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David Knight wins E3 World Enduro Championship with final round in hand.

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Knight extends World Enduro Championship lead with double E3 class

KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli rider David Knight now sits 25 points clear at the top of the Enduro 3 class of the ’05 FIM World Enduro Championship after claiming a double class victory at the GP of Portugal. Matching his double event winning performance at the opening round of the series in Spain, Knight proved the dominant rider in the E3 class in Portugal despite conditions being much dries than they were in Spain.

Again faced with one extreme, one motocross and one enduro special test, as well as a challenging course, it was on the part natural, part man-made extreme special test that Knight proved too fast for his E3 class rivals. Winning day one by over 30 seconds ahead of Italian Alex Zanni, Knight closest championship rival Marko Tarkkala placed in a lowly eighth position after crashing on the last extreme test of the day. On day two Knight placed comfortably ahead of Finn Mika Ahola, who in turn finished in front of Tarkkala.

Despite knowing that victory would be harder to come by in Portugal than it was in Spain, Knight steadily opened up a commanding lead on day one winning all but two of the special tests. Not wanting to take any unnecessary chances, David eased off nearing the end of the day to ensure his winning result.

Day two was close to being a carbon copy of the first in the Enduro 3 class with David only failing to win two of the nine special tests. Again finishing well ahead of his nearest competitor, Knight posted winning test times on the extreme, motocross and enduro special tests.

With two of the nine world championship rounds now over, Knight sits 25 points ahead of his nearest E3 rival with a perfect score of 100 points. Finn Tarkkala is second on 75 points with Italian Alex Zanni third on 67 points. The next round of the FIM World Enduro Championship is in Tolmezzo, Italy on May 7/8.

David Knight: “After winning by so much in Spain I knew that things would be much harder for me this weekend, they had to be. There was only one special test timed on the first lap on day one, the motocross test, so I went pretty steady and it went well, which set me up well for the weekend. I opened up a bit of a lead during the first full lap of timed tests, which was good, and just kept pushing as the day went on. I managed to open up that lead during the second lap and then as the day neared the end I started being a little bit more cautious because I didn’t want to risk damaging my bike.

“I was happy enough with the way I was riding because I was winning all the tests and able to take some good time from the others in the extreme test. I was pulling a good lump of time on the extreme test, which was good because like in all the other classes it was really close on both the motocross and enduro tests. I wasn’t winning the others by a huge amount by any means but I was winning them and not pushing too hard. Marko Tarkkala did me a big favour in the championship on day one when he ended upside down in a bush on the extreme test. I just want to focus on my own races and let the other guys keep taking points off each other. If I can do that I’ll be happy and should be able to build a strong championship advantage.

“Day two went well. I got a rock stuck underneath my rear brake pedal on one of the tests but I knew what it was because it had happened to me on day one. It didn’t cost me too much time so it wasn’t a big problem. I had good times on the extreme test again, and I also had a really good motocross test, which gave me a good lead at the end of the second lap. I was just riding steady on the last lap because I came close to crashing on the last lap on day two in Spain and didn’t want to risk taking any chances and crashing or damaging my bike. That’s the only problem when you have a half minute lead or so, you don’t know how hard to push or how steady to ride. I tried some different lines on the tests on the last lap, but they were pretty crap so it was good that I had a lead.

“My aim was to win all four days of the first two rounds of the championship, which I’ve managed to do so I’m really happy with the way things have gone. It seems like the other riders in the class are already fighting for points with each other, which helps me. I’ve got some time to practice some more before the nest round of the championship where hopefully I’ll be able to score some more good points.”

Edmondson holds fourth in Enduro 1 world championship

Honda Racing Fast Eddy PAR Homes rider Paul Edmondson finished the second round of the '05 World Enduro Championship held in Fatima, Portugal with fourth and fifth place finishes in the Enduro 1 class to now hold a close fourth place in the E1 championship standings. While the second round of the world championship was a successful one for Edmondson, the team's Enduro 2 class rider Euan McConnell had a weekend to forget as crashes and bad fortune spoiled his results. For the team's Enduro Junior class rider Si Wakely day one ended with a disappointing DNF before the youngster claimed a 10th place finish on day two.

For Edmondson day one didn't start in the best of fashions as the former four-time world champion had to battle his way back from a disappointing opening lap. 13th fastest on the day's opening special test meant that Edmondson had his work cut out as he played catch up with his E1 class rivals. Posting a winning test time on the day's final extreme test helped Edmondson move to fourth at the end of the day, just 40 seconds behind class winner Ivan Cervantes.

Day two was a similar story for Edmondson as he found himself slightly off the pace on the motocross and enduro special tests but quickest in class on the extreme test. Winning two out of the three runs through the tight and technical extreme test, Edmondson claimed yet more valuable championship points as a result. While Spaniard Ivan Cervantes sits comfortably at the top of the E1 class championship, Edmondson is just four points adrift of second placed rider, Italian Alex Belometti.

Disappointingly the second round of the '05 World Enduro Championship started badly for Scott Euan McConnell and didn't get any better. Crashing heavily on the event's opening special test meant that Euan was severely de-tuned during day one. On day two a fouled spark plug just inches inside the timing beams on the extreme special test on lap two meant that what had looked like being a promising result was spoiled.

For Enduro Junior class rider Si Wakely day one ended with the 125cc mounted rider having to retire from the event after his badly damaged chain guide eventually parted company with his bike. On day two Si claimed his highest class finish of the season so far when he placed in 10th in class.

Paul Edmondson: "Day one wasn't too good to start with but it finished pretty well, which I'm happy with. I ended up finishing fourth on day one but I struggled to get into the test in the morning. I wasn't too bad on the extreme test but the other two were just hard work. I didn't really make any mistakes but I was just a little slower than the other riders, which added up to quite a lot at the end of the day. "Day two was similar. I was riding really well on the extreme test, I won two of the three tests there, but just struggled to match the pace of some of the others on the motocross and enduro tests. Ivan Cervantes was riding really well and the rest of us are finding it difficult to match him for pace. I didn't have any problems during the weekend other than I whacked my finger on a tree near the end of the second day. It was a pretty tough race but I enjoyed it."

Euan McConnell: "The weekend's been a disaster for me really. I crashed my brains out on the first motocross special test on day one when I binned it in a big way. I lost the front end and hurt my back and I struggled to recover from that really. "I was changing the set-up of my bike during the weekend trying to find a set-up that would enable me to go quicker but day two was also a disaster because I fouled a spark plug as I entered the extreme test on the second lap. I felt quite good on the special tests after that but I must have lost three or four minutes if not more, which there's no way back from. The conditions were really tricky on the extreme and enduro tests but I liked them. It was just one of those weekends when nothing goes right."

Si Wakely: "The first lap on day one went really well but on the second lap I smacked my chain guide, which caused me a few problems, and on the third lap it came away from my swing arm completely. I didn't have my bum bag on me at the time because I was in the middle of the enduro special test, so I had to push the bike to the end of the test and wasn't able to finish the day. "Day two went much better. I felt that I was riding pretty well and I finished as high as third in class on one of the tests. I felt much better than I did on day one. I felt much more confident and I think I'm starting to get the hang of riding faster special tests and having to fight for every second. Things haven't gone exactly as planned at the first two rounds of the championship but I've learnt a lot from both events and now I feel that things are starting to come together better for me. Hopefully in Italy I'll be able to get some good results."

Two more podium finishes for Bolter at GP of Portugal

Husky Sport Husqvarna rider Daryl Bolter, racing for the Italian Mucci Racing Husqvarna team, claimed two more podium finishes in the Enduro Junior class of the ’05 FIM World Enduro Championship, this time finishing in third on both days of the GP of Portugal in Fatima.

After his mixed start to the series in Spain, where he finished outside the top 10 on day one and then in third on day two, Bolter placed as the only 125cc mounted rider to feature on the first page of the Enduro Junior class results in Portugal. Confident of a good result in the dry conditions, Daryl ended day one just 25 seconds behind class winner Spaniard Cristabal Guerrero despite making a few small mistakes. Despite his mistakes Daryl showed good speed on all three special tests.

Enjoying the technical special tests and the challenging Portuguese terrain, Daryl again placed in third on day two after working his way back from fifth in class after two crashes on the extreme test early in the day. With Spaniard Guerrero blisteringly quick on day two, Bolter placed 25 seconds behind class runner-up Jake Stapleton. Consistently quick on both the motocross and enduro special tests, Bolter again proved that he is a serious contender for the Enduro Junior title.

Despite his disappointing result on day one of the season opener in Spain where he placed in 13th and claimed just eight championship points, Daryl’s three podium visits since have placed him in third in the Enduro Junior world championship standings. 24 points behind class leader Cristabal Guerrero, Daryl is just 10 points adrift of runner-up Jake Stapleton.

Daryl Bolter: “I made a few mistakes on day one but in general it went really well. I finished on the podium with third, which always makes a race good but the course was also really enjoyable. Portugal was pretty tough in places with a lot of rocks but the course was really fun to ride, you certainly couldn’t relax too much. The special tests were also great fun but again pretty technical – you couldn’t afford to make any mistakes because there were a lot of riders that were all really fast.

“Day two started well but then I crashed twice on the second lap, which meant that I had to work back from fifth to finish third again. All in all it’s been a really good weekend. With the exception of losing time on day one in Spain my world championship has started really well and I’m really enjoying it. I’m getting on well with the team and my bike is also really good. I’m not too far off Jake, who’s second in the championship but the Spaniard Guerrero is riding really well. I’m just going to keep pushing and hopefully in Italy I’ll be able to move up a step on the rostrum.

Paul Whibleys reports on his first two W.E.C

Well already the first two WEC rounds have been and gone. When I left NZ back in January I thought I had plenty of time to prep and develop a new bike for the WEC season. In a perfect world maybe but a foot injury cost me a month of testing and racing so come the first race I still didn't know what suspension set up was best and still developing my race speed on the bike. The first WEC race in Spain was held in Gaudalajara near Madrid. Three tests. One cross test flat, really tight, rather boring. The Extreme test was in the middle of the town. Logs, bogs, rocks, sand pit and double jumps. Two big ones about 20 metres. The Enduro test was cool. A real Enduro test up and down this valley full of tussock and small bushes. Some fast, some tight, big hills, and it took two hours to walk it. Results were very average, 8th on day one, 11th on day two. It rained on Friday and the track was really wet and slippery. I didn't lose any time but many other top riders did. On Sunday times were easier and less rain meant next to no one lost any time, so results were a lot tighter. I think time was given back to the ones who had lost it anyway. The second WEC in Portugal was in a place called Fatima near Lisbon. Three tests again. One MX test, flat grass paddock. More like waht we would call a club MX flat track in NZ. The Extreme test was ok. More of a natural extreme, with rocky hills, bogs, logs and all other good things that extreme tests contain. The Enduro test was a full on MX track with big jumps. I really liked the layout of the test, but the ground was kind of gravelly and quite hard in some places, kind of like a gravel road. Results 11th on day one, 14th day two. Crap really, my test times in the Enduro test really let me down. I liked the layout and jumps but racing on a gravel road was a bit foreign and I didn't produce good times. My extreme times were good most of the time (as high as 4th) except one time where I got stuck on a log. Also I had some good MX test times but a crash here on the second day dropped me back in the results. We are back in the UK now. After the 2,250 odd km drive back from Portugal and the three weeks living in a sprinter van, (which Katherine really loved) there is a bit of clean up and sortin of gear and bike preparation to be done before the BEC race this weekend.

Results Day 1 E1 E2 E3 Junior Day 2 E1 E2 E3 Junior