BMW Motorcycles Blasts Through International Six Days Enduro
BMW Motorrad Motorsport team rider Anders Eriksson along with Finnish enduro legend Kari Tiainen and Spaniard Xacob Agra have successfully put BMW’s G 450 X through its toughest ever competitive challenge and completed the 2008 International Six Days Enduro. Competing in the 83rd running of the prestigious ISDE, staged in Serres, Greece, all three riders completed the gruelling event with out problems to claim gold medal finishes. With all three riders reaching the end of the sixth and final day having had to do nothing more than fit new tyres to their machines Eriksson claimed the best capacity class result placing 12th in the Enduro 2 category, which helped Sweden place seventh in the Trophy Team competition. For Tiainen the near week-long race ended with the former seven-time world champion finishing 15th in the Enduro 3 class and as a member of the fifth placed Finnish Trophy Team. Agra placed 30th in the Enduro 2 class and as one of the fourth placed Spanish Trophy team members.
With little rain having fallen in or around the Serres area of Greece for several months prior to the start of this year’s ISDE each of the competing 450 riders soon found out just how demanding the dry, rocky and dusty terrain was. With each day offering little in the way of rest, and with severe dust a real problem for all competitors in the special stages, the blazing sun ensured that temperatures remained high to make for one of the toughest six days in recent years.
With the event marking BMW’s first ever participation in the ISDE with the new G 450 X the 100 per cent finishing record again proved the bike’s reliability in international competition. Anders Eriksson, along with the rest of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team, will now ready themselves for the final two rounds of the ‘08 World Enduro Championship, which take place in Italy and France respectively on September 27/28 and October 11/12.
Anders Eriksson – Swedish Trophy Team: “Personally I was hoping for a better result because I have been so, so happy with the 450 when training at home in Sweden. But finally because of the dry, rocky conditions, which I’ve never been really comfortable with, I finished 12th in the E2 class. For BMW it’s been a great event. There were three of us that started the event on BMWs and three of us that finished, and all without problems. I didn’t touch my bike with a spanner once. On days four, five and six I felt like I rode well but the dust was really bad at the start of the week, which I wasn’t comfortable racing in. To finish another ISDE is great, and I’m really pleased for BMW. I’m looking forward to the final WEC races now.”
Kari Tiainen – Finnish Trophy Team: “I said before the race that I wanted to enjoy myself as much as I could during the event, and I did – I had a great time. It was a tough race because of the dust, but things went as well as I hoped they would. My bike ran perfectly the whole time, I didn’t make any big mistakes, and that meant I could focus on riding my best. I’ve been retired from full-time enduro competition for a long time now so with the little time I had to train and prepare for the race I’m really happy with my result. It’s a little disappointing that the Finnish Trophy Team didn’t do so well, but as everyone involved in the event knows the ISDE is a strange race and anything can, and often does, happen. But all things considered it’s certainly been a great event for BMW.”
