ISDE DAY FOUR: Dust disrupts the action
By Team TMX on 16th Oct 26
Italy continued to tighten its grip on the World Trophy at the 100th edition of the 6DAYS® FIM Enduro of Nations in Grândola, Portugal, while France’s Junior World Trophy challenge came to a premature end on Day Four.
With persistent dust making visibility increasingly difficult, organisers revised the schedule for Thursday, cutting the planned two-lap Grândola to Santiago do Cacém loop to just one lap featuring three timed special tests. Liaison times were also extended, while the start interval was increased to one minute per rider rather than sending three competitors out together.
The shortened day played into the hands of World Trophy leaders Italy, who have topped the standings since Day One. With fewer opportunities for France to claw back time, the Italians made further gains to stretch their advantage to 3min 39sec heading into Friday’s penultimate day.
France’s hopes of overhauling them are beginning to fade, with just one full day of special tests remaining before Saturday’s final sprint.
The fight for third place also swung in Sweden’s favour after the United States suffered a costly mechanical problem. Just 11 seconds separated the two teams at the start of the day, but Steward Baylor’s Kawasaki ground to a halt during the final special test. The American lost valuable time before getting going again, leaving Sweden with a 2min 41sec advantage.
The USA can’t afford to relax, however, with Spain now just 17 seconds behind in fifth. Chile held sixth place, enjoying one of its strongest 6DAYS® performances.
“Today was good, we gained one position, so we’re happy about that,” said Chile’s Benjamin Herrera (KTM). “The focus now is to keep consistent and without mistakes. We know we are a little bit slower than the other guys in front, but we are still pushing.”
France’s Junior World Trophy challenge unravelled before the opening special test when Thibault Giraudon (Fantic) suffered mechanical problems. Despite his best efforts to fix the issue at the side of the track, the young Frenchman was forced to retire.
His departure handed the initiative to Italy, with Alberto Elgari (TM MOTO) again proving the fastest Junior rider of the event. Italy now leads the class by 3min 36sec, with the United States promoted to second and Spain a little under two minutes further back in third.
Spain holds a comfortable margin of more than five minutes over the Czech Republic in fourth, although the battle for fifth remains tight, with Australia just 55 seconds behind the Czechs.
In the MOTOREX Women’s World Trophy, defending champions the United States responded emphatically to Australia’s challenge on Wednesday. All three American riders finished inside the top five on Day Four, gaining more than a minute across the three special tests to extend their advantage to more than five minutes.
France looks increasingly comfortable in third, holding a 20-minute cushion over New Zealand in fourth after four days of racing.
“It’s been a good day for us as a team. We’re pleased for sure to be in third. These conditions are definitely alien to us. We never usually ride in sand like this, so to be in a podium position is great news,” said France’s Justine Martel (Beta).
Team GB continued to battle the challenging conditions, with the revised format offering some relief from the persistent dust but leaving little time to make up ground.
Brad Freeman made a strong start to the day, sitting third overall after the first two tests. However, a crash in the final test cost him around 10 seconds and dropped him to fifth, with no further tests available to recover the lost time. Nathan Watson finished 12th overall, while Jed Etchells placed 46th.
Lucy Barker led the British Women’s Trophy challenge in sixth, with Rosie Rowett 11th. In the Junior World Trophy, Callum Hughes finished 22nd, followed by Sam Hughes in 26th.
With two days of competition remaining, Team GB will continue to chase strong individual results as the 100th edition of the 6DAYS® heads towards its conclusion.
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