|
enduro
news |
|
WEC GP of Wales |
|
With a little over 2 weeks to go till the event the Hafren Dirt Bike Club are busy preparing to host the 5th round of this years Maxxis World Enduro Championship in the small Mid Wales town of Llanidloes. The Hafren forest will provide the main backdrop for the event, which will be very familiar to enduro fans, as it has staged numerous British Enduro Championship events over the last decade as well as a round of the European Enduro Championship back in 2005. Headquarters and paddock for the event will be based at Llanidloes Rugby playing fields on the outskirts of the town, where thousands of pounds have been spent on improving facilities. New roads and areas of hard standing have been put in place to accommodate the WEC circus. The Maxxis WEC has come a long way over the last five years which has seen the profile and professionalism of the series grow immensely with ABC Communications as promoter. Now the paddock resembles that of the World Motocross Championship with the factory teams with their big rigs and hospitality units. All the major manufacturers have factory teams entered including KTM, Yamaha, Honda, Husqvarna, Husaberg, Gas Gas, BMW, Aprillia, Kawaskai, Beta, Sherco and TM. For all WEC events there is a motocross special test, an Enduro Test and Extreme special test. Riders will complete three 52KM laps of the Hafren Forest including the special tests per day with a 10KM in and out leg and the beginning and end of the day to take them to and from the paddock. Many new rides have been found in the forest with the inclusion of some old tracks that have not been used for many years. The course promises to challenge the world's best riders with lots of traditional Welsh forest type going with a very small amount of roadwork. The Husqvarna Motocross test will be ridden at the beginning and end of the day and is only a stones throw away form the paddock just outside Llanidloes. This test has been used in recent BEC rounds and the EEC back in 2005. It is on rolling field's right on the bank of the River Severn, with some natural and man made jumps, with fast flowing turns. This test will take around six minutes for the quickest riders, and will provide some spectacular action. There will be three time controls per lap. Two of the checks will be challenging off-road with not too much time to spare, and the other will be a short control which will include service and the Extreme Special test. Much of the special test action will take place at Glynhafren farm, (home of the Jones's). The KTM Enduro Test will take place at the farm on an area of fields and natural woodland that has been used for previous BEC events and EEC event. Slippery off camber turns and plenty of up and downs will be something new to a lot of the southern based European riders, more used to dust and rocks. Some new parts of been added to increase the length which should see the top runners stopping the clock in about seven and half minutes. The BMW Extreme Test presented by TBM will take place in a small forest just a short walk from Glynhafren farm and the enduro test. This will really test the rider's technical abilities, with some really slippery rocky climbs, tree roots and killer streambed. To finish this off, towards the end of the test will be a manmade boulder and log section. We are not just talking pebbles here! This should be a real draw for the spectators. Only about four minutes in length, this will be the most demanding of all the special tests. With most of the special test action as well as the service area at Glynhafren (home of the Jones's) farm only 6 miles form the paddock it will be easy for spectators to see plenty of action. There will be a central parking area for spectators for both the KTM Enduro Test and BMW Extreme test, which will allow people to walk between the two. However there will be no vehicular access into the forest during the event. So anybody thinking they will be able to ride a bike around during the event, you will have to park up and walk. For spectators there will be no admission fee, just a car parking charge of £5 per vehicle each day and £2 for motorcycles. Spectator camping is available at the official event campsite at Dol Llys which is opposite the paddock. To reserve a pitch call 01686 412694 or www.llanidloes.com/dol_llys/index.html Hafren Dirt Bike Club is delighted with the support it has received from sponsors both within the motorcycle industry and further afield. Major sponsors KTM, BMW and Husqvarna have made a major contribution to making sure the event can go ahead. Both KTM and Husqvarna have always had strong enduro roots, but BMW have come onboard to help promote the imminent release of their new 450 enduro bike. It's great that there are companies outside motorcycling that have a passion for Enduro sport with GT Wall & Sons building contractors and Geothermal UK who are an environmental energy company. Mark Molineax of GT Wall & Sons has been riding Enduros for many years and is really pleased he could get involved. Hawk Plant Hire has kindly supplied the club with a digger which has been busy preparing the special tests. EMG and Honda will be official vehicle and quad providers to help with the setup and running of the event. TBM along with Jonty Edmunds are doing a fantastic job of putting the programme together. We have had some fantastic support from our other sponsors Forestry Commission Wales, Putoline, Electraction TM, The Awning Company, DEC, DEP Pipes, Enduronews.com, Renthal, RPA Mx, Rush Racing, Talon, Wicked Wild Web Design, B&C Express, and of course the ACU without whom there would be no world motorcycle events in the UK.
Round 5 of the Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship 19th/20th July 2008 - Llanidloes, Wales With a little over 8 weeks to go, things are really starting to take shape for the big event. As you read this finishing touches are being made to the course, which will hopefully the biggest and best enduro held in the UK since the 1983 ISDE held in Wales. Entries are now open, all British entries must be made through the ACU, any interested parties please contact Mary Kerr at the ACU on 01788 566400 or mary.kerr@acu.org.uk for regs and entry forms. HDBC in conjunction with the ACU have drawn up the following criteria for British Wild Card entries, they will be allocated in this order dependent on how many international World Championship regulars we get. They will be accepted in this order (British Enduro Championship standard in the last 3 years) Championship class, Expert Class, Top 10 overall in British Clubman Championship. Obviously there will be riders who do not fall into any of these categories but believe they warrant an entry, maybe top trials or MX riders, exceptional cases will need to contact Mary Kerr at the ACU and put your case forward, results/experience etc. Please note you will need either a full or one event FIM licence, details of this can be obtained from Mary Kerr at the ACU. This will be rare opportunity for British riders to compete against the Worlds best on home soil. Round 5 of the Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship 19th/20th July 2008 - Llanidloes, Wales Hafren Dirt Bike club are pleased to announce that everything is moving along well with preparation for this years World Enduro Championship round to be held in Llanidloes, Mid Wales in July this year. With less than 6 months until the event the club have managed to secure some major backing from both inside and outside the motorcycle industry, these include: BMW Motorrad UK, Marketing Manager Tony Jakeman stated that "we have chosen the WEC GP of Wales as the major public launch for our all new G450X which will be available in the dealers soon after the event, it's also going to be the 1st time that the BMW factory team have competed in the UK." EMG Group, Paul Ranson stated that "EMG Motor Group in conjunction with LDV Vans of Birmingham are pleased to be able to support the Hafren club with their WEC round in July. EMG is always keen to support any club taking on the organisation of a WEC or BEC events in addition to sponsoring the East Anglian Enduro Championship, Husky Sport, their supremo Mike Carter enthused that "We are again delighted to help the Hafren Dirt Bike club as they are one of the premier organisers of Enduro in this country. Bringing a world round to Wales is a tremendous outlay and achievement for the club and we wish then and all competitors a fantastic weekend. We will be selfish & pray for a Husqvarna win ! " KTM UK, MD Shaun Sisterton "The Hafren round of the World Enduro Championship will be fantastic weekend for British Enduro. It will also be an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate that we can put on a great show for the World Enduro audience. KTM UK is delighted to be supporting this event and would like to encourage all Enduro fans to put the 19th and 20th of July in their diaries". Other sponsors include, The Awning Company, B&C Express, DEP, Hawk Plant Hire, Honda UK, Putoline, Renthal, Rush Racing, RPA MX, TBM and Wicked Wild Web designs. Without companies such as these putting something back into the sport, events like this wouldn't be possible in the UK, due to the extremely high costs here. The club would like to thank all those who have already committed their support to the event, and there are still plenty of opportunities for others who wish to come on board Preparations are well under way, with the course layout confirmed. Riders will do 3 x 30 mile laps each day plus an in and out leg from the Hafren forest back to the town of Llanidloes morning and evening. The course is planned to be challenging, demanding and intense, with very little fire road and rest, in order to challenge the Worlds best to there limits. It will be loosely based upon a shortened version (due to WEC rules) of previous BEC and EEC routes, using the more difficult stuff and using much less fire road, it will certainly sort the men from the boys! Three different special tests are planned;
WEC Wales website will be live shortly, in the meantime please if you wish to be added to the mailing list to be informed when website is live, or need to contact WEC Wales about sponsorship / trade stands or any other info please fill out the Contact Form.
|
Breaking
News Red Bull are now a confirmed sponsor of the event, they made a site
visit last week and were suitably impressed, and are excited to be involved.
They will be there with, their Red Bull arches and tents, and there will be
various Red Bull promotions running over the weekend. Hafren Dirt bike Club
are thrilled to have a massive recognisable brand like Red Bull on board, it
will add to the profile of the event and hopefully make it even more of a
spectacle for the public. Entries
Open for WEC GP of Wales!
The
Husky Sport-Husqvarna MX Test, which will be close to the paddock on the
edge of the town, this will be mainly on rolling grass fields with natural ups
and downs creating some great airtime opportunities.
The
KTM UK Enduro Test, this will be situated at Glynhafren farm on the edge
of the Hafren forest where the central service area will also be, this will be
a mix of steep grassy cambered fields and open oak woodland tracks, with some
more technical sections.
The
BMW Motorrad Xtreme Test, this will be within walking distance of the
Enduro test at Glynhafren farm to allow spectators maximum viewing without
having to use their cars. This will start and finish in a quarry, and will be
a mix of natural obstacles such rocky climbs and gullys, and man made stuff
like logs, rocks, tyres etc, this will be real test of the riders technical
skills.