Isdt/e champions celebrated at indy powersports show

[ATVsToday]

ISDT/E CHAMPIONS CELEBRATED AT INDY POWERSPORTS SHOW

POCATELLO, ID - On February 15, 2009, over 350 people attended the BlueRibbon Coalition's (BRC) 11th Annual Breakfast of Champions (BOC) to honor the off-road racing heroes of the International Six Days Trials/Enduro (ISDT/E). The event was held at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom as part of the Indianapolis Powersports Expo.

Ignition3 TV produced a captivating visual history of ISDT/E and provided the backdrop to Jack Penton's informative, and sometimes poignant, interviews with champions and Industry icons associated with ISDT/E.

The interviews kicked off with everyone's hero, Malcolm Smith, Bruce Brown legendary film maker of On Any Sunday, and ISDT/E's leading medalist, Jeff Fredette. What many in the crowd did not know was that Brown's film was the inspiration for Fredette to compete in the ISDT/E. It should be noted that after watching Bruce's movie, Jeff went on to ride 28 events and won 17 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal.

A touching moment came during the 2nd interview segment when Jack was interviewing his famous dad, John Penton. The father-son relationship and interplay on the stage struck a warm cord with the crowd and reminded all of us of similar moments in our riding careers.

Mark Woodward was the show's auctioneer and helped raise funds for the BRC to continue its efforts to champion responsible OHV access to public lands. Some of the featured items offered for bid were two brand new ISDE Arai helmets, a ProMoto Billet ISDE commemorative plaque/kickstand, and a private trail ride hosted by Stan Simpson, Chairman of AMA's Board of Directors.

The show journeyed through the 1980s-1900s and ended up interviewing current ISDT/E stars from the USA Trophy Team, Junior Trophy Team, and Women's Trophy Team.

Don Amador, the BRC's Breakfast of Champion's event coordinator, said, "I can't thank the Lague Family, Jack Penton, Don Emde, Eric Anderson, Gunny Claypoole, Chris Carter, and Mark Woodward enough for making this year's BOC such a success. Thanks also to NOHVCC for helping with the auction. All the stars I talked to said they did not want the 2 hour show to end. It was truly captivating."

"There are not too many venues where an average rider or motorcycle enthusiast can walk up to and talk with motorcycle racing champions such as Jack Penton, Malcolm Smith, Kevin Schwantz, Broc Glover, Chuck Sun, Randy Hawkins, Jeff Fredette, Drew Smith, Rodney Smith, Fred Hoess, Shane Watts, Jimmy Jarrett, Amanda Mastin, and many others," Amador continued.

Amador concludes, "It was an honor for this event to pay tribute to the heroes of ISDT/E and to have them come and support our efforts to keep public lands open for off-road riding. I think the attendees had fun bidding on auction items. In fact, EBC's Andy Freeman made a large donation to celebrate his 30th year anniversary selling brakes in the USA. BRC is grateful to all those Industry leaders who opened up their checkbooks to help support the sport."

BRC is especially thankful to our 2009 sponsors who made this historic event possible. Those companies are Kawasaki Motors Corporation, ProMoto Billet, American Motorcyclist Association, American Motorcyclist Association Museum, Leo Vince USA, Western Power Sports, EBC Brakes, KTM North America, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Arai Helmets, Tucker Rocky, FMF, Motion Pro, Kenda Tires, Parts Unlimited, DealerNews, Scott USA, Mikuni American, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, ADP Lightspeed, Honda Rider's Club of America, Motorcycle Industry Council, Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, Micheal's Action Art, NOHVCC, Polaris Industries Incorporated, Yamaha Motor Corporation, Van Leeuwen Distributing, Silent Sport, Don Emde Publications, Inc., Scorpion Sports Inc., and Tugger Lift Strap.

Be sure to check out BRC's Breakfast of Champions website to catch the post-event auction items. There are still some awesome items of memorabilia available!

Galaxy of Motorcycle Heroes at 2009 BOC photo available here.