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Mr Oriol Puig Bulto, President of the FIM International Technical Panel, was a experienced off-road rider during the sixties: he took part in nine International Six Days’ Trial events between 1962 and 1970. He was in Erfurt in 1964. He recalls:
“In 1958, after we left Montesa and Bultaco was only a project, my friend and Technical School classmate Jorge Giró, one of the members of the family owners of Ossa offered me to form part of a Spanish Vase Team at the ISDT to be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in September that year, on an Ossa 165cc, two-stroke. Without doubt I accepted the offer. As the results showed, neither the riders nor the machines had the necessary preparation and out of the 8 riders, 5 did not finish the first day, one retired the second day and the other lasted two days and a half.
However, I took a lot of experience and knowledge about the ISDT, and in 1962 together with my Motocross teammate at Bultaco José Sánchez we prepared two prototypes to ride at the ISDT in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. There we got our first Gold Medals (and the first Spaniards ever to get them), and for me it was the beginning of my ISDT rides that extended for nine years in a row until 1970. With my Bultacos I finished at all these ISDT, winning in total 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze Medal.
Going to the Eastern countries in the sixties was a quite a hard experience. To start with, our Spanish passports had a clear mark stating 'Not valid for the Soviet Union and satellite countries'. This means that we had to get a permit and a special passport for every trip beyond the 'iron curtain' at a Spanish Embassy abroad, normally in London or Vienna. Also there, a visa from the country to visit was needed, also for the duration of the event only. We then started a long trip with a car and trailer (practically no motorways at that time!). At the border of those countries, a long and slow moving line of cars approaching the border, barbed fences at the sides, many policemen and army people, even sometimes impressive tanks and machine-guns. Then, an exhaustive control of the documents, search inside and below the car, the engine compartment, some times the fuel tank. Everything was controlled, including the change of currency and the obligation to spend a minimum daily quantity in local currency. Often, the remaining local currency when leaving the country could not be converted in western currency. We always had the impression of being observed, spied or controlled.
I could never overcome the feeling of great relief when leaving those countries, as if going out of jail and back to freedom.
In Erfurt in 1964, I remember well the American team with Steve McQueen, the Ekins brothers and other riders. They had a lot of helpers, press people, cameramen, etc., and many american flags everywhere. They were doing spectacular rides the days prior to the start, going up and down and doing fast side slides with their big Triumph twins. A real show...
I met briefly Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins, they were nice people, very accessible and ready to share experiences and fully enjoy the event. In my opinion, all members of the US Team were good riders, very much used to ride in the desert and in dry terrain but not so much in the muddy sections through the woods and hills of central Europe.
Also, they were riding too 'crazy' for a six days event, crashing too much. I remember seeing Steve and some other members of the US team riding with torn mudguards and bent handlebars, and also with bruises in their faces. The best known members of the team, Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins had to retire on the third and fourth days after several heavy crashes. But other members got gold and silver medals.
I never met again Steve McQueen, but I had the pleasure to meet Bud Ekins in May 2007 at the 'Legend of the Motorcycle, Concours d'Elegance' in Half Moon Bay, California, where I was acting as a Judge and Bud was the Honorary Judge. Bud was in serious health condition but we had the opportunity to remember together 'those old glorious times', few months before he passed away in October of that year.”
Photos Collection O. Puig Bulto
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1962: Oriol Puig Bulto on a Bultaco
Erfurt, 1964, Oriol (103) at the start of the 1st day
