The 93rd edition of the ISDE was held on the 12 - 17th November based in Vina del Mar to the northwest of Santiago in Chile.
The Army MCA team of Kalen Hicks (#622) Tom Ellwood (#722) and Aaron Coupland (#822) and Dyfed Dirt Bike Club team of Alun Jones (#624) Rhys George (#724) and Gareth Jones (#824) were the only entries from GB this year.
Unfortunately, Rhys George suffered a big disappointment on Day 1 when his Beta had a major engine failure before the 1st test. A new engine was fitted for a restart on Day 2 to keep the team complete, but his medal hopes had disappeared.
The route for Day 2 was a repeat of Day 1. On Day 3 the test that followed Check 4 was cancelled for safety reasons as visibility was reduced in the fine powdery dust. The hot and dusty conditions continued all week.
Day 6 of the event and the Final Test saw the track created in the grounds of a kart racing centre which was overlooking the sea to the north of Vina del Mar. Thankfully there was little dust here as the track appeared to have been well watered.
At the end of the event the Army MCA had finished the event strongly claiming a well-deserved 5
th place in the Club Team category of the 106 teams competing. Leading rider Tom Ellwood put in a great performance during the week to finish as the first British rider in the event and finish in 4
th place in his class of 151 finishers.
The Dyfed Team kept going at a steady pace all week and recovered from 92nd place on Day 1 back up to 59th by the end of the week as other teams hit problems and dropped down the list.