Wednesday & Thursday Pics . . .

Wednesday & Thursday

I started blogging at 07.30 when we arrived in the paddock for the final fettling on the bikes before technical inspection, however, even though the technology in the paddock was up to it with a great WiFi connection my laptop battery died half way through . . . so here we go again.

Wednesday was spent testing and getting the bikes ready for technical inspection today (Thursday). The testing went well with a few final tweaks to all the machines, Cannon BMW, Poole Yamaha & Jim Aim KTM. Oil and filters were changed, as too were tyre and mousses. Mousses (apart from being a yummy dessert) replace the inner tube in off-road tyres therefore mean the potential of a puncture is eliminated. Julian, however, did a few a few problems with his mousses, it had been sunbathing and had expanded somewhat, meaning that he would of 'houred out' if he was changing it on race day. At the end of every race day after 6 hours plus of riding competitors will be changing their tyres (without any assistance) in under 10 minutes.

Wednesday at 17.30 was administration and the entire British team got through with no issues. Administration is where licences, log books, insurance documents, passports, driving licences etc. are checked and approved. All bikes must be 'road legal' for competition in Enduro.

Following administration we had the first of many British Team Meetings in a hotel in town. John Collins who is representing all the British Contingent on the FIM Jury went through some clarifications on rules and the start of special tests.

At the end of Wednesday it all seemed to be a little more real that on Monday the race we've spent months preparing for would finally be here. It was a late finish the team and Kurt finally sat down to eat at around 10pm!

Thursday morning started early, we had technical inspection at 09.00, and wanted to make sure all the bikes were ready, and made time for the essential team photographs.

Techincal inspection is where the bikes and helmets are checked for safety and legality. Helemts are checked to ensure they meet European safety standards, engine and chasis numbers are checked against the log book, bikes are noise tested they mustn't be louder than the 94db limit, finally certain parts of the bikes which cannot be changed throughout the race are painted. Thankfully St Georges MCC go through their technical inspections with no problems at all.

James, Julian and James will spend the remainder of today and tomorrow walking special tests.

Thursday also sees the arrival of the remainder of our team, parents, girlfriends and mechanics; Chris, John, Chris, Trevor, Rachael, Rich and Daisy.

Best of all it's 'Girls Night Out' tonight!!

Below are some pictures taken over the last couple of days.

motoGP Estoril

Deb and Abs spent the weekend at the motoGP in Estoril, it was great to be there, the sound of the bikes were amazing. Compared to the season so far the main race was a little tame, with Lorenzo taking the lead after the first couple of laps, Stoner had a great comeback and made it onto the podium. Whilst the peoples favourite 'Rossi' seemed to struggle and didn't challenge the leading three finishing in fourth place.
The 125's didn't disappoint, with the Brit Bradley Smith after having a great start dropped back to fifth, a few laps later saw him challenge the front runners and for a while he lead the race, finally finishing in third place . . . great race!!

Team Pics

The Team Arrive in Fig. da Foz

The team have now all arrived safely. We spent yesterday setting up our pits, unloading and sorting out the vans. All the 'Brits' are together in the pits which makes for a nice team atmosphere, with 32 riders there's a lot of organising to be done and with the help of Dave May-Miller everything will run smoothly.

Final jobs have been done to the bikes, so after a quick run out on the practice track later this week they should be ready to race. Julian, James & James are out walking tests today, with 7 tests a day there's a lot of walking to be done before the race starts on Monday 12 October.

The weather has been wet! To quote Julian 'We should have just gone to Merthyr Tydfil'. However, after a heavy downpour this morning the sun is now shining. From what we've seen of the tests the sandy going should suit the boys riding just nicely.

motoGP

What is the ISDE?

Usually referred to as the ‘Olympics of Motorcycling’ the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) is the oldest off road team motorcycle event on the FIM Calendar. The ISDE was first held in 1913 and has occurred annually since, apart from interruptions due to World War I and World War II, at various locations throughout the world, this year’s ISDE is taking place in Portugal. The ISDE attracts entries of more than 500 riders, together with thousands of support crew and spectators.

The ISDE is a supreme true test of machine, rider skill, and reliability. Over the six days and upwards of 1250 miles for each rider the teams must contend with strict rules about time allowances and restrictions on mechanical replacements, carrying out his own track-side repairs and maintenance.