American Heroes: Meet the 2007 American ISDE Team;

The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced the riders named to represent the U.S., at the 82nd International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) will be held in La Serena, Chile on November 12-17, 2007. The ISDE is the oldest continuously running form of world championship motorcycle racing and is often referred to as the Olympic Games of off-road motorcycling. Not only must a rider endure six punishing days of up to 200 miles per day on the trail, but the rider is the sole individual allowed to complete the major mechanical maintenance to keep the bike running.

Each year, countries from around the world send teams of their best riders to compete in several categories, with the FIM World Trophy the most coveted prize which a country’s six best racers strive for. The FIM Junior World Trophy (which the U.S. has won three times) is for teams of four; all under 23 years old. There are also three-person Club teams with no age, gender or engine displacement stipulations.

The U.S. Trophy Team features Kurt Caselli, Jordan Brandt, Fred Hoess, Jimmy Jarrett, Ron Schmelzle and Rory Sullivan. The U.S. Trophy team has a mix of youth and experience. Fred Hoess is the senior member at 40. He has 12 ISDE Gold Medals to his credit.

The Junior Trophy Team of Russell Bobbitt, David Kamo, Cole Kirkpatrick and Ben Smith have big shoes to fill after the awe-inspiring performance by the U.S. Junior team last year. .

The ISDE will mark a major milestone in this year’s competition when it has the first Women’s World Cup Team. The USA squad is made up of Nicole Bradford, Lacy Jones and Amanda Mastin.

In addition to the Trophy, Junior and Women’s teams, the club teams are:

Team Oregon: Eric Cleveland, Jim Conner, John Yates.

Lubbock Trail Riders: Don Hogan, Cooper Bailey, Jordan Chambliss.

Trail Riders of Houston: Jeff O’Leary, Brian Storrie, Wes McKnight.

Missouri Mudders: Lars Valin, Michael Jolly, Daniel Janus.

JAFMAR Racing: Jeff Fredette, Bill Rush, Dennis Decker.

Sugar Mama Racing: Troy Swettenam, Joe Giordano, John Maier.

Merced Dirt Riders: Brian Hasslen, Scott Bright, Matthew Bucher.

Carter Engineering: Robert Heinzerling, Paul Reschke, Steve Gordon.

Boise Ridge Riders: Bert Bradford, Annell Allen, Rich Libengood.

Desert MC: Kevin Hutchinson, Lucas Comeaux, Bryce Bingham.