Yesterday evening saw the official opening ceremony for the 2016 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) take place in the Spanish city of Pamplona. The teams representing the many different nations assembled inside the famous Plaza de Toros bull ring before then parading through the narrow streets ahead of arriving at the main stage in the nearby Plaza del Castillo.
Here each nation was invited onto the imposing stage where they were introduced to the large local crowd that had gathered to mark the opening of the 91st edition of the ISDE. Warm applause was given to each country as their origin was confirmed on the large screen with extra appreciation being offered to those riders who had ventured the furthest with both reigning champions Australia and the USA receiving great adulation. However, the largest cheer of the evening was reserved for the home nation Spain who fittingly brought the ceremony to a close.
USA World Trophy member Taylor Robert spoke afterwards about the ocassion: “We’re excited to get started with the racing. It’s been a busy week walking tests, getting bikes through tech control and making sure we’re as ready as we can be, but the mood within the team is great. It’s been a little stressful for Antti, our team manager, having to find a replacement rider for Ryan Sipes. It’s disappointing that last year’s overall winner isn’t able to be here with us, but I guess it can happen. Anyway we’re ready to go now. The opening ceremony was cool – it’s always fun to see a cool European city.”
FIM Communications