Main photo by: Pole Position Communication
The American teams put in a great showing in Argentina at the International Six Day Enduro (ISDE) this year, with both the men’s and women’s World Trophy teams claiming wins. The Junior World Trophy team of Kai Aiello, Mateo Oliveira, and Grant Davis crushed it too, taking second overall. We caught up with Aiello to learn more about America’s resounding success in Argentina.
Racer X: Congrats on the second overall at the ISDE!
Kai Aiello: Thank you, it was a good trip and a good result!
Was that about where you expected to be? Or were you thinking better? Worse?I think we were definitely wanting the win. The last time the junior team won was actually in 2014, in Argentina, so that was our goal, to bring it back home in the same place we did it last time. But we came up just short in second.
Take us through it, the whole experience of it.
Going into it, we had a good prep week. We walked all of the tests, which ended up being 100 miles of hiking in the span of a week.
One hundred miles of hiking!?
Yeah. You don’t get to ride or practice anything, so we really put in the work to try to memorize all the tests. There were nine total special tests, I believe, and we walked all of them three times at least. Then we circled back and did some of the most important ones again. There was a lot of hiking in the prep week.
Then the race week went well. The first two days were probably my best days, I came out of the gate pretty good. It was really hot the first couple days, so managing the body was super important, as far as staying hydrated and well fed. That was something I think we had an advantage with, because we’re used to racing in the heat here. Day three went well too, it was the first day of new tests, but that night I got really sick. I got the flu. From that point on, those were some of the hardest days of my entire riding career. The days were long, it was grueling, and I was in a lot of pain. I didn’t have a ton of energy and was really struggling to get through it. I’m glad I was able to finish out the week for myself and the team and get a good result. It was a nice way to end the trip.
What’s it like racing in Argentina? Is it surreal just being in South America racing a motorcycle?
Last year at the ISDE I got my first taste of racing anywhere other than the U.S., which was really cool. This year though, was the first time in South America for me. Riding though, it was almost like we flew to a different continent just to ride in the same desert we have here. [Laughs] It’s not that different. But Argentina is very different, it was a cool experience. But the riding was similar. Desert, rocks, silt, sand, and more rocks. [Laughs]
Last year you raced in France on a club team. Was there more pressure being on the official junior team?
A little bit. Anytime you’re on a trophy team and put in the spotlight like that, I think there’s more pressure. I think I handled it well though, I didn’t put a ton of pressure on myself. I just treated it like a really cool opportunity to race for something bigger than myself. Racing for your country, I think any time there’s a chance to do that, I’d never say no. It’s a really cool thing to be a part of something bigger, and to have that pride of racing for your country. I’ve always wanted to do that. I grew up watching the Motocross of Nations, then switching to off-road and learning about ISDE, it became something I always wanted to do. Getting the chance to do it on a trophy team was a big goal I’ve now accomplished.
Read about Kai Aiello’s 2022 ISDE club team experience in France.
Is your goal to be on the main team?
Yeah, I’d definitely like to represent on the main trophy team, and win like the guys did in Argentina. USA, we all had a really good showing, which was cool. The trophy team won, the women won, and we juniors got second. We kind of cleaned up. It was so cool. The vibes were great the whole time and everyone was stoked on the performances. It fires me up for sure and makes me want to put in the work to have the opportunity to get chosen again. I want to get the job done and get the win.
I’d imagine the mood had to be pretty euphoric for everyone involved with the U.S. teams at the end of the week.
Yeah, it was really cool. I’ve never gotten to blow up a bike or do burnouts [Laughs] after a race before, so that was something I was pretty stoked on. We didn’t win as the juniors, but being a part of the whole effort, together, was great. Everyone is working toward the same thing, and even in the race week everyone is working together as a team to get the job done. To cap off such a long couple of weeks, and the work we did before we even went to Argentina, to cap it off like we did was just a really cool thing to be a part of. It was also Taylor’s [Robert] last race, so that was a really cool thing to be a part of. Following in his footsteps all week and learning from him, one of the best to ever do it, was really cool. And to be able to celebrate with the team afterward was pretty neat. A lot of burnouts and lots of revs, that’s for sure. [Laughs]
You’re kind of a jack of all trades when it comes to motorcycles. You qualify for nationals, you race the ISDE, you race WORCS, and probably more than that. What’s next for you?
I race the WORCS and NGPC [National Grand Prix Championship]. I haven’t checked off supercross yet. I finished my license, but I haven’t actually raced one yet. I still have a lot off goals in the off-road world I want to check off. I signed again with Husqvarna to race NGPC and WORCS for next year, so those will be my two main series’ and I’ll still do the nationals in the summer. This last year in 2023 was pretty big for me, going 20-20 at Thunder Valley and earning my first national points. That gave me a boost of confidence and momentum, something I can build on going into next year. My plan is to just keep doing what I’m doing and see where it takes me. I’ve never really followed a normal path my whole career. I pride myself in being a good all-around rider and racer, and it’s something I want to continue doing.
