Racing: Australia fourth in ISDE

Australia's World Trophy team has finished fourth in the Portugese-hosted 2009 International Six-Day Enduro in Portugal, but only after its vice-like grip on third place was annexed by Finland in the final motocross test.

At the end of day five, Australia was two minutes and 31 seconds (2:31) in front of Finland, and the buffer looked to be enough for Australia to finish on the podium for the first time since 1999.

But Finland had other ideas in the final motocross test, with four of its five riders completing the journey in less than 14 minutes - compared to just two Australians.

That as more than enough to wipe out the deficit, and then leave Finland 13 seconds clear of Australia in the final classification.

France retained the Senior Trophy, with its E3 rider Christophe Nambotin (Gas Gas) winning overall from Finnish KTM pair Eero Remes and veteran Samuli Aro.

Kawasaki's Toby Price was the standout for Australia, and he finished a very impressive 14th outright and seventh in the E2 class.

Chris Hollis (Husqvarna) was the next best placed Australian rider in 23rd (fifth E1), followed by Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna) in 26th (ninth E2), Jarrod Bewley (Yamaha) in 27th (12th E2) and Kirk Hutton in 53rd (16th E1).

Yamaha's Stefan Merriman broke his right shoulder blade on day five.

Kearney was the big improver as the event progressed and, along with Price, pulled out all stop stops on the final day to try and keep Australia ahead of Finland.

It was a disastrous finale for Australia's Junior Trophy team, with Nicholas Beattie (Yamaha) forced out with bike problems, and Andrew Lloyd (TM) crashing hard and taken to hospital.

The rot first set in on day one when Josh Green's Kawasaki blew up.

The shining light on the Junior Trophy team was the performance of KTM's Geoff Braico, who ended the event in 46th position outright, and 13th in the E3 class.

The team finished 13th overall out of 15 teams, with Spain the victor, while the Yamaha-riding Women's Trophy team of Jacquie Jones, Alison Parker and Jemma Wilson was an excellent third. France won the Women's Trophy.