Hafren prepare for world aces
By TMX Archives on 18th Jun 08
WITH a little over ten weeks to go, Hafren Dirt Bike Club members are busy preparing to host the fifth round of this year's Maxxis World Enduro Championship in the mid Wales town of Llanidloes. The Hafren Forest will provide the main backdrop for the event, which will be familiar to Enduro fans, as it has staged numerous British Enduro Championship events over the last decade.
Event HQ will be Llanidloes Rugby Club playing fields 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 paddock will resemble a World Motocross Championship paddock 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 an Extreme Special Test. Riders will complete three 52km laps of the Hafren Forest, including the special tests, per day. Many new rides have been found in the forest with the inclusion of some old tracks.
The course promises to challenge the world's best riders with lots of traditional Welsh forest-type going. The Husqvarna Motocross test will be ridden at the beginning and end of each day and is only a stone's throw from the paddock.
This test has been used in recent BEC rounds and the EEC round back in 2005. It is on rolling fields right on the banks of the River Severn, with some natural and man made jumps, with fast flowing turns.
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 Test.
Much of the special test action will take place at Glynhafren Farm – home of the Joneses. The KTM Enduro Test will take place at the farm on an area that has been used for previous BEC events. Slippery off-camber turns and plenty of up and downs will be something new to a lot of the southern European based riders, more used to dust and rocks.
The BMW Extreme Test will take place in a small forest just a short walk from Glynhafren Farm and the Enduro test. This will really test riders' technical abilities, with really slippery rocky climbs, tree roots and a killer stream-bed.
Towards the end of the test will be a man-made boulder and log section. This should be a real draw for 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 Farm only six miles from 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 DBC 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 its new 450 enduro bike.
It's great that there are companies outside motorcycling that have a passion for Enduro sport with GT Wall and Sons building contractors and Geothermal UK, an environmental energy company. Mark Molineax of GT Wall and 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.
The club has had some fantastic support from our other sponsors, namely the 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.