International Dealer News IDN 142 April/May 2018 | Page 10

news ROOM
NEWS Six Days Enduro
BRIEFS dates changed
Innovative technology, action-
packed racing and international
championships: more and more
people around the world are
discovering a passion for drone
racing. BMW is collaborating
with the Drone Racing League
(DRL), an international, premier
drone racing circuit, to further
develop high-performance
racing drones in the BMW Group
wind tunnel and bring a
professional drone race to BMW
Welt.
For the 12 months of its 2017
financial year (to January 31st, 2018)
BRP Inc. (Canada) has recorded record
revenue figures and says that just
seven years after entering the UTV
(Side x Side) market with its Can-Am
brand, it is already in number three
market share position in the highly
competitive but growing sector. Gross
profit increased by Can.$58.6 million,
or 5.8 percent, to Can.$1,067.5
million for the 12-month period.
BMW Motorrad reported U.S.
sales of 13,546 motorcycles for
2017, down just 1.3% from the
13,730 motorcyc les sold in 2016
- outpacing the rest of the
motorcycle industry (which was
down -3.2%) and its relevant
competition (which was down -
6.3%). They posted +15%
growth in sales from September
through December 2017, with
all-time record monthly sales in
November 2017. BMW has 153
dealers in the U.S.
The KTM Group saw unit sales
increase by +17% for 2017 at
238,334 (Husqvarnas and KTMs). The
company aims to sell 400,000
motorcycles annually by the business
year 2022.
Stephan Schaller has retired as
head of BMW Motorrad, a
position he had held since the
summer of 2012. Under his
management BMW has posted
successive record sales numbers
and successfully broadened the
meaning of the brand, expanding
and internationalising the BMW
offer and introducing
middleweight and custom
platforms.
At the beginning of March, Ducati’s
announcement of over $180,000 of
AFT contingency prize purse took the
total offered for the 2018 season to
over $2 million. Contingent on using
the 821cc twin-cylinder engine that
served as the powerplant for Ducati’s
2015-2018 Monster and 2013-2015
Hypermotard models, their commit
includes $10,000 for a championship
win and $5,000 for an event win.
10
IDN - APRIL/MAY 2018
The 2018 FIM International Six
Days Enduro (ISDE), originally
scheduled for Oct. 22-27 in Viña
del Mar, Chile, has been
rescheduled to Nov. 12-17 at
the same location.
The International Six Days
Enduro is the world's largest
annual off-road motorcycle
competition. Since 1913,
countries have sent their best
off-road racers to exotic
locations around the world to
be tested on everything from
sandy beaches to rocky crevices,
to deep woods and motocross
tracks for the event's top prize:
the ISDE World Trophy.
Each year, countries from all
over the world send teams to
compete at the ISDE. The World
Trophy Team features four riders
that compete for the world title,
along with the Junior Trophy
Team, which features three
riders, and the Women's Trophy
Team that features three riders.
In addition, each country can
send a number of three-rider
club teams. Teams compete for
team honors, while individual
riders race for a gold, silver or
bronze medals, which are based
on a rider's finishing time
relative to the leader.
Widely regarded as the
“Olympics of Motorcycling”, the
ISDE is the most prestigious off-
road motorcycle event in the
world. First held in Carlisle,
England, in 1913, the ISDE is
one of the longest-running
events on the calendar of the
FIM calendar.
Originally known as the
International Six Day Trial, the
event was held primarily on
roads in the beginning –
although the “roads” of the era
were often as difficult as
today’s trails – and were
designed to test both machine
reliability and rider skill. Today,
the ISDE, a name it adopted in
1980, is primarily an off-road
event that traverses some of
the world’s most extreme
terrain.
Europe was the exclusive
domain of the event until 1973,
when it first made a trip to the
United States. The event has
since been held as far afield as
Chile, New Zealand, Brazil and
Australia.
The rules of the ISDE have
evolved over the years, but it
has always run under an
enduro-type format, where
riders have to follow a set route
at a set pace over six days. In
addition, there are strict
controls on when a rider may
work on his or her machine and
the availability of tools and
spare parts. The mileage of the
event can vary, but is well over
1,000 total miles.
In August 2017 France won both
the FIM World Trophy team
championship and the Junior
Trophy on home ground on the
occasion of the World Trophy’s
92nd year at Brive, France. The
French team of Jeremy Tarroux
(Sherco), Loic Larrieu (Yamaha),
Christophe Nambotin (KTM) and
Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna)
won the World Trophy by a six-
minute and fourteen-second
margin of victory ahead of
Australia, Finland, Portugal,
Great Britain, Sweden, The
Netherlands, Brazil, Norway and
Switzerland.
Australia won the women’s
event for the fifth consecutive
year.
www.fim-isde.com
Husqvarna Factory Enduro team
The 2018 Husqvarna Motorcycles
Rockstar Energy Factory Racing team
will compete in the World Enduro
Super Series, featuring official team
riders Graham Jarvis, Colton Haaker,
Billy Bolt and Alfredo Gomez.
“Combining Hard Enduro, Classic
Enduro, Cross-Country and Beach
Racing”, the newly established World
Enduro Super Series will form “an
exciting new challenge for all four
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory
Racing riders. Spearheading the
team’s efforts in this multi-discipline
enduro championship will be Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s
Graham Jarvis and Colton Haaker.
“A three-time Erzbergrodeo Hare
Scramble winner and holder of a
record six victories at Romaniacs,
Jarvis will make use of his hard enduro
prowess in the hope of becoming the
Ultimate Enduro Champion. As for
Haaker, the two-time FIM
SuperEnduro World Champion is
determined to demonstrate his acute
speed and riding skills in the fast
approaching series”.
The team will be further strengthened
by Billy Bolt and Alfredo Gomez
(currently recovering from injury). “Up
and coming 19-year-old Bolt is gearing
up for what’s expected to be a thrilling
inaugural season of WESS
competition. Still recovering from his
recent knee surgery, Alfredo Gomez is
working towards making his
competitive return to racing during the
coming season of WESS competition”.
The World Enduro Super Series kicks
off with the Extreme XL Lagares in
Portugal on May 11/13, 2018.