OVERVIEW
Mario Rinaldi kept his winning ways intact in the 400 Four-Stroke class on one of the Team Farioli KTMs with two more victories. This time he did it in the Czech Republic over a traditional Eastern European course: woods and water; hills and holes. The black volcanic terrain was seldom flat with rolling -- and sometimes steep -- hills and babbling brooks. And wonder of wonders, no real rain fell! There were some scattered showers, but no deluges. Each day was three laps of 100 kilometers.

One win streak went by the wayside at the two rugged Bohemian rounds of the World Enduro Championship. Unbeaten in the previous two events -- Spain and Portugal -- Shane Watts lost the Saturday event to Fausto Scovolo on his Madrigali Yamaha.

The busy Watts has been, of course, riding the Worlds; the German Championship series (winning both two-day events held so far); the Aussie Four-Day Enduro (which he also won); and took time out for a Fun Run at the Daytona Alligator Enduro (without the benefit of time keeping equipment or bark busters). Shane took an unseemly tumble during a Special Test in Semily but took the defeat in stride. And came back to win on Sunday!

Saturday, May 10, 1997
125 2-Strokes
Small bore rider Shane Watts (KTM Stoecklmeier, the German importer) was relegated to a most unusual fourth place on Saturday as Fausto Scovolo (WR), Rickard Larsson (Hsq) and the diminutive Stefan Passeri (Farioli KTM) headed the Aussie Ace.

175 2-Strokes
Team Farioli's favorite rider Giovanni Sala (KTM), a.k.a. the Italian Stallion, was "not fast enough" and his arch-rival Stephane Peterhansel (Yamaha France) was the winner. Erik Bernard (on yet another Farioli KTM) put two Gaelic riders on the podium.

400 4-Strokes
Mario Rinaldi added another win to the Team Farioli trophy case as he rode a flawless ride to finish ahead of Laurent Bouffioux (Hbg), Laurent Pidoux (Hsq) and Otakar Kotrba (Hsq).

500 4-Strokes Kari Tiainen (KTM) was hampered by an unusually troubled first lap on the first day when he landed off a jump with his side stand outstanding. The ensuing jolt veered him off-course toward the spectators. While he did save the day at that moment he lost twenty seconds -- which was all that Anders Eriksson (Hsq) needed for the victory. Bohumil Posledni (KTM) was second (an portent of things to come) and Fabrio Farioli (KTM) was third.

Sunday, May 11, 1997 125 2-Strokes
Aussie Watts blazed back on Sunday in spite of hitting a pine ... with his helmet ... to win his fifth World enduro out of six. Watts exchanged Saturday's position with Fausto Scovolo. Rickard Larsson earned a third and Stefano Passeri fourth. Watty was over 11 seconds ahead of Scovolo... a huge number in these tough ranks.

Shane Watts fell three times on Sunday.. twice in Special tests and once in the Cross-Country. "I made a mistake. I hit a tree with my helmet and it dazed me. My forks were twisted in the clamps. I thought 'this is crazy'. But I was lucky and won," he smiled as he showed the gouge in his 'Roo helmet. Shane added, "The engine is tractable ... you would think that with the strong low and mid-range that it would be flat on the top end. Not so. When the turbo kicks in ... Wow ... it takes off."

TM rider Roman Machalik did not complete the Saturday round and did not start on Sunday.

Watts (113 points) leads Scovolo by 22 with Farioli Team rider Stefano Passeri one back in third. Larsson, who did poorly in Portugal, is fifth behind Mika Ahola (TM).

175 2-Strokes
Petteri Silvan took his first win of the season with a 0.80-second victory over Stephane Peterhansel. Sala tangled with a tree, tweaked his calf ("It's nothing!") and was a close third by less than four seconds.

David Fretigne retried on Sunday after his Seventh on Saturday.

In spite of his so-so weekend, Sala still holds a four point lead (109) over the Frenchman Peterhansel. Silvan lies back in third (91) and Erik Bernard hold fourth with 69.

400 4-Strokes
The Mario Rinaldi juggernaut continued unabated as the Farioli KTM rider made it six for six. Czech Meister Otakar Kotrba was a close second and Bjorne Carlsson (Hbg) was third.

Karel Scheder retired on Sunday after his Fifth the day before.
Rinaldi has a commanding lead in the standings -- 120 to 84 -- over Laurent Pidoux. The top German is Dirk von Zitzewitz -- fifth with 61 -- who has not come to terms with his change from the 620 to the 400 KTM.

500 4-Strokes
For his first win in '97 local hero Bohumil Posledni forced the issue on Anders Eriksson, who took an untimely fall while leading, Perennial winner Kari Tiainen had his second hard day in a row with another fourth place.

Tiainen had a front mousse go bad on his last lap. Not BAD bad, just enough bad to hear rocks "cling-clinging" on the rim.

Jarosslav Katrinak retired on Saturday but recovered to a Third on Sunday. Martin Macek also did not finish the first day. He took Sixth on Sunday.

Since the competition has swapped wins while Kari has remained productive, the Finnish Flier still holds the points lead, 106 to 103 over Eriksson.

SATURDAY NOTES
Cold soak starts are sometimes hard on 4-strokes. Laurent Pidoux kicked his 400 Husqvarna a lot ... and did not get a fire before his minute was up and he was docked 10 points. He still was Third but would have been Second. Paul McMinn's 400 Husky also not start ... and he received the same ten points and slipped from 25th to 28th. Bouffioux's headlight did not work at the start ... a factor? On the other hand Sala had a one-kick start and go.

A trio of DRs .... Ivo Kastan, Staislav Zloch and Jonas Hermansson ... Kastan's bike had a welded swing arm to avoid that dreaded three-piece assembly flex!

The Big Hill
On the first lap, the crowd was apprehensive at the Hill (in caps, of course) just before Check 3. The lower section of the 500-foot climb was a dark track between 50-foot pines that was almost too steep to walk. The upper third of the course was through a clear-cut logging area and had meter-high stumps punctuating the track. And there were dog legs every 100 feet, such that you could not scope out what was ahead. It was a blind run littered with sticks and stones, ferns, pine needles and cones.

There were plenty of helpers and marshals and geeks and freaks.

The top riders had little trouble on the way up but Kari Tiainen struggled over the tree roots exposed in the grooves. Fabio Farioli passed Uwe Theilacker; Anders Eriksson got sideways then almost cleaned out the tripod of the EuroSports cameraman. Miroslav Double held up Robert Cesarean who then got stuck and Stefan Passeri (Farioli KTM) tagged him then went side by side with Fast Fausto Scovolo ... handle bar to handle bar, both in the same rut. Keine problem. On the other hand the Czech national riders had serious trouble, almost to a man.

On the second lap the riders were either more savvy or more frightened. The hill was more chewed up. Miroslav Vytlacil (400 Hbg) came up on the pegs; Karsten Wills (400 KTM) was the first one stuck. New dad Dirk Thelen went easy up. Thelen is one of the many Deutschland riders using the Czech and French rounds as qualifiers for the Six Days: they have to complete all four days.

Buskov Water Crossing
The course came off a stretch of tarmac then ran along an off-camber ridge line section into the tall pines ... where the sun never shines. A STEEP drop-off pushed the riders front wheel into a muddy creek ... muddy due to the riders that had gone on before. They then had to make a hard left-hander upstream in the stream to muddy the waters for those that were to follow. But that is a no-never-mind as they then have to do a right-hander, left-hander traverse in the same running water ... and suddenly attack a tree-filled slalom uphill. An uphill that had been totally grooved. Husaberg Ditch Witched. Husky trenched. KTM with wheels a-spinning.

The run up the hill was difficult in deep, compact, slick, foot-peg-grabbing loam. The best were stressed and the rest were forced to push.

Uwe Theilacker ... struggled ... only the strong survive. The trench got so deep ... and never got any wider ... so that the rear hub was a line-to-line fit. Anyone not grabbing a handful early on was doomed to slow, stop and spin.

One of the treats of this section was that after the riders had completed the muddy stream crossing they had to decide on which line to take ... it was usually the wrong one! ... then had to thread the needle between pillar and pines. Bark Busters, hand guards and Acerbis were necessary.

The helpers had steel hooks, reminiscent of hay bale hooks, used to hook the forks and drag the unfortunate machine up to the logging road. One wondered just when they would grab a wheel, or a brake cable, or a water hose and ruin the run to the finish.

The clouds would scud in then scud out after dropping a few rain drops. As they say on the weather channel, there were scattered showers before that lucky old sun would peek out and things would get cozy again. Woods, water and weather. It was a Bohemian Rhapsody.

Bohumil Posledni lead the Big Bore pack and styled through the water, walked on the wheel, then slid off across the ruts and lost it. Peter Jansson smoked Bohumil and wheels out the top with Jaroslav Katrinak and Anders Eriksson flying through right behind. Bohumil recovered from his tumble, took the road less traveled and fried the tree root at the crest with his rear tire. Not many went that way ... but Kari Tiainen made it work.

As they say, the Best Never Rest.... or hesitate.

Stefan Passeri (Farioli KTM) hit Uwe Theilacker, who did not need the abuse, while Rickard Larsson charged the issue and Mika Ahola successfully took another little-used line. Watts came through on the pegs until 2/3 up then performed the required paddle-foot to the top. Shane never had to run the 1/8-liter motor at more than what sounded like off-idle.

He took the hill standing up and made it look easy, while Pal Ullevalseter tried the opposite approach doing a banzai number.

Miroslav Kouble (400 Husq) was way back in the 125s along with Bert van Veen (400 Hsq), while Sven Petersen was too tentative.

Giovanni Sala made the climb look like child's play followed by Eric Bernard, David Fretigne, Giuseppe Gallino and the usual suspects.

35 was way back ...
178 was very aggressive and 181 also and 177. The young lions.

A downpour poured, filled the trees then moved on leaving the sun to shine. For a while.

179 took a big jump out of the creek up the hill then took a big stop.

709 first local .. but still troubled. 502 was OK while 515 knocked off his right side panel then spent a few unnecessary moments to decide exactly what to do with it. He tried to stow it in his belt. No good. He passed it off to the most reliable-looking bystander which had to be a very difficult decision.

Maria Sandell was not having the best of days. She had had a rough run up the Big Hill then at the Water Notch she freaked and locked the front binder and dumped her KDX into the drink. Once astride and moving, she took a backwards bail on the root hill. The Six Days finisher houred out.

Wolfgang Koch (#410) was running with the 125s as the last starter in "400" class .....

Simon Schram is the older VINK Didam rider ... older

Tiainen came off a jump with his side stand down and pirouetted into the crowd ... saved it an lost 20 seconds. 4th place

Bohumil ... the pro-Czech crowd went wild as he took 2nd place.

WATTS LINKAGE
You seem to have adapted well to Europe .. do you still live in Italy.
"No, I live in Germany .. (although) I never been there for more than four days! I work for the KTM importer (Stoecklmeier) and have been on the road for 4 1/2 months. I 'live' there but have never (really) been there, if you know what I mean. I have a 'job' with KTM but I have never been to it ... "

How do you like Germany ...
"After November I'll let you know!!" (Laughs) "I will have been traveling everywhere ... until September when the German Championship (begins again). August will be the Six Days and then the other rounds of the WM."

Shane is 24 years old and has been on the road for three years. How do you deal with Europe?
"It works for me. I don't mind it ... but if I had a choice, obviously, I would go for Australia." (He continued that) " I enjoy it here."

Asked about any future ideas he said:
"We have a few more riders who we would like to have come over (such as Damien Smith). We want to take over Europe!"

Did you have any trouble adapting to the 125? Have you ever ridden 125s in competition?
"No, I spent the last five years on 250s The new bike is so much like a 250. The power, it's unbelievable so that it's not that much different (from a 250). It is a very strong motor. KTM made the decision (to put me on the 125) after a short test session at Burg after the last WM round. I rode Petteri Silvan's 125 for two laps and I was faster than on my 250!"

Watts rode the Daytona Alligator Enduro this Spring. He was not impressed with USA enduros.
"It was a crazy stupid race ... it was good enough fun, but I had no Bark Busters ... now I know why you need them ... and the trail was so over-grown. I am not used to time keeping and computers (Shane ran with Dick Burelson the GOM of USA Enduros to win the non-AMA Pro class) It was very different from the European enduros where you can go very fast. In the US, you never know where a time check will be."

Sponsorship?
"Welllll .... (Watts suddenly became somewhat vague) ... I have done well this year ... and I can put a lot of money away ... of course not like in American (thinking of Paul Edmondson's Suzuki deal). We're working on next year already." His supporters include Pro Grip, KTM ("My biggest sponsor of course."), Shell Oil, Bell Helmets, Alpine Star, Camelbak and FMF."

PIT NOTES
Shane "Watty" Watts puts the box end of a 10mm combo onto his rear sprocket when he adjusts the chain: no jive on the required/desired slack ... just run the chain until the adjusters move back then cinch 'er down.

Everyone has serenaded with Czech Country Music (!), Willy Nelson's "On The Road Again", Hank Thompson ("Walkin After Midnight") and 48-cent half-liter Pilsner Urquells.

KTM Kapers
A hydraulic clutch is rumored to debut soon, at least for the production bike, and perhaps on the racing bikes, depending on rider preference. The big dogs had a single off-set shock without any linkage. By golly, maybe ATK WAS right after all! Stefan Passeri used an Ohlin while Watts ran a WP. Reliable sources indicate, suggest, hint, that maybe, perhaps the next move will be to a one-sided swinging arm. So they say. So we shall see.

Laurent Bouffioux's KTM had head pipes that were twice as long -- from the exhaust port to the "Y" -- as on the KTM of Philip Smithson which should say something about low speed power delivery: "Long" means "low".

The German KTM team had computer-printed Check Times on sticky-back for the tank. So Germanic.

The Farioli truck had so much parts and equipment that the spare had spares: tires, dampers, subframes, forks, plastic, welding tanks, axle stands, sidestands, tire changers, air, benches and drawers full of untold wonders.

Petteri Silvan's Gas-Gas had gold-colored fork legs. I would wager that they were Titanium-Nitrided ... TiNi ... a very hard (Rockwell 60-plus) and very thin (0.0005-inch). The material is deposited in a plasma chamber with an exotic atmosphere. It was, I believe, a Russian process known as "Bulot".

SATURDAY POST EVENT PROBLEMS
Jonas Hermansson, the DR350 Suzuki rider, was DQ'd for refueling with the engine running ... a definite no-no. Which was too bad since he was performing quite well indeed on the stocker.

Joachim Hedendahl, on his controlled-speed way in to the finish, had an accident with a little girl on the tarmac. He stopped to determine the extent of the accident and was relieved to find that that there was more emotional damage rather than any physical. He was NOT docked for his late arrival by virtue of a Jury Decision.

Lubomir had a mousse go bad on Saturday He used up past his grace period and was assessed 60 points. He went from 8th to 20th just like that.

SUNDAY
Sick And Tired
Pidoux changed his front tire in the staging area as did Maurocio Carminati and Bjorne Carlsson. Kari Tiainen came out with a new Bridgestone "Gritty ED660" on the rear, although Metzlers seemed to be the tire of choice. The change from Husqvarna to KTM has not been kind the five-times Word Champ. Ivan Boano was changing his front tire wearing medical gloves. Matteo Rubin changed his rear Metzler "6 Days" to a Pirelli "MT81". He hammered in six tire tools made from irons welded into tubes with a cap on the top. Tulio Pellegrinelli was using screwdrivers. I had my left foot run over by Kari's (nitty?) "Gritty".

Lubomir Vojkuvka was tweaking his bark busters out of the way of the clutch lever with a tire iron. Mario Rinaldi and Dirk von Zitzewitz were de-crudding their bikes with tire irons. Too bad that it didn't rain hard during the night while the bikes sat out.

Bouffioux added some tiewraps to his right radiator wing on his Husaberg

It was a beehive (or an ant hill) of activity. Christian Happel had to run full tilt to the starting line to make his time. Matteo Rubin had a copy of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" on his helmet and very trick billet triple clamps.

Some riders kicked their bikes through before coming to the starting tent. Alfons Hoevers was late to the grid as Philip Smithson had to get off and kick his bike but finally made it take off. Puidoux had, almost, a deja vu all over again when his bike refused to fire. It finally lit and he skit with three seconds to spare. Ten points were saved right there.

Eric Bernard was seen chewing his nails waiting to leave. Some Huskys added wire heat shields to the exhaust back of the plane of the foot pegs.

The weather was very clear with a warm sun ... Fausto Scovolo had his handler remove his "sleeves".

THE ROCK GARDEN
Located eight kilometers out of Check Three was an uphill section weaving through the trees with a fine base of mud and running water. There were several lines ... and only one decent one. Otakar Kotrba led Mario Rinaldi, Bouffioux and Philip Smithson with Dirk von Z. Creative course adjustments were performed to guarantee that each and every rut was properly filled with water. Paul McMinn found a line that he did not like and ended up wheelie-ing up against a tree. Marek Nespor, a Homie, got stuck. Ingo Fimpel had a braying head pipe on his Husqvarna and lost 60 penalty points. Bert van Veen yelled at spectators to move a fallen tree. He was ignored. Dirk Thelen had a good eye for the lines, no fooling around, no problems.

Many riders were spooked by the widest water spot which was actually the shallowest. One innocuous rut was deep enough to stop any front wheel and almost produce an over-the-bars incident. Avoiding one "bad" section could turn you into an even worse spot, or so it seemed.

Jonas Hermansson learned his fueling lesson well and looked good ... after his DQ the day before.

The thundering 500s came. Peter Jansson, Bohumil Posledni, Kari Tiainen, Jaroslav Katrinak, Anders Eriksson, Arnaldo Nicoli, Fabio Farioli, Martin Macek Martin Lind paraded through.

Wolfgang Koch had a rear start but no one could actually explain why: "Maybe they forgot him and had to find a spot for him."

Stefan Passeri (Farioli KTM), Fausto Scovolo, Larsson, Marq Puigdemont, Watts, Mika Ahola, Zdenek Gottvald, Ullevalseteer ... were all in single file, with no pushing and no shoving although Thomas Aiple fell. 250 riders Giovanni Sala, Eric Bernard, David Fretigne, Tulio Pellegrinelli, Giuseppe Gallino, Matteo Rubin made a clean sweep of the section but Swedish angel Maria Sandell got excited about the section and the water and the mud and the trees and the ruts and the ribbon. She yelled a lot. In Swedish, as one might imagine, so it had little, if any, of the desired effect.

Richard Hay derailed the chain on his RMX while trying the outside left-hand line. He should have known better.

BASALT BOULDER FIELD
Otakar Kotrba led through the "Big Rocks In Mud" section. The rocks were typical angular basalt blocks with smooth faces ... disguised with roots and mud. Even the great Mario Rinaldi fell! Nico Klaus rode like a trials rider, making it look easy. It appears that the riders who are quick enough that the choice of line did not make much of a difference. The main line had gotten so chewed up on Saturday that the organizers widened the route to make it passable.

Miroslav Vytlacil, Paul McMinn, Marco Langbein were jammed up for a spell as ex-Farioli rider Maurocio Carminati came through in one quick hurry.

Marek Nespor stopped for direction in Czech ... being a Local Hero.

Bohumil Posledni didn't even slow down; Peter Jansson looked strong.

Anders Eriksson got stuck; Jaroslav Katrinak and Fabio Farioli were charging; Wolfgang Koch was a bucking bronco: Man vs. Machine

Stefan Passeri (Farioli KTM) and Fausto Scovolo are shorties but that was no concern.

Dirk Thelen had a flat tire and had to ride on it.

Larsson, Ahola, Watts, Gottvald and Ullevalseteer all took different lines. Sometimes getting off the "current" line works better ... following the guy in front may be counterproductive. Sala runs through the crud just off/idle.

Petteri Silvan tried a ditch jump, came up a bit short and cased it. He still won the 250 class. Gas-Gas had a big ol' helper boy on hand to suggest The Hot Line and The Not Line. He missed on this assignment.

Joachim Hedendahl went outside the ribbon as did Jens Oestriech and Johan Fornegard. Joachim retired and the other two were never in the hunt so no Marshall reported it.

PEOPLE WATCHING
Dirk von Z. was limping on the left leg on Sunday afternoon. Markus Hediger hurt his right knee the day before and was a DNS. Patrick Isfordink DNF'd in the pits ... he fell twice on Sunday and hurt his left knee.

Watts is very popular with the fans ... Sala had better watch out. Well, not right away since the Italian was signing color posters right and left. And speaking of "right" he had banged his right calf and was limping. Sala did a big flier at the last test and flew into a tree. "It's nothin", he promised.

TM Italy chief Fabio Urbinati flew into Prague only to informed by Customs that his passport was a week out of date. They stuck him on the next plane to Milan. He had to drive to Pisa, get the paperwork squared away then do it all over again wasting a full day, arriving at Prague at 2100. (PLAN AHEAD!)

Rider Martin Lind has signed for Thomas Gustavsson of Husaberg Sweden.

Olivier Samofal was 8th 125 on Saturday and 11th on Sunday and received no WM points ... he is only running under a European ticket. Too bad.

According to reliable sources, a student of the German Enduro scene, Dirk v. Zitzewitz is "not adapting to the 400" from the 620 he rode last year. Dirk is the only professional German Enduro rider.

According to the same expert, Peterhansel is not a "Sportsman" ... but a "Professional" and as such feels that it is acceptable to quit when it appears that he will not win! On the other hand Sala said that he wants to be able to ride for his fans!

Maurocio Carminati (400 Husq) was "only" fifth in the world last year and therefore was dropped by the Farioli team ... a no-jive organization.

Laurent Pidoux (400 Hsq) took two years off for jet skiing and surfing on the island of Reunion off the coast of Africa ... no enduro-ing at all. Now he has come back to challenge the best in the world and doing a fine job of it.

Eric Bernard (Ox Bow/Farioli 125 KTM) translates for Pidoux ... Eric speaks German, which, of all things, is unusual for a Frenchman. Peterhansel is not very approachable... if you don't speak French, well, you don't speak with him, I guess.

Rickard Larsson (125 Hsq) only started enduros in '94 and has two Seconds this year... is being tutored by Jeff Nielsen who was two-times world champion in the 125 class.

There was some concern and dismay in the German ranks over foreigners racing in the German Championship ... such as Shane Watts, Kari Tiainen, for example.

Nederlander Simon Schram is 38 years old and Peterhansel is getting a few gray hairs.

The big point about enduros is the other riders ... a lot of the tough sections would not be quite so tough if there were not a clot of clods. The lead rider in the lead class -- the "400s" -- has the best of all possible worlds.

BRAZIL ENDURO A HARD NUT TO CRACK
Rumor and controversy raged supreme at the Czech World Championship round in Semily, Czech Republic. The two, two-day rounds scheduled in Belo Horizonte, Brazil have been either canceled - or not ... depending upon who and when you spoke to.

As of this writing the first weekend ... 7/8 June ... has been officially and formally canceled. Now talk surfaced that the second event ... 14/15 June ... would not be attended by the European contingent making the event a mockery of the term "World Championship".

In document distributed by Fabrizio Azzalin (Husqvarna Italy), everyone involved in the FIM World Championship Enduro signed, including Fabio Farioli, but NOT by Yamaha France star Stephane Peterhansel.

After the event Peterhansel left to fly back to France and to confer with Yamaha France chief Jean-Claude Olivier as to whether they would concur or (literally) fly in the face of almost total opinion.

If Peterhansel was to go to Brazil, then the other 175 cc class riders would almost be forced to make the long trip. The 175 2-Stroke championship goals of Giovanni Sala and Eric Bernard (both of Team Farioli KTM) could not allow the Frenchman an almost-guaranteed and unchallenged 40 point surge. So just one rider could break the boycott.

Costs were cited as an important factor as well as the close proximity of the event date.

One source suggested that the cost of flying the rider, one machine and two assistants ... plus equipment ... would run about 20,000DM (US$12,000). That was said to be about half of what is necessary to compete in the full "World" series within Europe.

Another factor mentioned in the heading of the statement was the "lack of facilities" (their wording). No further information on that aspect has been available but the fact that a World 250 MX event at the same site on the 6th of July brings that question - into question.

The next event is the French round next week, 17 & 18 of May.

E-mail: Tony Tellier