At the dawn of the twentieth century, the leaders of motorcycle construction were England and France. It was they who gave an impetus to a new kind of sport - endurance competitions, in French – endurance.
Since 1907, the Isle of Man began to hold competitions "Tourist Trophy" (Tourist Trophy), and in 1908 there was a prototype of motocross – "Fox Chase". The FIM International Motorcycle Federation (later FIM) decided to combine both directions. In the first Enduro races of 1913, several British and three French racers started in the English town of Carlisle and the competition took place for six days. The official name of the International Six Day Trial did not include the word "enduro" – it appeared only in 1981, when the competition was renamed (ISDE).
From the very beginning, the competitions have been held annually, there were only breaks during the First and Second World Wars. ISDE is distinguished from other types of motorsport primarily by team spirit. The main prize – the "International Trophy" (Nations Cup) (later the "World Trophy") - is awarded to the national team of a certain composition. In addition to the team "Trophy", others were played out in different years. In 1923, the "Silver Vase Trophy" was established, in 1985 it was abolished and the "Junior Trophy" was introduced for riders under 23 years of age. In 2007, a "Women's class" was established – Women's Cup. They also played the "Trophy of the factory brand" among motorcycle manufacturers. Until 1970, racers could compete for the Nations Cup only on motorcycles manufactured in their own country.
Since 1947, the Motor Olympics resumed, the technique began to change very quickly. Two-stroke engines took the stage, suspensions were improved, which had not changed for almost half a century before. The racers appreciated the frames with a rear swinging fork and the use of "hydraulics". New names in motorsport sounded, old companies got a second wind. Racers achieved victories on motorcycles Bultaco, Laverda, Maico, Husqvarna. A prominent role in the 60-70s was played by Jawa and ČZ from Czechoslovakia, Simson and MZ from the GDR. And in the USSR, they developed their own motorcycles, and since 1956, Soviet athletes have repeatedly participated in the FIM six-day race (read more about this in the next issue of the magazine). Motorcycles from Germany – Zündapp, BMW and NSU did not lag behind. English brands have become obsolete, as well as classic "four-stroke" engines. Since 1957, FIM has canceled participation in sidecar motorcycle competitions. But low-capacity motorcycles, even 50 cc ones, were given the green light and taken to a separate class. Besides him there were classes "75", "100" and "125" cc. see here the names Hercules, Puch, Sachs, Simson, Zündapp sounded victorious.
The greatest number of victories in team races for the British team is 16. But all this is a triumph of bygone years – the last victory of the riders of the Foggy Albion dates back to 1953. The second, with 15 victories, are the Czechs, and these are also achievements of the times of the Czech SSR. The Italian team has won the main trophy 14 times since 1930. In recent decades, luck has accompanied the teams of France, Finland and even Poland. But the US team was unlucky – they never won. However, as well as our racers: the USSR national team has never won the "World Trophy".
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Along with ISDE, the Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship (WEC) has been held as a world Championship since 1990. This series of races replaced the FIM European Enduro Championship, which had existed since 1968. The series currently consists of eight two-day rounds, including motocross, enduro and extreme trials. Another world–class competition is the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship. These spectacular races take place at the stadium, where there is an earthen or sandy track with obstacles, mostly of a natural nature (stones, logs, water areas, etc.). d.), similar to those that can be found on the classic enduro track. Country-cross, enduro-cross, extreme enduro, baja and rally-raids are related to enduro competitions. But this is a topic of a separate conversation...
Goodbye.