Timmy Weigand finds himself in the middle of the pack at the start of his final motocross test where he held on to finish 4th. Weigand again battled with stomach flu conditions and severe dehydration having to receive an IV from the US doctors to replace fluids.
Story and Photos by Steve Berkner
Day-Six of the Portugal International Six Day Enduro came to an end with Team USA’s Trophy Team sitting in fifth place, a move up from the 7th place position they sat in at the day’s start.
The advancement came in two forms; the US Trophy Team’s final motocross test scores were good enough to move them past Portugal, who were in 5th place going into the final day of the ISDE. The other place advancement came when Sweden dropped from 6th to 12th when they lost a rider who was not able to make it to the final motocross test that was located 84 kilometers away.
In the Junior Trophy Team division, Team USA finished on the podium with a third-place finish despite nearly losing two of their remaining three riders due to a freak problem and a near race-ending crash.
One of the US juniors to have a problem was Cory Buttrick who suffered a near race-ending mechanical problem when his four-stoke motorcycle engine started losing oil en route to the final motocross test.
US Junior Trophy team rider Jamie Lanza motos to a second place finish in the E1 final motocross test. Lanza and his teammates Russell Bobbitt and Cory Buttrick finished third in their division.
Earlier in the day Buttrick’s engine oil plug was run over by a car when the cap blew off the work area barricade where it was sitting and was crushed by a passing car. The Parc Ferme work crew borrowed a rubber plug from a fork assembly where Buttrick used it to plug the oil fill hole. According to Buttrick the “fix” was only temporary as the rubber plug started to melt and the engine started to blow out its engine oil.
Buttrick said, “I was in near panic mode when I looked down and saw oil all over my boot and the side of the bike. I had a long way to go and I didn’t want to take any chances of blowing up my bike so I took it easy but not before I lost a route point for being a minute late at the final check.”
Buttrick’s 60 second penalty point for being one minute late wasn’t the only problem the US Junior Team had. Russell Bobbitt nearly crashed out of the race when he hit a stump that was hidden by dust in a fast trail section. Bobbitt suffered a shoulder separation in the crash but was able to make it to the final moto without losing any route points.
Bobbitt said, “It was a fifth gear get off and the when I came to a stop the bike hit me. I knew something was terribly wrong but I got back on the bike and made it into impound without losing any time. Let me tell you that wasn’t any fun.”
“Once I got to the final motocross, the doc gave me a couple of shots to deaden the pain and I just rode the final motocross to finish. Because of Cory’s penalty point and my injury we weren’t so sure we were going to even stay on the podium but Cory and Jamie (Lanza) had two good moto times and that’s all it took.
Other US rider highlights of the day where US Women’s World cup rider Maria Forsburg finished her Six Days with a second overall. Her US Women’s World Cup Team finished 4th.
Unofficial 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
US Women’s World Cup rider Maria Forsberg ended up second overall in the Women’s division where her team finished 4th overall.
Team USA club rider Rory Sullivan earned top American club team honors by finishing third in the C3 class and 64th overall.
The second C2 class final motocross test featured seven US club team riders. In all 30 US riders finished the Portuguese ISDE out of 34 that started on Monday.
“Mister Six Days,” Jeff Fredette finished his 29th Six Days where he as a perfect finish record. The 51 year-old Fredette had to replace a clutch on Day-three when it started to slip. Fredette has the longest perfect finish record in the sports 84th running.
