Knight extends British Championship lead
By TMX Archives on 13th Jul 09
Kawasaki's David Knight overcame the elements as well as the opposition to extend his lead in the British Enduro Championship following the second round and a busy weekend at Knighton in Powys.
Debuting the Kawasaki KX450F in the series after winning the openinground, the 31-year-old Manxman knew he'd have a tough task on his handsand following Saturday's action which was held on very hard butsubsequently wet ground, he claimed third place following on from thespecial test whereby his choice of a hard terrain front tyre wasn'tideally suited.
However, the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki Off Road Team made someminor adjustments to the bike overnight and these worked as Sunday sawno such problems for 'Knighter' as he romped to an impressive victoryand in doing so, extended his lead at the head of the standings.
The meeting also heralded the start of further development work onthe KX450 as David will soon start using the new injection maps that hehas worked with Kawasaki on during recent testing.
David Knight: "It was good to get a proper race under our belts andwe now know what great potential this bike has. I'm very happy with theKX450F, it is a great bike straight out of the crate and there's lotsof potential still to come. We're still in the development stage andthis weekend was a tough test so to come away with an increased lead inthe championship is fantastic for both me and Kawasaki. That wasprobably the last time we'll use the bike in its standard form, I'mreally looking forward to the next developments."
Stuart Bland (Enduro Team Co-ordinator): "This weekend was a goodtest to see how we would fare against the country's top enduro ridersand with the added factor of the weather, it makes our results evenbetter. David needed some more safe points here this weekend and we'redelighted with the performance of the KX450F so it's looking promisingfor the rest of the season."
Results - Day One
1, Paul Edmondson (2257.84) - 20pts
2, Simon Wakely (2263.87) - 17pts
3, David Knight (2298.03) - 15pts
4, Greg Evans (2301.01) - 20pts
5, Philip Mcloughlin (2312.31) - 13pts
6, Daryl Bolter (2315.31) - 17 pts
Results - Day Two
1, David Knight (1622.76) - 20pts
2, Paul Edmondson (1631.66) - 17pts
3, Greg Evans (1640.07) - 20pts
4, Edward Jones (1647.37) - 20pts
5, Philip Mcloughlin (1680.89) - 15pts
6, Ashley Wood (1696.00) - 13pts