PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association thanks and congratulates the 31 riders who represented the United States at the 2013 International Six Days Enduro in Sardinia, Italy, Sept. 30-Oct. 5.

The highlight of the U.S. effort was the runner-up finish of the U.S. World Trophy Team of Mike Brown, Kurt Caselli, Thad Duvall, Charlie Mullins, Zach Osborne and Taylor Robert. The second-place overall finish matched the U.S. squad’s best result ever in the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme World Championship event. Robert, who raced the E2 class, was the highest finishing American at the event.

“The ISDE represents the pinnacle of off-road motorcycle competition, and it is one of motorsport’s truly historic events,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “The American riders, their support crew and all contributors to this world-class effort excelled in Sardinia and demonstrated that the United States is prepared to compete among the best off-road racers in the world.”

Finishing in front of the U.S. Trophy Team was the team from France, which dominated the ISDE, winning five of six days of competition while accumulating a score more than 13 minutes better than that of the second-place American team. The U.S. riders finished 4 minutes ahead of Italy.

“It has been an excellent week,” said U.S. Team Manager Antti Kallonen. “Everybody gave their all and contributed to the overall result. It has been long overdue for the United States to finish this high in the result. Finishing second is a good stepping stone to eventually winning the overall. We are still hungry for our first Trophy Team victory, so when we get back home we will start preparing for next year’s Six Days in Argentina.”

The U.S. Junior Team of Kailub Russell, Andrew Delong, Jesse Groemm and Grant Baylor finished this year’s Six Days in fourth place after the team finished Day 1 in third. Kallonen said that the U.S. Junior Team did well considering that two riders were rookies at the event. The Junior classification was won by France, followed by Italy and Great Britain.

The U.S. Women’s World Trophy Team earned sixth in its division, with all three of the team’s riders finishing the event. The women’s team included Mandi Mastin, Rachel Gutish and Brooke Hodges.

In the three-rider club team division, the United States placed two teams in the top five with the U.S. Wellard Team, made up of Ryan Sipes, Jimmy Jarrett and Nick Fahringer, finishing second. The GoFasters.com Team, whose roster included riders Ian Blythe, Alex Dorsey and Justin Sode, finished in fourth place, just 3.26 seconds behind third.

“The club teams did an excellent job, especially the U.S. Wellard team,” Kallonen said. “We expected them to do well, but we didn’t expect there to be so much competition in the club team division. Italy, which hosted the event, had over 30 teams in the club team category and some of those teams had former world championship riders on them. So our Wellard team did very, very well considering those circumstances.”

Also in club team competition, AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Jeff “Mr. Six Days” Fredette finished his 33rd ISDE. All of his finishes have come without a single DNF, which is an ISDE record. Fredette, 54, rode his first Six Days in 1978.

“I’d have to say that in all of my Six Days, this year is the highlight of them all. Not so much how I did but how the team did,” Fredette said. “We win two of the three final motos, two of our club teams finish second and fourth. You look around and you see all of the organization and preparation that goes into producing these results for the U.S. team, and it’s just awesome.”

Of the 31 American riders who started the 2013 ISDE, 30 finished the event after one rider had to retire due to a pre-event injury.

The AMA’s ISDE effort would be impossible without support from numerous companies. In addition to riders’ individual manufacturer and product sponsors, direct team sponsors included Wellard, Arai, Worldwide Material Handling Products, Spectro, Motion Pro, Radiant Global Logistics, Elizabeth Scott Community, USWE, Zip Ty Racing and Moose Racing.

“The AMA receives much-needed support for our ISDE effort from a number of dedicated companies and individuals,” said AMA Off-Road Manager Chuck Weir. “Over the years, these firms have demonstrated a level of loyalty that can’t be matched. In addition, numerous individuals step up to work behind the scenes to make sure the riders are prepared and comfortable on every level. To everyone involved, thanks for making this all possible.”

About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.