USA Junior World Trophy Team Wins Gold at ISDE for the first time since 2006.
Team USA had another strong run at the 2014 International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in San Juan, Argentina, with the U.S. Junior World Trophy Team scoring a huge win, netting four gold medals for Steward Baylor, Grant Baylor, Justin Jones and Trevor Bollinger, while the US World Trophy Team of Kailub Russell, Taylor Robert, Mike Brown, Charlie Mullins, Thad DuVall and Zach Osborne overcoming adversity throughout the week to finish second to Team France for the second year in a row.
Steward Baylor and his brother Grant Baylor rode strong throughout the event and avoided any technical difficulties in the hot desert and dusty conditions to beat Team France in the Junior World Trophy standings by 1 minute and 42 seconds. The win was the first for the team since it brought home the gold with a U.S. Junior squad led by the late Kurt Caselli in 2006, and it showed that U.S. prospects for its first-ever World Trophy title in future ISDE events are bright indeed.
That the USA World Trophy Team pulled off a runner-up finish to Team France for the second year in a row was a testament to the skill and determination of Robert, Mullins, Russell, Brown, Osborne and Duvall, even though the team ran into bad luck on Day One when when Osborne suffered a DNF due to a mechanical failure in the second test. Thanks to strong rides by the rest of the team, the U.S, still managed to remain in the hunt for the World Trophy.
The U.S. actually took over the World Trophy lead position after the second test during Day Two, and held it until the third test when Mullins crashed and lost a lot of time while seeking medical attention and repairs for his motorcycle. That would drop the team to fourth place in the standings, behind Team Australia and Team Spain, but there was still hope as Robert won the first and last special tests for Team USA.
Day Three saw the U.S. rebound, with four U.S. riders finishing in the top 11 in the E2 class, and Brown finishing second in the E3 class. That put the Americans 16 minutes and 16 seconds behind France.
Team USA would gain another 6 minutes on Team France during Day Four beating the times carded by Team France and topped their times, but further progress was hampered when Robert suffered mechanical woes and incurred nine penalty points.
The Americans would put on a brilliant charge during the final two days of the event, dominating the Day Five with Robert taking the overall win for the day. A repeat performance on Day Six included stellar runs by Brown, Russell and Robert, who finished in the top three overall during the final motocross test. However, it was not enough to overthrow the French, who claimed their third ISDE World Trophy Tean in a row, with factory Husqvarna rider Pela Renet claiming the overall individual win, ahead of Australia’s Toby Price, and Russell, the top American finisher.
“This was definitely a rough ISDE,” Russell said. “I’m happy to finish safely and land on the podium again, but our entire team is ready to come back next year and finish on that top step.”
The US Women’s Trophy Team finished third overall after team members Rachel Gutish and Sarah Baldwin encountered technical issues on Day Three and could not finish the event. Mandi Mastin was the only American to finish the entire event, placing sixth overall in the Women’s class.
2014 International Six Days Enduro (ISDE)
San Juan, Argentina
Results, November 8, 2014 (Day 6 of 6)
E1, Day 6
1. Christophe Nambotin (FRA), KTM, 12 hours, 40.63 minutes
2. Jaume Betriu (ESP), Husqvarna, +00:00:17
3. Jeremy Tarroux (FRA), Sherco, +00:00:29
4. Edward Huebner (GER), KTM, +00:00:36
5. Marc Bourgeois (FRA), Yamaha, +00:00:39
E1 Final Standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. Christophe Nambotin
2. Marc Bourgeois, +00:06:00
3. Jeremy Tarroux, +00:06:58
4. Jaume Betriu, +00:08:56
5. Edward Huebner, +00:10:00
E2, Day 6
1. Kailub Russell (USA), KTM, 12 hours, 29.54 minutes
2. Matthew Phillips (AUS), KTM, +00:00:15
3. Pierre-Alexandre Renet (FRA), Husqvarna, +00:00:16
4. Josh Strang (AUS), Yamaha, +00:00:18
5. Loic Larrieu (FRA), Husqvarna, +00:00:21
E2 Final Standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. Pela Renet
2. Kailub Russell, +00:03:28
3. Matthew Phillips,+00:03:45
4. Josh Strang, +00:05:20
5. Loic Larrieu, +00:05:44
E3, Day 6
1. Mike Brown (USA), Husqvarna, 12 hours, 27.75 min
2. Taylor Robert (USA), KTM, +00:02:27
3. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, +00:09:20
4. Ivan Cervantes (ESP), KTM, +00:16:90
5. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, +00:33:31
E3 Final standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. Toby Price
2. Ivan Cervantes, +00:05:09
3. Mike Brown, +00:05:35
4. Taylor Robert, +00:09:16
5. Dennis Schroeter, +00:14:16
Final Individual Standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. Pela Renet (E2)
2. Toby Price (E3)
3. Kailub Russell (E2)
4. Matthew Phillips (E2)
5. Josh Strang (E2)
World Trophy Final Standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. France (Nambotin)
2. USA (Mullins, Robert, Russell), +00:09:46 min
3. Spain (V. Guerrero, Cervantes), +00:55:25
4. Germany (Huebner), +00:01:05
5. Argentina, +00:08:40
Junior World Trophy Final Standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. USA
2. France, +00:01:42
3. Australia, +00:05:37
4. Germany, +00:44:56
5. Argentina, +00:54:34
Final Manufacturer Standings (After Day 6 of 6)
1. KTM 1 (Nambotin, Phillips, Cervantes)
2. Husqvarna 1, +00:05:01 min
3. KTM 3 (Price, Sanders, Guerrero), +00:16:08
4. KTM 2 (Mullins, Robert, Russell), +00:20:53
5. KTM 4 (G. Baylor. S. Baylor, Jones), +00:28:27