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PressClub USA · Article.
BMW Motorrad Motorsport - 84th ISDE, Portugal.
Tue Oct 20 15:42:00 CEST 2009 Press Release
84th ISDE proves tough for BMW Motorrad riders. Finland is one of the most successful teams in recent history of the International Six Days Enduro. This year´s six-man team was made half of BMW factory riders. Juha Salminen, Marko Tarkalla and Simo Kirssi were all representing their country and the Bavarian bike maker at what´s generally considered to be the Olympics of Enduro motorcycling.
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Munich. Finland is one of the most successful teams
in recent history of the International Six Days Enduro. This
year´s six-man team was made half of BMW factory riders. Juha
Salminen, Marko Tarkalla and Simo Kirssi were all representing their
country and the Bavarian bike maker at what´s generally
considered to be the Olympics of Enduro motorcycling.
After six days of brutal racing around the city of Figueira da
Foz (Portugal), the Finnish team ended the prestigious event in third
place overall. Tarkalla and Kirssi who, after an early crash,
impressively rode through the pain barrier basically all week,
contributed to the podium result.
With winning performances at the final two rounds of the 2009
World Enduro Championship, BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Juha Salminen
arrived in western Portugal with high hopes of a strong result at the
84th edition of the International Six Days Enduro. Starting well with
a close third-place in the E2 class at day one, Juha disappointingly
suffered mechanical problems the following day, which dropped him down
the E2 class results. With all machines being worked extremely hard by
the soft, power sapping sand, Juha ran into trouble on the fourth test
when his bike unexpectedly stopped. Losing several minutes, Juha was
able to finish the day once restarted and went on to win the seventh
and final special test before service. The following morning Juha's
event was brought to an end as further troubles ruled him out of the competition.
This was a bitter blow to the Finnish squad, as each team is
only allowed to scrap one rider from the scoreboard. And there were
still four days to go.
Competing in the ISDE for the first time, BMW's second E2 class
team rider Simo Kirssi put in one of the bravest performances of any
rider. Crashing heavily early on the opening day, Simo broke his left
little finger and injured his wrist. Riding in considerable pain - and
with a heavily strapped hand - Simo dug deep to not only finish the
event but also to win his Motocross race on the final day. Determined
not to let his Trophy team mates down, Kirssi placed an impressive
12th in the E2 class on day two before he started having severe
problems simply holding on to his bike. Picking up time penalties on
day four, due in part to having been given incorrect information by
the Finnish team, Kirssi went on to finish 41st in the E2 class, still
a truly heroic effort considering his injuries.
In comparison to his Finnish Trophy and BMW team mates, Marko
Tarkkala enjoyed a relatively trouble free event in Portugal, claiming
eighth in the Enduro 3 class. Consistently placing inside the top 10,
Marko scored his best results on days one and six, where he finished
seventh on both occasions and helped Finland finish third in the
Trophy team competition.
Juha Salminen - Enduro 2 class: "I don't seem to
have much luck with the six days, and this year was no different. I'm
not sure exactly what the problem was but something happened to the
engine, which forced me to retire. I was enjoying the event up until I
had my problem. The sandy conditions were good for the Finnish team so
who knows what our result could have been if I'd been able to finish
the week. It's disappointing but as everyone knows anything can happen
in the six days, and usually does to me."
Simo Kirssi - Enduro 2 class: "One things is
certain the ISDE isn't like the World Enduro Championship. It's hard
and gets harder with every day. Especially when you get injured. After
my crash on the Enduro test on day one I struggled a lot. The whole
event was so rough that I couldn't relax or take it easy anywhere. I
broke my left little finger when I crashed, after that just holding on
was difficult. Apart from my injury everything else went ok - my bike
ran perfectly and I had a good final Motocross race."
Marko Tarkkala - Enduro 3 class: "It was a very
hard race but I enjoyed it. My speed wasn't as good as I hoped it
would be, but I didn't have too many problems during the week. Because
of the heat and the soft sand it was hard on the bikes, but I didn't
have any problems."
The overall win at the 84th International Six Days Enduro went
to France ahead of Italy and Finland.