“With the ISDE in Mexico this year, AMA Team USA is looking forward to competing so close to home, and this is the team that can put us on the box in 2010,” said AMA Off-Road Racing Manager Chuck Weir. “These riders are hungry for success at off-road racing’s crown jewel event, and each one of them is committed to doing what’s necessary to win at this storied international competition.

“Our team announcement was delayed this year due to some international concerns regarding the location,” Weir continued. “However, the Federation International de Motocyclisme, which sanctions this world championship event, recently finalized its report following a site visit. The report found the location suitable for this competition, and we are permitted to proceed. All systems are go for AMA Team USA at the 2010 ISDE.”

The World Trophy Team is one of three premier teams that represent the U.S. at the ISDE. The other premier teams are the Junior Trophy Team, which fields four riders younger than 23-years old, and the Women’s Trophy Team, which fields three riders. In addition, several club team members represent the United States at the event.

The AMA Team USA Junior Trophy Team will include Ian Blythe from Sedalia, Colo.; Cory Buttrick from Logan, Ohio; Nick Fahringer from Englewood, Ohio; and Taylor Robert from Scottsdale, Ariz. Blythe will ride a KTM 250 SXF in the E1 class. Buttrick will ride a KTM 450 XC-W in the E2 class. Fahringer will ride a Husaberg FE450 in the E2 class. Taylor will ride a Yamaha YZ450F in the E2 class.

The AMA Team USA Women’s Cup Team will include Nicole Bradford from Avon, Colo.; Amanda Mastin from Whitehouse, Ohio; and Kerrie Swartz from Moore, Okla. Bradford will compete on a KTM 250 EXC. Mastin will race a Yamaha YZ250F. Swartz will ride a KTM 200 XC. All of the Women’s Cup Team riders will compete in the E2 class.

Although it is not a recognized class by the FIM, AMA Team USA also designates a Senior Club Team of veterans from the club team members. This year, the club team will feature Billy Burns from Dorset, Vt.; Jeff Fredette from Beecher, Ill.; and Donald Williams from Minden, Nev.

Riders at the ISDE compete in one of three displacement classes: the E1 class, which features 100cc to 125cc two-stroke and 175cc to 250cc four-stroke motorcycles; the E2 class, which features 175cc to 250cc two-stroke and 290cc to 450cc four-stroke motorcycles; and the E3 class, which features 290cc to 500cc two-stroke and 475cc to 650cc four-stroke motorcycles.

Veterans anchor World Trophy effort

Abbott, from Peoria, Ariz., is an AMA Team USA veteran and World Trophy Team co-captain. In addition to the ISDE, Abbott contests the AMA Racing National Hare & Hound Championship Series for Monster Energy Kawasaki. The 37-year-old five-time AMA National Hare & Hound Champion is a four-time ISDE Gold Medalist and will represent the U.S. on the Trophy Team for the sixth time. Abbott is competing on a Kawasaki KX450 in the E2 class.

“The ISDE continues to be one of my all-time favorite events,” Abbott said. “I look forward to it every year, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish as a team. This year’s team is extremely strong, and consists of five riders who know what to expect and what it takes to conquer this event and bring home a gold. Our rookie ISDE guy this year is Mike Brown, whose reputation speaks for itself. I know he’s wanted to compete in the ISDE for a while, and I also know what he’s capable of, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he accomplishes.”

Abbott added that while the team expects to benefit from the event being held in the Americas this year, success will require a strong commitment from everyone involved.

“The fact that the ISDE is being held in Mexico this year has really helped with overall support,” Abbott said. “The manufacturers are 100 percent behind us and believe we can do something special, but it’s still going to be a lot of work and we all need to ride our best. For those who have never had the opportunity to attend, it’s by far one of the coolest events to watch. It’s the closest you’ll ever get to see the best off-road riders in the world, so I’m hoping a lot of Americans try and make it down to support us.”

Caselli, from Palmdale, Calif., is the other co-captain of the World Trophy Team and is returning to the team for the fourth time. The 26-year-old Caselli, who races off-road events for the KTM/FMF Racing factory team, has placed the ISDE near the top of his racing program the past few years. Caselli will race a KTM 250 EXC in the E1 class.

Caselli battled for the overall lead at the 2008 ISDE before crashing out on day three. In 2007, Caselli also led a significant portion of the event before ultimately winning the E3 class. In 2006, Caselli was a member of the championship Junior Trophy Team.

Brown, from Bluff City, Tenn., is a new rider this year. Brown, who currently competes in off-road events for the FMF/KTM factory team, is an accomplished national-caliber motocross racer. Brown won the AMA 125cc National Motocross Championship title in 2001. Brown will race a KTM 250 EXC in the E1 class.

Weigand, from Santa Clarita, Calif., replaced an injured Woods on AMA Team USA in 2009 and returns to the team for the second time. Weigand rides for Johnny Campbell Racing and is the 2009 AMA Racing Western Regional Hare Scrambles Champion. Weigand will race a Honda CRF450R in the E2 class.

Jarrett, from Salem, Ohio, also brings several years of experience to the team. Jarrett races the GNCC Series for GEICO Monster Kawasaki. This will be the Ohioan’s sixth year representing the U.S. on the Trophy Team. Jarrett will race a Kawasaki KX450 in the E2 class.

This will be second trip to the ISDE for the 30-year-old Woods, who races WORCS for Team FMF Suzuki and competes in the AMA Endurocross series. Woods, from Paso Robles, Calif., will race a Husaberg FE570 in the E3 class.

Club teams out in force

While the Trophy Team, the Women’s Trophy Team and the Junior Trophy Team are critical pieces of the U.S. effort, they are only a part of the AMA Team USA contingent that makes the trek to the annual event. Club team riders also will ride on the team.

The following riders were selected as club team members: Michael Berenbak from Reno, Nev.; Chase Bishop from Monterey, Tenn.; Jordan Brandt from Boulder Creek, Colo.; Sam Buffa from Brooklyn, N.Y.; Fred Hoess from Stanhope, N.J.; Nolan Irwin from Santa Rosa, Calif.; Jeremy Ketchum from Gallatin, Tenn.; Zachary Klamfoth from Canal Winchester, Ohio; Mike Monroe from Helena, Ala.; Duell Murphy from Huntington, Ind.; Wallace Palmer from Mullica Hill, N.J.; Cory Pincock from Pleasant View, Utah; Cody Schafer from Wheat Ridge, Colo.; Anthony Simontacchi from Rohnert Park, Calif.; Brian Sperle from Hayward, Calif.; Shawn Strong from Alpine, Utah; Jarkko Vainio from Park City, Utah; and Lars O. Valin from Eureka, Mo.

The AMA Team USA ISDE effort would be impossible without the support of various companies. These include Arai, Spectro, Motion Pro and KLIM.

America’s motorcyclists can help support Team USA, and look good while doing it, by buying an official Team USA ISDE T-Shirt. All proceeds support the massive effort to transport the riders, bikes and crew to and from Portugal. To buy a shirt, just visit the AMA’s online store at AmericanMotorcyclist.com > Gear > Apparel > 2010 ISDE T-shirt.

IGNITION3 is a full service production company that specializes in motorsports production. IGNITION3 has exclusive TV rights for the 2010 ISDE in the USA. We are currently looking for top level companies to sponsor and support our award winning coverage of this great event. If you are interested in sponsoring our DVD, TV, and Internet Video packages, please contact us: info@ignition3.tv

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The IGNITION3 crew really pulled out all the stops this year. The ISDE show was shot in amazing High Definition. There are some really great slow motion shots that capture the finesse of the riders. The film focuses mainly on the US effort at the ISDE. This year the US Trophy Team consisted of Kurt Caselli, Nathan Kanney, Timmy Weigand, Destry Abbott, Ricky Dietrich and Damon Huffman. The US Junior Trophy Team was David Kamo, Jamie Lanza, Cory Buttrick, and Russell Bobbitt.

The DVD is sponsored by, Motion Pro, Cycle Gear Stores, TCX Boots, Husaberg and Tucker Rocky Distributing.

This DVD belongs in the collection of every enduro enthusiast. It also make a great gift, order today to get it by Christmas.

ISDE 2009 DVD – $29.95

If you are having trouble placing your order you can email us at dvd@ignition3.tv
or you can call us at (818) 225-7335

Watch the Trailer

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To start off, all riders were surprised by the length and difficulty of the course to the MX track.  The track was over an hour north east of Figueira da Foz by car so the back country roads, dirt roads and trails the riders took were varied, and with a very tight time schedule so hard riding was necessary to stay on time.  Many sections were very dusty, so visibility became a problem.  What is usually just a transit section to get to the final test became a race and some of it on public roads and some on slick dusty trails.  Junior team rider, Russell Bobbitt paid the price when he went down on a dirt road and injured his shoulder.  As a result spent his waiting time in the pits being attended to by the Team USA medics, who iced his shoulder and did the best they could to get him ready for his moto.

As the riders arrive at the MX they go through a time check and their bikes are impounded in another “parc ferme”.  The track itself was a world MX championship track that was well groomed and had great facilities.  A series of motos by class and rider’s time are held throughout the day; the fastest motos are at mid-day and were televised live on Portuguese TV.

In the E1 Heat moto Jamie Lanza impressed everyone with a second place finish behind Eero Remes of Finland by less than a second.  Jaimie rode a hard race and the announcer kept screaming “LANZA – JUNIOR” in Portuguese throughout the race   His 13 minutes 21.63 second moto was the 5th best for the day and top USA rider for day 6.  He beat riders like Meo, Belometti, Sjoo, and even Caselli, and Weigand for the day. Lanza performance guaranteed the USA Junior trophy team the last spot on the podium.

In addition to Lanza, other USA riders also did well in the E1 moto third went to Timmy Weigand, and Damon Huffman was fourth.  Weigand was still in pain from his finger injury the previous day, but did not let that slow him down much.

Next up was the E2 final moto and Destry Abbot placed 10th in this moto in spite of crashing hard and possibly breaking his little finder on his clutch hand.

In the Women’s Trophy final moto, Maria Forsberg was impressive with a 16:05.95 and placed third behind Ludivine Puy of France and Sandra Adriansson of Sweden.

Overall the USA can be proud of their week in spite of being on the podium in only one major classification.  Both the trophy and junior trophy teams lost their fast and experienced veterans early in the week and the rest of the team picked up and gutted it out with good times and impressive riding.  Our rookie juniors were outstanding with Jamie Lanza and Cory Buttrick putting out great and fast efforts.

In the overall standings, Kurt Caselli was 7th, Destry Abbott was 25th, and Russell Bobbitt was 33rd.

We don’t have the medal counts yet, but will post them as soon as we can.

Club teams did well this week with Carter Engineering in 10th of 91 club teams with riders Rory Sullivan, Troy Swettenam, and Zach Lipana.  The Missouri Mudders with Lars Valin, Toby Atkins, and Billy Burns was 12th.  Desert MC was 14rh with Shawn O”Leary, Nick Hamill, and Joel Burkett.  JAFMAR Racing was 17th with Jeff Fredette, Chilly White, and Don Grahn.  Boise Ridge riders were 24th with Brent Martell, David Booth, and Garrett Mayer.

In 60th place was Gofasters.com with Brian Sperle, Ryan Powell, and Jordan Brandt.  Tony Agonis Team, place 61st with Fred Hoess, Nick Fahringer, and Ben Smith.

Next year the ISDE will be held in Mexico and the buzz around the pits at the end of Day 6 was “we are going to Mexico!”  Should be a great event.

FINAL RESULTS
WORLD TROPHY

1. FRANCE
2. ITALY
3. FINLAND
4. AUSTRALIA
5. USA

JUNIOR TROPHY

1. SPAIN
2. FRANCE
3. USA
4. ITALY
5. SWEDEN

WOMEN’S TROPHY

1. FRANCE
2. SWEDEN
3. AUSTRALIA
4. USA
5. FINLAND

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We will be giving one final 2008 DVD away and the rules are the same as before. Leave a comment below and we will randomly select one winner from the comments and notify you via email. Good Luck and thank to everyone who has been supporting our site!!

Be sure to check back often, this will be the first place that you will be able to buy the 2009 ISDE Portugal DVD. You will even be able to pre-order your DVD here to ensure that you are the first to have it.

UPDATE: The winner of the Greece DVD is Nils Davis, you will be contacted via email.

Destry Abbott is running, a very respectable, 25 overall and 11th in the E3 class at the end of day 5.

Timmy Weigand crashed in one of his special tests.

Day 5 is one that Timmy Weigand would rather forget.  He was sick with food poisoning and got little sleep the night before.  He crashed in a special test and hit a tree root with this little finger.  The nail was torn off and he seems to have fractured his finger.  The Team USA medics were tending to him at the end of the day.  He had good times in the tests in spite of all of this.  He was in surprising high spirits and looking forward to day 5.

Damon Huffman also had a rough day.  The tendinitis in his forearms was really flaring up and the long sandy whoops sections today only aggravated the condition.  He was happy to finish the day and was seeking some relief the Team USA medics for the last day’s MX event.

The trophy team dropped to 7th place and has very little chance of moving up in the standings on Day 6.  The American are good MX riders, but the other countries are fast as well.

The junior team remains in 3rd place and are likely to stay there.  It would be difficult to gain on second place at this point.

Jamie Lanza is enjoying a terrific rookie ISDE ride.  His times are excellent and this 21 year old college student never seems to get tired.  Even at the end of a tough day he is grinning and upbeat.  If he wasn’t walking test before the event he was studying for his college courses.

Russell Bobbitt during the last "Beach" special test that was run at the end of Day-five.

Russell Bobbitt has lots of ISDE experience for a Junior rider.  He just seems to get faster all the time, and look extremely comfortable and fast in the conditions of Portugal, despite being from the east coast.

Maria Forsberg had one of her best days and put in some very good special test times.  She was second overall to Ludivine Puy of France for day 5. Lacy Jones is putting in a good ride and continues to show lots of heart with her determination.

Amanda Mastin had a very challenging day.  She started out by nursing a sore ankle.  Then early in the day at the start of a special test she realized that her rear tire was spinning on the rim because the mousse had gone bad.  If she accelerated hard the tire would spin.  She put some very large zip ties on the rim through the spokes and around the knobs in an attempt to hold the wheel place.  This worked a bit but slowed her down all day.  She finally had to take the time to remove the mousse and insert a normal tube.  This cost her quite a bit of time, but she was happy to finish and not hour out.  It is possible for the USA women to move into 3rd place with good moto times tomorrow.

One of Team USA's service checks.

Of the club team riders Jeff Fredette is still in good position for a silver medal in his 29th ISDE.  He has had no bike problems with the Kawasaki and is fanatically loyal to the brand that has brought him many of his medals.

Nick Fahringer is going very well on his Husaberg as is Rory Sullivan. Sullivan was 3rd on the day in the C3 class and is 3rd overall in the C3 class.

The riders look forward to day 6 today which is a short transit ride to the special MX test. The most demanding part of this day will be putting in a fast time at this final Motocross.  The motos are arranged  by class starting with the slower times.  For some riders a respectable finish is all that is important for others seconds will count.

Check out all of the Day 5 Results for more information.

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Another day, another DVD. Same rules as the last one. Make a comment and show Team USA that we are back here rooting for them. We will randomly pick a winner and they will receive a copy of the 2008 ISDE Greece DVD.

UPDATE: Winner of the DVD is EDDIE BRIGHT aka FAST EDDIE , you will be contacted via email.

UPDATE: Winner of the PMB Hat is Brent Hoak you will be contacted via email.

Russell Bobbitt during the last "Beach" special test that was run at the end of Day-five.

Team USA Kurt Caselli, Destry Abbott and Russell Bobbitt sign autographs as the end of Day-five.

One of Team USA's service checks.

Timmy Weigand crashed in one of his special tests.

Timmy Weigand grimaces while receiving medical attention from Team USA's medical doctor James McGee.

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