eero Remes (Honda) 2.36:49.19; 6. Ricky Dietrick (Kawasaki) 2.37:53.51; 7. Petri Pohjamo ™ 2.38:23.31; 8. Maurizio Micheluz (Yamaha) 2.38:33.65; 9. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 2.38:55.28; 10. Christopher Hollis (Yamaha) 2.39.06.12; 11. Fredrik Georgsson (KTM) 2.40:03.04; 12. Niklas Gustafsson (KTM) 2.40:08.38; 13. Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna) 2.40:17.64; 14. Anthony Roberts (Yamaha) 2.40:49.60; 15. David Fretigne (Yamaha) 2.40:59.56

Enduro 2 class 1. Samuli Aro (KTM) 2.34:15.10; 2. Mika Ahola (Honda) 2.34:41.34; 3. Stefan Merriman (Yamaha) 2.34:51.99; 4. Kurt Caselli (KTM) 2.35:01.54; 5. Johnny Aubert (Yamaha) 2.35:19.92; 6. Shayne King (Honda) 2.37:09.75; 7. Jari Mattila (Honda) 2.38:46.87; 8. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) 2.39:15.42; 9. Glenn Kearney (Suzuki) 2.39:16.27; 10. Emmanuel Albepart (Honda) 2.39:50.09; 11. Paul Whibley (Honda) 2.40:04.54; 12. Joel Smets (Suzuki) 2.40:19.11; 13. Jake Stapleton ™ 2.40:19.11; 14. Joshua Strang (Kawasaki) 2.40:42.12; 15. Jimmy Jarrett (Suzuki) 2.40:48.89

Trophy Team competition 1. Finland 9:50.59 - Mika Ahola E2; Samuli Aro E2; Jari Mattila E2; Petri Pohjamo E1; Juha Salminen E1; Marko Tarkkala E3

2. France 24:59.89 - Emmanuel Albepart E2; Johnny Aubert E2; David Fretigne E1; Marc Germain (Yamaha) E1; Seb Guillaume E3; Fabien Planet E3

3. Spain 29:56.83 – Ivan Cervantes E1; Xacob Agra E2; Joan Jou E2; Oriol Mena E3; Cristobal Guerrero E3; Xavier Galindo E3

4. Italy 33:15.53 - Simone Albergoni E1; Maurizio Micheluz E1; Roberto Bazzurri E2; Fabrizio Dini E2; Alessio Paoli E3; Alessandro Zanni E3

5. Sweden 34:01.32 - Bjorne Carlsson E3; Joakim Ljunggren E2; Andreas Toresson E2; Daniel Persson E3; Fredrik Georgsson E1; Niklas Gustafsson E1

6. Australia 34:42.04 - Damian Smith E1; 2. Glenn Kearney E2; Stefan Merriman E2; Anthony Roberts E1; Bradley Williscroft E3; Jake Stapleton E2