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

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David Knight dominates World Enduro Championship Rnd 3

KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli rider David Knight claimed two Enduro 3 class victories at the GP of Italy to extend his E3 championship advantage to 33 points over his Finnish team-mate Marko Tarkkala. Dominating the E3 class and the event on day 1 Knighter finished close to one minute and 15 seconds ahead of his nearest class rival on Saturday and 30 seconds ahead on day two.

On day one Knighter was simply unbeatable in the Enduro 3 class winning all nine of the day’s special tests, something no other class winner was able to match. Comfortably faster than his class mates on both the Extreme and Enduro special tests, Knighter extended his winning advantage test on test to claim the day’s biggest winning margin. In doing so he further extended his E3 championship advantage.

Knowing that he didn’t need to take any risks on day two to claim another win, Knighter simply did enough to open up a comfortable advantage at the head of the E3 class before then upping his pace during laps two and three. Riding well within himself, David topped seven of the day’s nine special tests to claim another 25 points.

David Knight: “Day one went really well but I didn’t know how far ahead I was because the information we were getting at the end of the tests wasn’t always correct. I just pushed on but didn’t ride above myself and at the end of the day I had a comfortable advantage over the other riders. I really enjoyed the day but it was a bit tricky early on because the tests didn’t have any ruts or berms.

“Day two was really slippery in the morning but I rode quite neat so my times were pretty good. After day one I knew that I didn’t have to push too hard so I just tried to relax and not make any mistakes. I didn’t crash all weekend but I hit neutral going over a jump on one of the enduro tests, which was a bit scary because I nose dived quite badly. As the day went on and it got drier it got easier for the four strokes. If it had rained it would have been really difficult.

“I’ve got a good lead in the championship now, which is good but there is a long way to go in the championship. I’m really having fun with my riding, like in the extreme test, which I managed to ride without putting my feet down at all on the final lap of day two.”

Bolter finishes on the podium at the GP of Italy

Husky Sport Husqvarna rider Daryl Bolter, racing for the Italian Mucci Racing Husqvarna team, claimed another WEC podium finish, this time at the GP of Italy, to strengthen his position in the Enduro Junior championship standings. Finishing in fifth position on day one following a heavy crash on the event's enduro test, Daryl claimed a third place finish on day two having been in second for much of the day. Daryl now lies in fourth position in the EJ championship standings and best placed 125cc rider.

Determined to place higher than third in class, and place ahead of the two 250cc two-stroke mounted riders that finished ahead of him at the opening two rounds of the WEC series, Bolter finished in a disappointing fifth place on day one following a heavy crash on the enduro test. With the mountainous special test far from ideally suited to 125cc two-stroke machines Daryl was unable to work his way back to a top three finish. Despite his fifth place finish Daryl was pleased with the way he rode.

On day two Daryl upped his pace and held the runner-up spot for much of the day until a small crash dropped him to third. Despite having crashed on the fast enduro test on day one the Husqvarna rider recorded the fastest Enduro Junior class time on the enduro test on lap two on Sunday.

Daryl Bolter: "Day one went well, but it could have gone even better. I finished as the first 125 but I found it hard to compete against the 250cc riders. Because there were no ruts I struggled a little bit to be competitive, I just could get the drive out of the corners that I needed. I had a big off on the cross-country test on one of the laps. I clipped a rock and got fired over the bars but it was completely my mistake. "Day two was much better than day one for me. I don't know why but I seem to be riding better on the second day than I am on the first day for some reason. I was a bit more fired up on day two and wanted to improve my result from day one. I think that I was also a little cautious of the cross-country test because in was on a fast cross-country special test that I broke my wrist last year. I tried not too worry about that too much on day two. I was in second for much of the day but then I made a mistake on one of the extreme tests and lost 10 seconds. I just couldn't pull that much time back. Apart from that the day went really well and it was good to get back on the podium."

HRFE squad tough it out at the GP of Italy

Honda Racing Fast Eddy PAR Homes riders Paul Edmondson, Euan McConnell and Si Wakely all finished the third round of the '05 World Enduro Championship held in Tolmezzo, Italy with mixed results after two demanding days of competition.

For Edmondson the first of the series' two Italian rounds saw the 250cc four-stroke mounted rider place in sixth and eighth position in the highly competitive Enduro 1 class. Struggling to feel 100 per cent comfortable on the event's three special tests, Paul was frustratingly unable to challenge for a podium finish as he had at the previous two rounds of the series. Having placed in sixth on day one, on day two Paul dropped a further two positions, again not feeling at home on the event's cross-country special test and not wanting to take any unnecessary risks.

Despite being unable to challenge the E1 class leaders on either day Edmondson claimed valuable championship points on both days but was disappointed not to have placed higher. He now holds sixth position in the Enduro 1 championship standings.

For Enduro 2 class rider Euan McConnell the Italian round of the WEC series looked like being his best yet. Placing in ninth position on day one, helped by some impressively quick times on the event's extreme test, Euan looked as if he would make his first ever podium visit on day two. Disappointingly though a minor mechanical problem resulted in the loss of four minutes, which dropped him from third to 20th in class. Despite his bad fortune the Scot impressed many, especially with his speed around the extreme test.

Competing as the third Honda Racing Fast Eddy PAR Homes rider Si Wakely had a consistent weekend finishing in 10th and ninth in the Enduro Junior class. Si now holds eight in the EJ championship standings.

Paul Edmondson: "It's been a really difficult weekend here in Italy. All riders are giving 100 per cent and if you're not on top of your game it's really difficult to finish on the podium. Day one wasn't brilliant for me although I didn't make any bike mistakes. I just struggled to get on top of my game. I tried a few different things with the bike, some of which worked, some that didn't, and ended up coming back to settings that I was familiar with. I thought that I would really enjoy the tests before the event but I just didn't feel comfortable on them. I knew that there was no point in pushing really hard on day two because all I would have ended up doing was crashing. I still rode hard but I just wasn't comfortable taking any risks, especially on the enduro test. There were a lot of riders that came away from the event hurt so to finish in one piece, I guess, is a bonus. It wasn't an easy weekend."

Paul Whibley's report

Round 3 of the WEC was held in Tolmezzo, Italy near the slovenia border. We arrived on Tuesday and began walking tests straight away. Morrie Ebbett a friend of mine from New Zealand, was over here as he is working with Suzuki at the WRC and had a few days spare so he came to the race to help out. Morrie had a rent a wreck and was more than happy to take us to the tests all week. He would have been happy to drive the > tests too but best not to! We found the Cross test. It was a nice grass test run along the side of a hill. Lots of off cambers, it looked good. The Extreme test was in a loose, rocky river schree. Not to difficult but every rock was just waiting to take you down. The Enduro test was real cool, finally a test that we could use top gear on. Half was grass and the other half was in the trees. In a few places while walking I noticed some rocks sticking out of the grass and under leaves in the trees. I was suspicious as to how deep the top soil was. The first test on day 1 was the extreme test, and one of the rocks got me. I hit the deck hard mid test, bending the bars. I had to ride the cross and enduro test with bent bars, which effected my times. We managed to straighten them at the next check, enough to be able to ride ok. As the day progressed I got used to the bars and my times improved. 13th for the day.

On Sunday, overnight rain had made the trail slippery and one rocky hill climb was removed and we went up a road. The loop was probably about 40% road, not so exciting. In the enduro test I was having some good times, but as I expected the rocks were close to the surface and many were catching riders out, making for some spectacular crashes. I had a steady day and finished 10th. Top Gas Gas in E2. It was a procession of Gassers behind me with Miska on the 450 in 11th, Helder on a 250 in 12th and Jeff on another 250 in 14th. The shit news of the weekend was Stefan Merriman had a big crash on Saturday and was taken to hospital for an operation. I haven't heard to much in detail but I think it was internal damage, maybe the spleen. Katherine and I wish him well and a speedy recovery. Till next time Paul and Katherine.

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