Six Appeal!

Published: 14th September 2007

Author: Jonty Edmunds

With many of the world’s best racers staying away from this year’s ISDE is it time the FIM looked at introducing an Enduro des Nations?

The International Six Days Enduro is an event that’s many different things to many different people. To the hundreds of amateurs that compete each year it offers the chance to be a part of one of the world’s biggest off-road motorcycle events – an event in which they get to compete side-by-side with the world’s best. To the FIM it symbolizes all that is good about off-road motorcycling with an annual 500-strong entry which, in their eyes, shows just how vibrant enduro sport has become. The more the merrier seems to be the viewpoint of the FIM as the event enters its eighth decade.

There is no denying that the ISDE is an event steeped in history. Known to many as the ‘Olympics of Motorcycling’ it has long held pride of place in the international enduro calendar. But it seems that the event’s appeal is fading and, with a growing number of the world’s best enduro racers opting not to compete this year, the six days is fast becoming an event that means less and less to the very best. To some it has already become more of an end-of-season inconvenience than an important, prestigious competition.

So why have many of the world’s best riders decided to give the event a miss this year? Well, there are a number of different reasons why the likes of David Knight, Seb Guillaume, Ivan Cervantes, Mika Ahola, Bartosz Oblucki and Stefan Merriman have all opted not to compete in Chile. The need for end-of-season operations, disputes between manufacturers and national federations, events taking place at the same time as the ISDE and in Mika’s case the fact that he’s been there and won it before mean that each rider has his own reason for not attending. Whether they will return in ’08 only time will tell.

The fact that everyone and anyone is welcome to enter the ISDE has had much to do with the shine having been taken off the event in recent years. As the six days gets easier in order to cater for the ever increasing entries many recent ISDEs have failed to live up to expectations. With most problems arising from the tail end of the entry, the knock-on consequences have a direct effect on the Trophy and Junior Trophy classes and their eventual results. With the quantity of riders competing seemingly much, much more important that the quality of the competitors taking part, events have become increasingly geared towards the masses – and that does little to encourage the elite. While the FIM view the increase of rider numbers being added to the bottom of the entry list as a good thing it is having a direct effect on the number of ‘pros’ drifting away from the event and possibly even the long term future of the event.

Mixing the world’s best with amateurs has worked perfectly for decades but mixing the world’s best with too many amateurs and an alarmingly high number of riders not capable of finishing a one-day national club enduro is another. With more and more riders entering, the number that are then withdrawing from the event after only a couple of days is also increasing.

So what’s the solution? Two things could be done in order to revive the six days – and the FIM are against both of them! First off why not limit the number of entrants to something like one Trophy, one Junior Trophy and three Club teams per country which would raise the competitiveness of the event? Limiting the number of teams would see a drop in income for organising clubs but it would also shift focus back onto the Trophy and Junior Trophy team competitions. Club team riders would still be free and welcome to compete but it would be the best of the best amateurs representing each country which in turn would make the Club team competition more competitive.

The second solution is to introduce an Enduro des Nations event – one in which a select number of E1, E2, E3 and EJ class riders would represent each nation. Held over fewer days and geared towards challenging the world’s very best, a more dynamic inter-country event run along the same lines as world championship competitions would both add something new to the international enduro calendar and complete the set as an event that would sit comfortably alongside the Trial des Nations and the Motocross des Nations.

One thing that the FIM can ill afford to do is nothing. Unless they deliver either a slimmed down ISDE or an Enduro des Nations then the ISDE will likely continue to swell in terms of rider numbers while conversely the number of ‘top’ riders will shrink. The ISDE needs a face-lift and it needs one sooner rather than later.

While steeped in history the ISDE has been slow to move forward into the 21st Century. Not really any different to the way it was moons ago, the event trades on its past glories while races like the Barcelona Indoor Enduro and the Las Vegas Endurocross are rapidly growing in popularity. With the world’s best able to fly in, race and fly home in a weekend, in offering prize money, simplicity and global exposure they are already casting a serious shadow over the ISDE.

The International Six Days Enduro is an event that needs to remain an important part of the international enduro scene. But it will only do so if the FIM accept the fact that some fairly radical changes are needed.