Juha Salminen will be aiming to lead his men to ISDE glory
Next Monday marks the start of the 86th edition of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), which will be held in the Kotka-Hamina region of Southern Finland. Whilst there is no doubt that France have been the dominant nation in more recent times, having won the last three consecutive years, 2011 will see Finland enter the competition as one of the favourites, with them looking to use their home support to their full advantage.
The ISDE is a true test of endurance and reliability as both man and machine aim to complete six continuous days of gruelling off-road competition. Originally established in 1913, the ISDE is the longest standing event to feature on the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) racing calendar and remains a team based competition in which nations go head to head against each other.
A quick glance at a list of previous winners tells a story of Finland’s glorious association with the historic event. In fact Finland are one of the most decorated nations to have competed in the ISDE during the last twenty years, recording no less than seven individual victories since 1991 to the present day. The Finnish Trophy team took three consecutive titles during 2002, 2003 and 2004 and were an unstoppable force during this period.
This year’s Finnish World Trophy team boasts a combination of experience and knowledge mixed with motivation and fresh thinking. Juha Salminen – Husqvarna, Marko Tarkkala – Husaberg and Jari Mattila – KTM were all part of the 2006 winning squad when Finland last lifted the World Trophy in New Zealand and bring valuable know-how to the team. Whilst Eero Remes – KTM, Valtteri Salonen – TM and Matti Seistola – Husqvarna are yet to witness the high of winning an ISDE, they provide fresh blood to complete a well rounded and comprehensive line-up.
Eero Remes "The Pint Sized" Finn
Thirty-four year old Juha Salminen is regarded by many as one of the greatest off-road riders of recent times, with seven Enduro World Championships to his name. Currently leading the E1 category of the FIM Enduro World Championship, Juha has reached the podium at every round of the series this season and is on course to take an eighth World title. Teammate Eero Remes is positioned behind Juha in second whilst Matti Seistola is in third place, proving Finland’s strength and dominance at the highest level of the sport.
In the highly competitive E3 class, twenty-nine year old Marko Tarkkala currently holds fourth spot in the World championship with two rounds remaining. Although Valtteri Salonen and Jari Mattila are not as well known on the World stage they have both experienced success in national competition and have competed in previous ISDE’s.
Finland last hosted the ISDE in 1996 when they won both the World Trophy and Junior Trophy titles on home soil, something they will be keen to repeat this time around. Despite experiencing good levels of success in the World category since then, Finland have only managed to record a victory in the Junior class once since in 2004.
This year’s Junior team is made up of Antti Hellsten – KTM, Lauri Pohjonen – KTM, Roni Nikander – Husqvarna and Kimmo Harri – KTM. Whilst Kimmo has predominantly ridden at national level, his teammates have all scored points in the Enduro Junior class at this year’s FIM Enduro World Championship, with Antti currently placed sixth in the general standings. Much like the World Trophy team, the Junior riders will look to recreate the kind of performance that saw them take the title seven years ago, when the 2011 ISDE gets underway next week.