SATURDAY REPORT:

The wettest SSDT in recent memory is now over, with a new winner... Joan Pons from Spain. With a final day score of 8, Pons finished two points ahead of Ben Hemingway, and 5 ahead of mid-week leader Gary MacDonald. 2002 winner Amos Bilbao was running neck and neck with Canada's Ryon Bell until mid-week, then pulled out all the stops when the going got tough, making a spectacular comeback and finishing 4th, just 6 points off the winning score. Team Gas Gas's Steve Colley never quite got his act together, but managed to finish 6th. Big Bruno Camozzi finished strong in 7th, and Sam Connor finished 9th. Jordi Pascuet, a front runner until Thursday's 18 points of penalties, finished with a 10th place score, although he was by then riding on a 'non-awards' basis.. Without the 18 point penalty, Jordi would have been 3rd. Ryon Bell must have been excited to finish so well early in the week, but eventually succombed to the pressures and difficulties of this event. He closed out his week with a Saturday score of 19, with a final position of 22rd. Hanging with Amos for much of the week was quite an achievement, and Ryon certainly had some high points early on. Wilson Craig's 2 point Wednesday was the high point of his week, and showed that he is capable of a top ten placing in future years. Of the US/Canadian Gas Gas girls, Kerry Williams came out on top with a final score of 661, an average of about 100 a day, plus some time penalties. Nicole Bradford finished on 778, 8 places behind Kerry. Christy must have had some serious problems on Friday, carding 50 points in each of the 30 sections! She came back on Saturday on a 'no awards' basis, and finished the course. The 2003 SSDT gives Spain its second victory in a row. Congratualations to all participants. The SSDT is a test on many levels, and finishing the course is an achievement in itself. Roll on 2004!

THURSDAY REPORT:

There had been gale force winds overnight, and the first six sections had to be abandoned as a result of the heavy rain. It appears the organizers hastily arranged some replacement sections. As it was, many veterans were calling it the wettest they had seen for 15 years! The first few sections of the day were obviously tough, with many riders taking serious points.. Jordi Pascuet and Amos Bilbao were the only riders to clean all three. Amos kept his concentration, and finally had a really good day with the second best score of just 7 points. This puts him back up to 7th place overall on 24 total. In the lead is young Scotsman Gary MacDonald, of whom great future accomplishments are expected. He had a 5 point day, leaving him on a scant 9 point total. Second best observation score, along with Amos, was Pascuet, but it looks like young Jordi had some problems, as he received a devastating 18 points in time penalties. This puts Jordi quite a ways back, although the spread from 2nd spot to 10th is only 14 points. If either of the two remaining days are tough, or if MacDonald cracks, it's still wide open. Both Ryon Bell and Wilson Craig started badly. Ryon went 3, 3, 5 in the first 3 sections, on his way to a 23 point day, giving him a total of 40 and 17th place. Wilson Craig also had a rough start, going 0, 3, 5 on his way to 30 points, 51 total, and 28th place. Not too shabby by any means, but now a little off the pace. The Williams sisters and Nicole Bradford all took 50 points on one section, which we beleive means either they all missed it, or didn't get to the out gate. Nicole now splits the Williams sisters. Both Christy and Kerry lost over 50 points on time, which certainly doesn't help! The range from current first place to current last place is 9 points, to 1586 points,... an average of 1 point every 13 sections, to 13 points a section, beleive it or not. In the SSDT, it all makes sense!

WEDNESDAY REPORT:

Scotish weather prevailed on the tough Wednesday course, with plenty of rain around the Fort William area. Ryon Bell for the most part put in another good ride, losing 9 points for the day, but 8 of those were from a 3 and a 5. Hardly any of the top runners suffered any 3's or 5's, so it was a setback for Ryon. He must be lamenting those two lapses, but he still sits in a strong 18th position, equal again with 2002 winner Amos Bilbao. Ryon's total for the week is 17 points. The lead is still in the hands of Ben Hemingway and Gas Gas rider Jordi Pascuet, who both put in single point loops, leaving them both on 2 points total! Gas Gas riders Sam Connor and Steve Colley are both in a strong position, with Sam on 5 and Steve on 6. Two riders cleaned the Wednesday loop, 4 riders had a 1 point day, and another 4 riders lost just two points. One of those riders was Canadian Pro rider Wilson Craig! Wilson must be calling on his Irish lineage to help deal with the wet conditions. This again was a truly brilliant performance from one of the US/Canadian contingent. With Ryon's Tuesday ride, and Wilson's on Wednesday, many of the World's elite are taking notice, and beginning to rank them amongst the World's best. Wilson now sits on a total of 21, in 24th place overall. Christy Williams lost 63 points on Wednesday, sister Kerry lost 75, and Nicole Bradford lost 98. Christy cleaned 9 out of the 30 sections, but came in a little late and notched up 7 time penalties. Congratualations to all... and we look forward to the day 4 results tomorrow!