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2006 Idaho City 100 - 2 Day Qualifier: | |
| RPA’s Tom Stark traveled to Idaho City, Idaho
the weekend of June 3-4 to participate in the USA Regional Qualifier off
road race for the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE). ISDE is an annual event, held in a different country every
year (this year’s race is in New Zealand) in which riders from all
over the world come together to compete in off road motorcycle racing. To attempt to qualify for America’s team, one would have to
compete against the best professional riders in the USA. Boise Ridge Riders, the
motorcycle club that organizes this event, allow a certain number of
Semi-Pro and Intermediate riders to participate in the event, riding
along with the “Intent” riders (Intent being that they are trying to
qualify for the USA Six Days Team.) This
is to give the semi-pro riders a taste of what it would take to make the
American Team. Tom entered the Semi-Pro Vet A class.
Qualifiers consists of two days of combined score racing, where
one competes for 7 hours and two days (approximately 120 miles of riding
per day) of continuous off-road trail type racing in the mountains near
Idaho City. Scoring is a combined score of “penalty points” earned
throughout both days of racing, taken from “special test” digital
times. These special tests,
scattered throughout both days are timed sections of the course to
measure how long it takes the racer to complete the section.
These scores, when tallied at the end of both days, decide who is
fastest for the day(s). At
the end, one is given either a gold medal (finishing in the top 10% of
class), silver medal (finishing in the top 40% of class) or a bronze
finisher medal. Tom finished 12th overall of all combined scores
in the Semi Pro/Intermediate category (87 total), 2nd in the
Vet A class and received a gold medal.
Tom had said that some day he would like to attempt to qualify
for the American team but it would take an increased commitment to
training and practice.
Tom Stark in Special Test #1 Day 2 |
