Aussies at ISDE: Day 3 Recap

In the words of Freddie Mercury, “another one bites the dust”. Day 3 of the 2018 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) has officially come to a close, heralding the halfway mark of the 93^rd edition in what one might call one of the most prestigious off-road motorcycle competitions.

Day 3 saw competitors from a collection of 25 nations move from the technically challenging Pacific Challenge to the inland Limache region, where riders travel a 150-kilometres loop of rocky terrain twice, therefore traveling 300 kilometres overall. Over Day 3 and 4, riders must overcome two laps and six special tests whilst managing high heats and blinding dust over a long eight-hour day.

World Trophy Team

The Australian World Trophy Team excelled in Day 3, creating a larger divide against their greatest rival, Team USA, by just over three minutes. The collaborative effort of Daniel Milner, Daniel Sanders, and Joshua Strang has secured Australia into first place for Day 3, setting the team in good stead for the remaining three days. Coming into the new track and tests, Team Australia proved that they are perfectly comfortable on loose and rocky terrain, remaining fastest overall and have in turn launched all three World Trophy riders into the top ten. Milner scored the fastest time for the team in Day 3, of 43:51.29, which further cements his position on the top of the leaderboard ahead of Team USA’s Taylor Robert. Sanders came in hot after Milner, with the fastest time of 44:19.10, however, due to the efforts of Robert from Team USA, Sanders has moved back to third position overall. Joshua Strang rounded out the team’s success for Day 3, with the fastest time of 45:28.48, which means Strang has jumped from 14^th to 10^th position overall.

Reflecting on making it to the halfway point and the massive success the Australian World Trophy Team has experienced up to now, Strang highlighted; “Today was another good day. We tackled new tracks that were dustier than the last two days – which I didn’t think was possible. I’ve now moved up to tenth position overall, and the team has moved nearly three and a half minutes into the lead which is fantastic. They also cut one test out today due to so much dust, which was a relief because I couldn’t see anything. One test afterwards was super slippery making it a real challenge to push through. But overall it was a good day, I had no crashes, and clocked fairly decent times.”

Women’s World Trophy Team

Turning to our Women’s World Trophy Team, Australia has maintained their first-place position as they passed the halfway mark, producing a spectacular distance from Team USA of just over six minutes. With all three riders sitting pretty in the top 10 overall, the Australian Women’s Trophy Team have shown their rivals what true teamwork and Enduro riding skills really look like. Tayla Jones maintained her speed throughout the day to clock the fastest time for Team Australia, of 52:26.49. Jones continues to sit comfortably in first place overall, ahead of Brandy Richards from Team USA in second position. Jessica Gardiner scored the second fastest time for the team of 54:18.60, but due to the intense pressure from her international rivals, Gardiner has moved to fifth position overall behind Spain’s Mirela Badia in fourth. Mackenzie Tricker is proving her place in the team as she continues to secure her position as seventh overall. The debutante has shown fantastic focus and commitment coming into the ISDE and has maintained that focus throughout to support her team in securing that top number one position.

Junior World Trophy Team

It was an intense and challenging day in the Junior World Trophy Class, as riders tackled slippery and hot conditions, however, the Australian Junior World Trophy Team maintained a clear head to hold onto a position in the top five. In an exciting tango with hosting nation, Chile, Australia have finished Day 3 in fifth position, and are looking to diminish the new ground Chile has built-in tomorrow’s same track and tests. Topping the leaderboard in the Junior World Trophy Class is Italy, USA, and France respectively. Leading the charge for Australia with the fastest time was Fraser Higlett, with 46:29.78, who now sits comfortably at 31^st position overall. Thomas Mason scored the second fastest time for the team in Day 3 of 47:55.04, but in coming up against international competition Mason has dropped to 47^th position overall. Rounding out Team Australia’s excellent efforts in Day 3 was Andrew Wilksch, who closed off the day with the fastest time of 48:29.86. Like Mason, Wilksch delivered impressive riding skills and perseverance but has moved to 52^nd position overall at the close of Day 3.

Riding in the top 50 in the ISDE, Mason reflected on today’s efforts and the team’s fantastic perseverance, noting; “the last three days have been awesome and we’re at the halfway point now. The new tests have are pretty gnarly – it’s like riding on concrete, so it’s tricky.
“The team’s in a really good position, plus Higlett and Wilksch are killing it. The Australian World and Women’s teams are all killing it too which is amazing. In the Junior World Trophy Team at the end of Day 3, we’re all just chugging along, adopting the mantra ‘head down bum up’, so hopefully we come out on top.”