Australian ISDE team will be women only in 2023

Motorcycling Australia (MA) has announced that it will only be sending a women’s team to the upcoming International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Argentina this November, with rising travel costs preventing the presence of a full Australian contingent.  

The governing body explained its decision in a press release, saying that “significantly increased financial burdens encompassing travel, accommodation, and logistics to and from South America” have made it difficult to send representatives across all classes.

In the latest Australian Sports Commission report on investment allocation for National Sporting Organisations (NSO), motorcycling (which includes all disciplines) only has $100,000 to work with in the current financial year.

This is a stark contrast to high profile Olympic sports like Swimming, which received over $14 million. Other sports to trump motorcycling include touch football ($650,000), ten-pin bowling ($450,000) and table tennis ($1,575,000).

The Australian ISDE team is funded through MA and sponsors. According to its 2022 financial report, MA marked its fifth straight year of profitability (non-consolidated) and its net assets (non-consolidated) at the end of 2022 were $3,752,217.

A full Australian ISDE team normally consists of 10 riders (three women, three juniors, and four men) as well as support staff and reserve riders, while funds must also cover specialised and competitive equipment, spare parts, and technical support.

In addition to the financial constraints, MA also stated that several regular Australian factory-contracted riders were unavailable for the event due to pre-existing commitments.

For 2023, Team Australia will be represented by multi Australian champion Jess Gardiner, three-time GNCC champion Tayla Jones, and four-time Hattah winner Danielle McDonald. Jones and Gardiner were part of the team that won the ISDE Women’s Trophy an incredible six times in a row between 2013 and 2018.

The Men’s World Trophy team has won on two occasions. The first was in 2015 amid controversy when the French team were disqualified for cutting the course. The second came in 2018. The Junior Trophy has been claimed by Australia on three occasions (1995, 2015, 2019).

MA completed its statement by declaring “all efforts will be made to field a full Australian team in 2024” when the ISDE visits Spain.

The 2023 ISDE will take place from November 6 to 11 in San Juan, Argentina. The United Kingdom is the reigning champion in the Men’s and Women’s classes, while Italy will be defending the Junior title.