An all-round sort of guy!
By TMX Archives on 18th Feb 09
After Juan Knight's Sidecar victory in the Isle of Man last weekend, JD enthuses about the laid-back Manx scene... SO who won the opening round of the British Sidecar Trials Championship?
Alright, it isn't a test and I don't expect you to have read that far yet, so I'll tell you Juan Knight (with Chris Molyneux in the chair) is who. Yes, that would be the same Juan Knight who is a former solo National Trial winner and British Enduro Champ and also winner of many MX events in his native Isle of Man!
Even given Juan's extensive motorcycling background a British Championship sidecar trial win is still a hell of an achievement. Sure, numbers in sidecar trials these days are depressingly low but those who do ride really do know what they are doing. Riding an outfit is a skill that few bother to learn these days but Juan of course carries it off with the unaffected, casual air that typifies his life.
He very rarely, once or twice a year at most, digs out his sidecar outfit and I can well imagine him kicking it into life and charging straight into the first section.
Juan is, like his slightly better known World Champion brother David, just an incredible natural talent. Both Knights typify what used to be known as an all-rounder, a much rarer bird these days than in former years as specialisation has invaded the sport.
But stick Juan or David on any kind of off-road bike and they will give virtually anyone a run for their money. David was British Expert class trials champ before he went off to dominate World Champion-ship Enduro. And then won the Quad class at Weston, just for a laugh, first time on a four-wheeler! And then he went to show the Americans how to ride Cross Country as well for good measure.
It is rare indeed to have a rider such as Juan who is so universally liked and respected, anyone in the trade would lend him a bike to contest virtually whatever he wanted. John Shirt Jnr is one who has always had a lot of time for Juan who is usually seen on a trials Gasser.
Yet Shirty never even blinked when Juan took up Nigel Birkett's offer of a Scorpa for the Scottish Six Days a couple of years ago.
It was worth it to see Juan sitting under Birks' awning at the end of each day with a meat pie in one hand and a bottle of Bluebird bitter in the other just enjoying the moment. And you might even have caught Shirty sharing that moment with Juan and Birks, the three of them all enjoying what they love best!
One Gas Gas-mounted year in Scotland, Juan decided to have a race round by himself on the final Saturday. He completed the day's route in around half the official time allocated to it. Said Juan at the finish: I haven't looked at a single section all day and the funny thing is I've had my best day on observation only dropped about a dozen!
Now I'm not suggesting for a minute that every rider would benefit from not looking at the sections before riding them (although it's worth a thought!) just reinforcing what a talent the lad is.
Personally, I'd have settled for being half as good a trials rider as Juan, never mind enduro, MX, quad or sidecar...
While we are on a roll with the Manx thing I couldn't help but notice the winner of the supporting Clubman Twin-shock class. It was the evergreen Stuey Clague who these days admits to being just 65 years young.
Stuey was the Manxman to beat back in the 1970s and early '80s when I enjoyed immensely more than a few cracks at the Manx Two-Day Trial.
For several years, the Northern centre crew, a mob from the Midland centre (which included included Alan Queue Podger' Wright, Clive Charlton and Big Terry Savery) and a large squad of Manx guys somehow managed to be squeezed together in the middle of the entry where we had our own trial within a trial with lots of gamesmanship, queue podging and ribald comments as we each attempted the sections.
Stuey was always in the thick of it along with lads like Michael Owen, Sammy Ball and the now sadly departed Geoff Cannell who, it must be said, took the brunt of the stick aimed at the Manx boys from us mainlanders. Not only did Stu Clague win his class last weekend but Sammy Ball was also in the results.
I always envied the laid-back Manx scene and one-year actually investigated the possibility of
contesting their centre trials championship although I soon discovered that I would need Manx residency to be eligible. The idea was to leave a bike on the Island and then sail in and out as a foot-passenger from Heysham. The huge fly in the ointment, as I saw it, at the time was Stuey Clague and 30 years down the line nothing has changed he's still winning trials!