Elite'll Knight music
By TMX Archives on 31st Mar 11
With beautiful weather and perfect track conditions at rounds three and four of the 2011 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship the fast and flowing course at Llangrove, near Monmouth, delivered exciting racing in all classes.
David Knight on his KTM was the rider to beat in the Elite class on both days, with fellow Manxman Danny McCanney aboard his Gas Gas claiming a double Under 23 class win.
Australian Ben Burrell and Jamie McCanney shared the spoils in the Under 19 class while Tyson Maytom-Jones hit double top in the Experts on his Husaberg.
Bouncing back from his round two defeat to Tom Sagar, David Knight delivered a convincing double winning performance in the Elite class at the third and fourth rounds of the '11 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship, showing that he's up to speed and ready to deliver the goods at the opening two rounds of the upcoming Enduro World Championship.
Words: GMC Events
Pictures: GMC Events/ Llewellyn Pavey
With the fast, flowing circuit suiting the big Manxman, despite the best efforts of Welshman Greg Evans it wasn't long before Knight was sitting pretty at the top of the Elite class results at both round three and round four. Topping each of the seven timed tests on day one, Knight amassed a near two-minute winning margin come the end of the day.
Despite being only seven seconds adrift of Knight on the first test at round three of the series, Evans was unable to remain in contention but claimed a well-deserved runner-up result for his efforts. Si Wakely continued his impressive return to form aboard his Husaberg and placed third and as the highest placed two-stroke rider.
Pleased to be back on form after two disappointing results at the opening rounds of the series was Daryl Bolter. Close behind Wakely come the end of the opening day's competition at Llangrove, Bolter placed ahead of Sagar. With Paul Edmondson sixth as Aaron Poolman claimed his best Elite class result to date with a strong seventh, one place ahead of Matt Ridgeway.
Round four again saw Knight take control. A little over one-minute ahead of Evans it was Tom Sagar who claimed the third podium position, improving his pace over the opening day. Fourth again went to Daryl Bolter with Si Wakely fifth, some 11 seconds behind. Paul Edmondson matched his day one result in sixth while Mark Roberts claimed an impressive seventh with Ridgeway again eighth.
"It's been a good and fast weekend, and a great final shake down ahead of the first Enduro World Championship race,” commented Knight. "The track was good, pretty fast in most places, but it got rough towards the end of the first day, which I really liked. I didn't take any risks on the first day until the track was bedded in and then I was able to push harder and I got a good win. The second day all went well and with the track in the other direction there were more lines.”
Husaberg-mounted Tyson Maytom-Jones was the rider to beat in the Expert class claiming a double class win ahead of veteran Husqvarna pilot Wyn Hughes on both days.
At round three Maytom-Jones claimed a relatively comfortable winning margin finishing over one-minute ahead of Hughes. Steve Hunt on his KTM put in an impressive ride to place just four seconds adrift of Hughes and in doing so topped the E1 class. Derek Bawn claimed fourth overall finishing less than half a second behind Hunt. Fifth overall went to Oliver Hart while Freddie Broadway placed sixth.
Day two saw Maytom-Jones and Hughes separated by less than half a second come the end of the day with both riders giving the sixth and final laps their absolute all. Over one minute clear of their nearest overall challenger the duo were followed home by Oliver Hart. Steve Hunt again topped the E1 class in fourth overall.
Some thrilling racing developed in the Under 19 class where Enduro Sprint newcomer Jamie McCanney would have claimed the win at round three were it not for a costly mistake on lap four. Setting the pace on the first three laps McCanney finished as overall runner-up as Australian Ben Burrell topped the class. With competition fierce at the top of the class third went to the on form Steve Holcombe, who placed 21 seconds behind McCanney. Jack Rowland placed fourth overall while Irishman Jordan Scott finished fifth and as the best placed 125cc rider.
Determined not to let the weekend end without picking up at least one Under 19 class win Jamie McCanney did just that on day two finishing five seconds ahead of Burrell. "Sprint enduro racing is still fairly new to me so every time I go out I learn something new,” explained Jamie. "But I had a really good weekend. I tried to learn from my day one mistakes and made sure I was more consistent on day two, which worked out well. I managed to win the Under 19 class, so I'm really pleased with that.”
Jamie's older brother Danny was very much the rider to beat in the Under 23 class posting some of the event's fastest test times. The only Under 23 class rider to dip under the one-and-a-half hour mark at round three, Danny's pace was simply unmatchable.
Topping the E1 class and placing as runner-up was Australian Josh Green aboard his TM. Doing all he could to keep pace with the Gas Gas rider ahead of him Josh ended the day pleased with his results on his UK debut and first ride back from injury.
Enduro Sprint newcomer Jonny Walker finished third overall and one place ahead of Alex Rockwell. Losing well over one-minute on the opening test when he got his bike wedged against a tree Rocky was forced to play a day long game of catch up, eventually placing a creditable fourth. Fifth went to Matt Moffat with 125cc KTM rider Ashley Wood sixth.
At round four Danny was again the rider to beat, eventually placing almost 40 seconds up on runner-up Green. Rockwell improved his result by one place to earn third with Walker fourth and Moffat fifth. Ashley Woods crashed out on lap two and retired from the event allowing New Zealander Jason Davis to claim sixth.
"It's been a really good weekend for me,” commented Danny McCanney. "It's a bit of a shame I wasn't able to win my class on all laps as I only missed out on winning one, but I'm pleased with everything. The course was really good and suited me well and I only made one mistake on the second day, so that was good. I didn't have any major problems on either day, so it was a good weekend for me.”
In the Clubman class Paul Davies claimed victory on both days, finishing comfortably ahead of all other riders. Topping the E2 class in the process Davies was joined as a class winner by Alastair Millar, who was fastest in E3, and Daniel Alldred, who was the fastest E1 class rider.
Davies placed one-minute ahead of his closest rival Steve Biddle at round four with Ian Smart topping the E1 class with third overall. Alastair Millar was again the best-placed E3 class rider in fourth overall.
BRITISH Sprint Enduro Champs
Rd 3/4 – Llangrove
Day 1
Elite: 1 David Knight (KTM Enduro Factory Team), 2 Greg Evans (KTM), 3 Si Wakely (Husaberg), 4 Daryl Bolter (KTM), 5 Tom Sagar (KTM), 6 Paul Edmondson (KTM), 7 Aaron Poolman (KTM), 8 Matt Ridgeway (Yamaha), 9 Ollie Moyce (Kawasaki), 10 Lee Edmondson (KTM).
Expert: 1 Tyson Maytom-Jones (Husaberg), 2 Wyn Hughes (Husqvarna), 3 Steve Hunt (KTM), 4 Derek Bawn (KTM), 5 Oliver Hart (KTM), 6 Freddie Broadway (Yamaha), 7 Richard Ely (Husaberg), 8 Allyn Scotland (Suzuki), 9 James Burroughs (Husqvarna), 10 Mark Perrott (KTM).
Under 19: 1 Ben Burrell (KTM), 2 Jamie McCanney (KTM), 3 Steve Holcombe (KTM), 4 Jack Rowland (Husqvarna), 5 Jordan Scott (TM), 6 Joe Jones (KTM), 7 Joe Deakin (KTM), 8 Josh Bendell (KTM), 9 Frazer Norrie (Husqvarna), 10 Thomas Healey (KTM).
Under 23: 1 Danny McCanney (Gas Gas), 2 Josh Green (TM), 3 Jonny Walker (KTM), 4 Alex Rockwell (Husaberg), 5 Matt Moffat (Gas Gas), 6 Ashley Wood (KTM), 7 Lewis Belfield (KTM), 8 Jason Davies (KTM), 9 Neil Chatham (KTM), 10 Gareth Davies (KTM).
Clubman: 1 Paul Davies (KTM), 2 Alastair Millar (KTM), 3 Jamie Jenkins (KTM), 4 Daniel Alldred (Honda), 5 Ross Jones (KTM), 6 Simon Mackune (KTM), 7 Paul Morgan (KTM), 8 Mike Alty (KTM), 9 Christopher Lappin (TM), 10 Peter Hayward (KTM).
Day 2
ElitE: 1 David Knight (KTM), 2 Greg Evans (KTM), 3 Tom Sagar (KTM), 4 Daryl Bolter (KTM), 5 Si Wakely (Husaberg), 6 Paul Edmondson (KTM), 7 Mark Roberts (KTM), 8 Matt Ridgeway (Yamaha), 9 Ollie Moyce (Kawasaki), 10 Jon Hinam (Husaberg).
Expert: 1 Tyson Maytom-Jones (Husaberg), 2 Wyn Hughes (Husqvarna), 3 Oliver Hart (KTM), 4 Steve Hunt (KTM), 5 Derek Bawn (KTM), 6 Richard Ely (Husaberg), 7 James Burroughs (Husqvarna), 8 Allyn Scotland (Suzuki), 9 Neil Hawker (KTM), 10 Robert Lynn (TM).
Under 19: 1 Jamie McCanney (KTM), 2 Ben Burrell (KTM), 3 Jordan Scott (TM), 4 Jack Rowland (Husqvarna), 5 Steve Holcombe (KTM), 6 Joe Jones (KTM), 7 Joe Wootton (Kawasaki), 8 Thomas Healey (KTM), 9 Stuart Owen (Yamaha), 10 Aaron Smith (Husaberg).
Under 23: 1 Danny McCanney (Gas Gas), 2 Josh Green (TM), 3 Alex Rockwell (Husaberg), 4 Jonny Walker (KTM), 5 Matt Moffat (Gas Gas), 6 Jason Davis (KTM), 7 Lewis Belfield (KTM), 8 Ben Wootton (Kawasaki), 9 Gareth Davies (KTM), 10 Neil Chatham (KTM).
Clubman: 1 Paul Davies (KTM), 2 Steve Biddle (KTM), 3 Ian Smart (Honda), 4 Alastair Millar (KTM), 5 Christopher Lappin (TM), 6 Mike Alty (KTM), 7 Ross Jones (KTM), 8 Adrian Evans (KTM), 9 Craig Thomas (KTM), 10 Kevin Wallace (Yamaha).