enduro news
© Bob Mullins   

Touratech Dawn to Dusk 12Hr Enduro 2008

Scot's Rule in Wales - Results 

The Dawn to Dusk Enduro returned once again to Walters Arena near Glyn Neath, South Wales for the second time this year. The 2008 event was the seventh running of the 12-hour race. The Dawn to Dusk team once again put on a brilliant weekend of entertainment and great riding in equal measures, laying on a flowing 15-mile loop that was great fun to ride. The course was perfectly suited to the difficult and slippery conditions and needed almost no alterations, despite the worsening conditions in the weeks leading up to the event.

As usual the Saturday played host to the Dawn to Dusk Youth event, a two-hour race around a shortened 6-mile version of the adult course that catered for all abilities. Thankfully the rain held off for the race and made for a very enjoyable event. As expected the senior class dominated the event, with only the intermediate class winner, Charlie Frost, breaking inside the top 10 of the overall standings. With a rather convincing nine minute margin over Mitchell Frost and Michael Boyles, the senior class was won by Daniel Price. Following Charlie Frost in the intermediate class were Ben Skinner and Barney Thurgood, who both finished a lap down. Bradley Sullivan, who was a lap up on second placed rider Jamie Sutton, won the Junior Class and Tobias Hacker finished a further lap down.

Following the midday finish of the youth event, signing on and scrutineering opened their gates to the influx of 12 hour entrants, the race registered one of its biggest fields this year with over 500 riders. BMW Motorrad also had a heavy presence at this year’s event, with a huge show stand in the paddock and four clubman teams, to showcase the new G450X Enduro bike to the public for the first time in the UK prior to the release of the bike next month. Following the riders briefing and the showing of the sighting lap video, which was shown on a huge screen in the annual event marquee, there was a spectacular fireworks display, which marked both the end of the day for all but a few hard-core competitors and unfortunately the arrival of the weather. Fortunately the rain held off for the seven o’clock start, and in fact most of the race, with only a couple of showers until the very end of the event.

The first wave of riders ran for their bikes at 7:15 and as he has in previous years, Scotsman Richard Hay took an early lead in the opening laps pulling around one and half minutes a lap for the first few laps. Second was the Scottish Pro 2 Rider Dennis Irvine Superbikes Team. They were closely followed by the local Team Cole father/son combination. Over the next few laps the two leading riders started to pull ahead of the chasing pack. Eventually the Dennis Irvine Team caught and passed the Dawn to Dusk Veteran Hay. The Scots efforts must be applauded as he managed to stay in touch with the leaders until the very last laps, finishing a mere 20 minutes down, but still 15 minutes ahead third overall and a lap ahead of the nearest rider in his class.

The winning duo of Little and Norrie also won their class by a convincing two laps following problems to the rear shock of second place Team Touratech BMW team, who finished 20 minutes ahead of their BMW G650 X Challenge mounted teammates, who finished in third.

The Expert 2 Rider class proved extremely competitive, with eight minutes between the top two teams, and four teams finishing in the top ten overall. Team Westwilts Motorcycle club scraped their victory from the team E.P.S Racing, with Team Cole in third.

The clubman classes showed some impressive speed over the twelve hours with the top two teams in the two rider category completing an impressive 17 laps each, with the Beane/Mitchinson combination finishing a mere 39 seconds ahead of the Moto Conversions Wales Team. In third, one lap down were the Rusty Sprockets on 16 laps. The Marathon category was won by a margin of 55 minutes by David Carter ahead of Ronnie Bodinger, with third place going to Callum Hayes two laps down. The clubman three rider class was a BMW clean sweep, with the off road skills teams taking the top two places ahead of the BMW Motorrad Dealer Team.

Overall, the weekend was a great success and the Dawn to Dusk team would like to thank all those who attended event, we all hope you had a great time. However a special and huge thank you must be given to all those who were involved with any and every part of the weekend, from the admin to venue setup and the event clear up. Without you the event would not be possible.

Overall Results 1. Dennis Irvine Superbikes - 18 Laps; 2. Richard Hay – 18 Laps; 3. Westwilts Motorcycle Club – 18 Laps; 4. E.S.P Racing - 18 Laps; 5. Team Cole – 17 Laps

Pro Class Results 1. Dennis Irvine Superbikes - 18 Laps; 2. BMW Touratech Racing G450X – 16 Laps; 3. BMW Touratech Racing G650X Challenge – 16 Laps;

Expert Marathon Class 1. Richard Hay – 18 Laps; 2. James Jackman – 17 Laps; 3. Rob Thorn Motorcycles – 17 Laps

Expert 2 Rider Class 1.Westwilts Motorcycle Club – 18 Laps; 2. E.S.P Racing – 18 Laps; 3. Team Cole – 17 Laps

Clubman Marathon Class 1. David Carter – 14 Laps; 2. Ronnie Bodinger – 14 Laps; 3. Flat Oot Wi Ma Rat Oot – 12 Laps

Clubman 2 Rider Class 1. Beane/Mitchinson – 17 Laps; 2. Moto Conversions Wales – 17 Laps; 3. Rusty Sprockets – 16 Laps

Clubman 3 Rider Class 1. BMW Off Road Skills (Team B) – 16 Laps; 2. BMW Off Road Skills (Team A); 3. BMW Motorrad Dealer Team – 13 Laps

Veteran Marathon Class 1. Chris Shorey – 14 Laps; 2. MOM Kawasaki – 12 Laps; 3. Chris Beswick – 11 Laps

Sportsman 2 Rider Class 1. Haud It ‘N’ Hit It – 13 Laps; 2. Stanmore - 13 Laps; 3. Robins Racers – 13 Laps

Sportsman 3 Riders 1. Steady Days – 15 Laps; 2. Wollaston – 15 Laps; 3. Speedwell Racing Team 2 – 14 Laps

We are all excited about Cambridge Television filming this years event for the Extreme Sports Channel. This is something completely new for the Dawn to Dusk and we hope it will continue for the following years.

Cambridge Television will be at the event with several cameramen based at various prime locations on the track, including a crew of travelling cameramen to get even better shots of the action. In addition to this the host of the show (Austin Vince) will also be floating around and will be keen to get comments from the riders. So who knows you may even be one of the first Dawn to Dusk competitors to be on TV...........

CTi KNEE BRACES offer from Technology in Motion, Cardiff Centre

For the duration of the weekend they will be offering a ‘Dawn to Dusk Special Pricing Offer’ of £750 per pair of CTI OTS and £995 per pair of CTi custom knee braces, complete with patella cups.

For more information or to book your slot before the event call Technology in Motion on 01443 227827 and ask for Chrissie or go to www.technologyinmotion.co.uk 

Saturday/Sunday 25th & 26th August - Walters Arena, Seven Sisters Near Glynneath, South Wales

Dawn to Dusk 2007 Results 

Dawn to Dusk 2007 Done and dusted for another year it must be said that this year has been an odd one I’m sure we all thought this years Dawn to Dusk would have been a wet one due to all the freak weather everybody has been having around the UK but it wasn’t, it was as dry as we have ever had. Most people that came to this years Dawn to Dusk went away with a sun tan what a bonus. For six years the Dawn to Dusk has been on the calendar and every year its been getting better and better.

This year saw the race enter a new level, the volume of riders that entered this year was great but it has to be said the family atmosphere over the weekend was mind blowing we hope to see more and more every year. It all kicked off with a youth event on the Saturday this saw about 40 kids race for 2 hours on a 6 mile track. This race set the standard for the weekend, with kids helping other kids in there class it felt good to be a part of it.

Saturday afternoon saw some 500-riders sign on for the main race but again this went according to plan with only small queues to deal with. After this all riders bundled in to the main marquee for the briefing and the showing of the sighting lap after that riders went to bed all pumped with the track in mind.

Sunday was race day and what a race, the track was ready, the marshals were ready all we needed were the riders in there right positions so we could start the race this was a little delayed but soon got underway and a great race was had by everybody.

I would like to take this time again to thank everybody for coming and a big thank you to all people that helped make this event happen. Planning is already underway for next year so if you have any suggestions on how to make it better please email us your comments and of course spread the word Dawn to Dusk 2008 is held over the bank holiday weekend of the 23-24 August, see you there.

Thanks Nick Plumb

Dawn to Dusk Racing Ltd information@dawntodusk.co.uk

"Bad Boys" win 2007 D2D Results

The Bad Boys team of Ricky Mair & Jason Thomas won the 6th annual Dawn to Dusk this weekend.

When Tom sang of the green grass of home he ommitted to mention the grey slag heaps of home but hundreds of years of mining have left the valleys of South Wales with these monuments to the sweat & guts of men & machines. What better arena could there be for one of the toughest events in the Enduro calendar. Last year's Ironman - Steve Ireland - drove down from the Wirral with his family to defend his title. With the heat Steve realised that de-hydration would be a problem so he spent Saturday downing litres of an apple based product from Bulmers. By the time the riders gathered for the briefing in the pavilion at 8pm, Steve was totally hydrated. The organiser - Nick Plumb - gave the competitors some choice words of advise before running a video of the sighting lap. The circuit was 15 miles with 3 extreme sections which would give the riders the option of quick/tricky against longer/easier routes. As a full moon rose, the riders & their crew drifted off to their barbies & beds

Sunday morning exploded upon the sleepers at 5.30am when some wag launched a maroon. The sky was clear. At 7am the sunlight touched the start line. Unfortunately there was a delayed of 20 minutes. The start was Le Mans style. The dust & the low sunlight made visability a real problem. Jason Thomas & Euan McConnell were first away but they missed a marker & dropped 3 minutes on the first lap. Kieran McNamee also had a bad start when his chain snapped yards from the line. Last year's winning team of Wyn Hughes & Daryl Bolter had split into 2 teams. Daryl was joined by Simon Wakely & it was Daryl who opened with the fastest first lap. Wyn teamed up with Daryl Peach. Wyn was only there "for the ride" which he clearly enjoyed as he was 4th on lap 1. The vast majority of riders pitted after the first lap. Some fettled & some handed over to a team mate but some must have gone for breakfast. Despite 500 entrants, the course was well spread out. By 9.30 the sky clouded over to give the riders some relief from the glare. During the afternoon a mini tornado whipped through the start area & brought down a lighting tower. After 8 hours Steve Ireland retired & headed for a family holiday in Tenby. Carl Mcilroy took the lead in the Ironman class from Darren Carter. Check out the rear trials tyre. Carl from Wadebridge is currently 13th in the Expert class of the BEC  In the final hour, Daryl Bolter had an off while running second & his chain snapped. Ricky Mair rode the last lap for the Bad Boys team to take the win with Jason Thomas. The TM Celtic Warriors of Euan McConnell & Carl Tiley were the runners up. The Cornish Kings - Bradley Williams & Pete Bulley - were 3rd. Tamsin Jones won the Ironwoman class an impressive 13 laps. Photos available from Bob Mullins

Steve Ireland wins D2D Marathon - Daryl Bolter & Wyn Hughes win Team award Report by Neil Jones.

A very special event that is the only way to describe the UK's ultimate off road motorcycle enduro. The 4000 acre opencast coalmine near Glynneath in south Wales is just perfect for this event. 12 hrs of endurance, reliability, strength or lack of it in some cases coupled with heroic tales and heart braking failures, all of this on a fantastic 18.5 mile lap that had just about everything that an "enduro" circuit should have, from steep rock splattered climbs to wet rocky river beds through to fast flowing fire roads and boggy grasslands, this demanding track had the lot. The event organiser, Nick Plumb has excelled himself this year with a track that was better for all of the riders than previous years, flowing and with a great team of marshals out there that kept the hard bits going and left the riders feeling safe that they were never far from help should there have been call for it.

With people arriving from Friday afternoon onwards the atmosphere at the D2D is a real family one, with caravans, tents and motor homes all setting up next to one another in the huge hard standing paddock, ready to take on the gruelling time ahead. This year in it's fifth running saw Mr Plumb organise great healthy food options for the riders, not just your burgers and chips but real salads and jacket spuds etc as alternatives, music in the massive marquee over the weekend, guest speakers and much more…all this and he still had the longest enduro in Britain to run. Scoring the event was handled by the WOR Events team this year and proved to be accurate and 100% reliable with the final results being handed to Nick Plumb as the last rider crossed the finishing line on Sunday night in the dusk. You had to be there to see what kind of logistics have gone into running an event of this stature and I for one enjoyed my whole weekend there as a spectator and fan of off road.

The racing started on the Saturday with a 2 hr junior enduro for riders in group's senior/intermediate and junior. The weather was not the kindest to the youth riders and the previous night's torrential rain had left the 6 mile youth track rather wet. This did not bother the enthusiastic young boys and girls that took to the circuit and really enjoyed the event. Leading from start to finish was senior rider Matt Holcombe (left) on his KTM 125, Matt won by a clear seven minutes and has a style very smooth and mature. His name will be around in results for a long time to come. Behind Matt was a strong ride by Frazer Norrie, same laps as Holcombe and very consistent throughout the 2 hrs. Third place went to Kingsley Bower also on the same 9 laps as the top two but 5 minutes down on Norrie. The next group was the inter's and little Joe Jones stamped his authority on the class with a commanding 9 laps and enough of a lead to place him 3rd overall in the event. Behind Joe in second place was another Holcombe, this time Matt's little Brother Steve. This energetic youngster was just short of 4 and a half minutes down on the leader in his class. A well deserved 3rd place went to Jake Mercy who completed 8 laps to the leaders 9. Finally in the youth enduro was the junior class and the boys and girls with little wheels. Leading from the start and right through to the finish was young Simon Jones. Simon completed 7 laps and finished 1 lap ahead of 2nd placed Greg Pilgrim and 2 laps ahead of 3rd man Tom Ingrim. A special mention must go to "girls" that rode from a youth project facility. Riding in there first competitive event and faced by the wet track they showed true metal to finish the 2hrs, well done.

Saturday afternoon then saw the final preparations taking place for the main event, the daunting 12 hrs that lay ahead the following day. Riders had options to enter in a 3 man team or a 2 man team or those insane enough to go it alone could ride the marathon class. Roughly 7am Sunday morning and bleary eyed bikers took their machines from the parc ferme and placed them on the start line. The day that lay ahead was a pleasant one weather wise and a slight blue sky hid under the early morning clouds, however rain from Saturday night had left the track wet and slippery for the first few laps. The pro and expert 2 man teams lined up along with the expert marathon riders to be the first ones away. A short run to their bikes after Nick Plumb had sounded the start siren and underway was the 2006 12hr enduro. Leading from start to finish in the 2man category was Husky Sport, these two riders being two of Britain's current and past great riders. WEC regular and current European junior enduro champion Daryl Bolter (left) was partnered with Wyn Hughes the mid Wales enduro legend and hard event specialist. These two set the pace from beginning to end, eventually winning the event by over 17 minutes. In second place was the valiant effort of 2 motocross riders "the Cornish kings" Pete Bulley and Bradley Williams these guys were never far off the pace and had a great battle to stay ahead of the 3rd placed team "Edmondson racing/PAR homes" which consisted of recent Baja GB winner Lee Edmondson and the Cotswold enduro clubs top man Darren Carter. At the end of 12 hours the top three teams in the pro's had done 18 laps, Edmondson and Carter were eventually nearly 11 minutes down on the "Cornish kings". The clubman 2 man teams top 3 were all on 15 laps and the Bodmin Bog hoppers took the win with a near 13 minute advantage over second placed Scott and Butler. In 3rd place and just 7 seconds down on 2nd place was "Dumb & Dumber" showing that after nearly 13 hrs of competition just seconds separated the podium places in the class. 2 man sportsman teams were led home by local riders "Cardiff Volkswagen" on 14 laps and 2nd placed "m&n racing" on 13 laps. Third went to "Frank & Elvis" 40 odd minutes behind. The 3 man teams would probably argue but they had the easier day with more riders to share the pain of the longevity that is the Dawn to Dusk. The victors in the clubman 3 man was number 307, "The good, The bad and The Jehovah" putting in a sterling 16 laps and finishing over 20 mins ahead of a Swedish team called "Speedman racing team". 3rd went to the "Not Quite Aussies" who in turn finished nearly 8 minutes down on the Swedes. The sportsman 3 man team saw "Mud Life Crisis" (great name) take the spoils with 13 laps ahead of "Team Teknic" by almost a clear lap and then propping up the podium was 3rd placed team "Bike Magazine" putting in a solid 12 laps.

It's very hard to put into a race report the drama and effort that all of these competitors had to endure in this premier off road event and none more so than the brave (or stupid!!) souls that entered the marathon iron man class. 12 hrs alone on a dirt bike on unforgiving rocky terrain in the same riding kit that eats at your body after 7hrs is no mean feat. The previous 4 years of D2D have seen the unbelievable Scot Richard Hay take the win in the marathon class with no rivals. This year Richard was not present at the event and so left the door open for a new marathon iron man champion. Gas Gas UK's Steve Ireland was that man. Riding a "factory" 450 four stroke, Steve blasted to 15 laps and an incredible win considering that the WOR events man at 34 years old does not get much chance to ride nowadays with his time tied up with organising his own events and bringing up his young family. Even more flabbergasting was the fact that after slowing up slightly around the midday point, Steve then stepped up the pace towards the end and his last 2 laps were as fast as his first two. Obviously still bike fit and determined to prove the new Gas Gas four stroke reliable, Steve fully deserved his title and you could see with the tears in his eyes at the end what it meant to him to have won. " I'm so delighted i cant explain.... the bike was awesome,the track was great, i've been riding dirt bikes for 28 years and never before have I ridden for over 7hours...I did'nt know if I had it in me to ride 12 hrs. I am so so proud of myself and would like to dedicate the win to my 3 girls ..katie,faith and little georgina. i've never had to battle cramp and thirst like it..but after 6 hours my body returned to normal which blew me away and made the last half really enjoyable. i've finished over 12hrs with hardly any marks or blisters on my hands, that is a testament to the Gas GAS 450 4T. Big thanks to shirty at Gas Gas uk and also to Sandie and Angie who looked after me in the pits... I'm proper hyped... I would also like to thank.. Richard Hay for not coming and Strongbow cider and Regal Kingsize cigarettes..ha ha. Bed for a week now!"  2nd place went to Husky mounted championship youngster Ricky Mair. Early on in the first 3 hours of the race Mair tried to push 3 laps out of his Husky fuel tank and unfortunately run out about 8 miles from the pits. Resulting in an illegal refuel and the penalty of a lap docked. 3rd place went to Honda mounted David Stokes with a spirited 13 lap ride and a well deserved trophy. To take on the 12 hours on your lonesome is no mean feat and the clubman marathon victor Chris Howman fully warranted his 14 lap ride with a result that would have placed him third in the expert marathon, well done Chris. 2nd place went to Rob Thorn on 13 laps and 3rd went to Paul Doughty on 12 laps. As I said before you can't put into words what these riders achieved and they all deserve a huge pat on the back. So that's it, the 2006 Dawn to Dusk was as big and as good as ever, well done to Nick Plumb and his superb team for putting on a class event….roll on august bank holiday 2007 I say…but then again I was only watching!!!!!!!"

Youngsters fly at the Dawn to Dusk 12 hour Enduro

Results Adults Juniors Video Photos from Carl Ryan

Once again the TBM Dawn to Dusk 12 Hour Enduro on Bank Holiday Sunday, set near Glyneath, South Wales, attracted a huge entry of Marathon/Solo riders, two man and three man teams plus a record entry of Junior riders for the smaller Saturday event.

The 16.5 mile,12 hr course threw up every type of terrain the Welsh hills could muster but for once the weather was kind. Sunshine and clouds kept temperatures just right for this gruelling event.

Nick Plumb and Si Pavey, with the help of their excellent support staff, put on a great event. As expected the beer tent was packed on both Saturday and Sunday evenings and the food available from the on site caterers was spot on.

The riders moved their bikes from the Parc Ferme to the start line at 6.30 Sunday morning and the first batch, all experts, set off at 7.15am followed by the Clubman class a minute later and then the Sportsman class a minute after that.

Richard Hay in the Marathon Experts looked favourite to maintain his string of wins at this event and he didn't disappoint, finishing some 18 laps later in a time of 12hrs 2 mins with yet another title to his credit. Russ Coleman took second, finishing just 16 minutes after Richard with Lawrence Catt only six minutes behind him. In the Clubman class Team Witley Seal Blower rider Simon Beken took the honours with 12 laps and a time of 12hrs 20mins and 50seconds. Stephen Malone followed him in 5 mins later to take second place with Marathon/Cole taking third. Sportsman was headed up by Alan Brindley on 8 laps plus a minute, followed by Adam Warner in second place, with Charles Mackenzie third

The two man Experts was where the real battle began. Team Gas Gas UK made up of Paul Whibly and Andy Cripps, led from the first lap and were never passed. Whibz led off and some 18 laps and 12 hrs later took the finishing flag. The Honda Racing/PAR Homes/Fast Eddy team of Jason Thomas and Si Wakely chased hard and the gap between the two yo-yoed back and forth but eventually second place was the best they could get. The Revvin Rodneys, Greg Evans and Keith Hornsnell, were a lap down on the first two but held on hard for their third place spot. The Yammie Dodgers took fourth some 16 minutes later, followed by Team Beta UK, consisting of Steve Ireland and Dan Hemingway, who were paired up at last minute and took a creditable fifth place

Blonde Moment Racing, Andrew Davies and Simon Hogg, led the Clubman class in the two man event. 13 laps plus 6 minutes saw them take the class win just a minute ahead of The Crown team of Neil Brown and Kevin Ashton in second. Worcester Wanderers Ian Jackson and Paul Dutton took third.

The Sportsman class belonged to Team OTT, Dan Withernshaw and Ben Metcalf with 9 laps under their belts. Seal Moto trailed them in by 4 minutes to take second with Mark Leonida and Kevin Blowers taking third.

In the three man event the Magic Muppetts were flying. Fifteen laps for Rowe, Turner and Dunn was quite and achievement. TSL Oban had come a long way to participate and it paid off with a solid second place for Chris Hamill, Rob Harper and Shaun Sinclair. Baldwin Chester and Walker of OFYC XXXX clocked up 14 laps and 21 minutes to take third. Wincanton Print team, Jeff Goss, Mike Stringer and Steve Taylor took fourth just 9 minutes behind with the TBM magazine, also on 14 laps, team grabbing fifth.

Saturday's Youth event saw Matt Holcombe take the Seniors class, Joe Jones won the Intermediates and Steve Holcombe the Juniors. The weather was foul, it poured on the start line and only eased up as the race finished some two hours later. Anyone who managed to finish deserved their medal, especially the riders on small wheelers, who must have found the going really tough in the mud and ruts.

Yet another great 12 hour event, although celebrations were somewhat muted after such a long ride, most were just thankful to finish in one piece.

GasGas press release

Team GAS GAS UK Rider PAUL WHIBLEY (EC250) teamed up with GAS GAS/KB racing supported rider ANDREW CRIPPS (EC300) for the TBM sponsored 12hour race in South Wales on Sunday and won, beating the Honda Racing/Fast Eddy team of Si Wakely and Jason Thomas.

Current FAST EDDY RACE SERIES (joint) leader, Paul Whibley excells at the 'hare n hound' kind of events where his overall speed and fitness really does impress, as does Crippsys, but with Andrew anything can happen !! We all know Andrews ability on a bike is indeed impressive but to ride in control and out of trouble for 6 hours is questionable! Nevertheless he did not disappoint and thoroughly deserved the win. Special thanks goes to Craig Chadwick from KB Racing for preparing Crippsys EC300.

Andrew can now add this fantastic win to his numerous W.O.R wins. We now need to see if Andrew can handle his new superstar status!!

Well done Lads !

Results  Photos available from foto-x

D2D 2004

The 3rd annual Dawn To Dusk 12 Hour Enduro took place on Sunday 24th August near Glynneath in South Wales. The weather was poor & squalls of rain overnight ensured that the riders would not be troubled by the dust of previous years. At 6.45am the gloom was brightened by the twinkling lights of the bikes in the Parc Ferme rumbled into life. By 7am the field was lined up at the start in ranks of Pros, Experts, Club & Sportmen. Richard Hay had once again traveled down from Scotland to defend his Ironman title but Lee Walters had set himself a real challenge by entering the Marathon class on a 650 BMW. Patsy Quick was also making a day of it. The start was delayed by 25 minutes while the opening marshals replaced tape that had been blown down in the night. The course uses 18 miles of a network of tracks - on a reclaimed slag heap - that threads it's way between blocks of young conifers. It is more difficult to mark than mature forestry or open going & - with such an intricate course - the marking must be spot on. By 7.25am the starters - Si Pavey & Nick Plumb - had got the all clear & they flagged the field away in Le Mans style. Huskysport rider Daryl Bolter was the first off the line. Daryl is in the ISDE Junior Trophy team. He was teamed with ISDE Team England rider Chris Hockey - who won the 2003 D2D with Wyn Hughes. By the man-made jump - a quarter of mile from the start - the lead had been taken by Cyril Despres - who was competing in a team with fellow Dakar rider Alfie Cox from South Africa - & Despres had extended his lead by the end of the first lap. Chris Hockey was 2nd & Mark Jackson was 3rd for the Dumb & Dumber team with Woody Hole. Sportsman Colin McCaughey had bad luck when he was forced to retire on the first hill when he was struck by another rider & broke his KTM radiator. As the rest of the competitors completed their first lap. the gaps between the riders suggested that Colin had missed out on some demanding going. Following the check, the riders had the option of "pitting". The pits were very professionally laid out with neat rows of gazebos. Team strategies began to emerge. At the end of lap 1, Despres swept passed grabbing a fresh pair of goggles on the fly. Daryl Bolter was second. The Woody Hole/Mark Jackson team were 3rd. Honda Racing's Fast Eddy rider Paul Whibley(NZ) finished the first lap in 4th & then stopped for a long chat with team mate Simon Wakely - another Trophy Team member. The conference was clearly fruitful as the team went on to win the event with 19 laps (4 laps less than last year's winning score). Hockey & Bolter finished second. The international team of Cox & Despres were third. The Jones brothers - Rowan & Dylan - who are also bound for Poland reveled in the difficult conditions to finish 4th. Finishing in 8th place Richard Hay retain his Ironman title with 17 laps. Results Overall Lap Class Photos

HRFE riders Paul Whibley and Si Wakely win UK's biggest enduro Honda Racing Fast Eddy press release by Jonty Edmunds

Honda Racing Fast Eddy team mates Paul Whibley and Simon Wakely claimed overall victory at the third annual running of the Dawn to Dusk 12 hour enduro finishing the gruelling day-long event just over one-minute ahead of their nearest competitors. Mounted on Honda CRF450 and CRF250X machinery respectively, Paul and Simon topped the near 600 rider entry completing 19 laps en route to their hard fought win. But things didn't start well for the pair. With Whibley opting to start first, the New Zealander was forced to pit after just one lap due to having lost his goggles early in the race. Resulting in Si being forced to try and chase down the leading riders, the pair found themselves playing catch up for much of the opening two hours of the race. Thankfully, due to some solid riding and the fact that several sections of the course became blocked during the opening laps, the pair managed to get themselves back in contention for a top three position. Pitting to change riders on different laps to most other teams due to their enforced early stop, the pair then pushed hard during the mid-section of the race to move to the front and open up a small but important lead. During the closing stages of the race HRFE youngster Simon Wakely came close to handing the lead back to Husky Sport rider Chris Hockey as his CRF250X took in water and cut out temporarily on more than one occasions. Causing a few anxious moments for Si, a sizeable crash during the dieing stages of the race came close to ending the HRFE rider's chances of victory. Blinded by the setting sun, Si parted company with his bike in spectacular style but still managed to make it back to the pits for his final hand over to Whibley in the lead. Knowing that conditions were drying but becoming tricky because of the failing light, Paul Whibley held his nerve and shrugged off a last lap challenge from Chris Hockey to end the competition just over one-minute clear at the end of 12 hours of racing. Normally mounted on two-stroke machinery in both British and World Championship competition, both Paul and Simon will continue to compete on Honda's CRF450 and CRF250R four-stroke machines when the pair line-up for the fourth and final round of the UK Cross-Country series this coming weekend at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire.

Paul Whibley: "I got an average start and tucked in behind the first three or four riders but then I got some water in my goggles so I had to take them off. At that point I decided to come into the pits and hand over to Simon while I sorted things out. We lost quite a lot of time doing that so we spent most of the day trying to catch up to the other riders. "The course was really tough. The rain made it very slippery in the morning and exposed a lot of the rocks. In the afternoon it dried out a little bit but it was still pretty physical. The 450 was probably the bike of choice for the event and it probably gave me a bit of an advantage. "Thankfully I didn't have any major dramas. It was pretty close in the last hour of the race. Simon caught us a little bit off guard when he came in to change over for the last time but I knew that we had a small lead so it was just a case of protecting it. The sun was getting really low at the end of the race, which made it difficult to see on some of the hills so I didn't want to do anything stupid and risk crashing. "I'm really happy with the way things went as Simon and I both rode well. My neck is a lot better than it was and my fitness is pretty good now - I should be 100 per cent fit for the final two rounds of the World Enduro Championship in October."

Simon Wakely: "After Paul came into pit after a lap it was quite difficult for me because I was learning the track and in among lapped riders while the guys I was racing against knew where they were going. I just tried to ride smoothly. With the ISDE only a couple of weeks away I didn't want to push too hard and risk crashing - it was really easy to do that. I also enjoyed riding the four-stroke, it was definitely better to be on a four-stroke because the track was so slippery and it got really good grip. "I don't really know how we caught up so much because we were a long way behind early in the race. The South African riders started dropping back, and a few other teams had some problems, and we were back in the running again. When we got into the lead we seemed to be able to maintain our position until I had a bad hour and lost time to Chris Hockey. My bike took in some water and it kept cutting out at one point. "The sun was so low during the final stages of the race that there were loads of blind spots on the track. I crashed hard nearing the end of the race because of the sun and I was lucky that my bike didn't end up on the wrong side of a fence. "I was certainly glad to see the finish of the race but I really enjoyed the event."

D2D 2003

The 2nd annual Dawn To Dusk Enduro took place on Sunday 24th August at Glyneath in South Wales &, true to it's name, the first group of riders (ranked in classes) ran for their machines (Le Mans style) just as the first rays of the rising sun struck the Start Line at 7.12am. Each riders could opt to compete singly in the 12 hour race for the Ironman award or as part of a team - riding in relay - on one or more machine. The event was sponsored by Yamaha Offroad Experience & well organised by Paris-Dakar rider Simon Pavey & his team. The 18 mile lap made the most of this 4000 acres reclaimed opencast mine. In an area with many similar brown field sites, it is a pity that the local council do not also make the most of their motorsport potential.

The weather was very warm & very dry. From the start, the riders progress through the trees could be followed by rising plumes of coal dust & at the end of the day most of them would go home with some happy memories & a touch of anthracite. Wyn Hughes & Chris Hockey won the event with 23 laps. Jason Fraser & Rob Wrayford were 2nd & Rowan & Dylan Jones were 3rd. Only one lap down on the overall winner, Richard Hay won the Ironman award. The Clubman Ironman was won by a lady - Donna Gray - with 17 laps