Thursday June 11, 2009 at 2:38pm
Round 2 European Enduro Championship 2009, Tokod Hungary, May 2009
The European Enduro Championship has certainly become a lot more competitive since the world championship became more restrictive on entries. Now there are plenty of world class riders competing in this championship. So while 18th and 15th don’t look to be the best results these were pretty good given the competition and certainly among the British contingent were very comparable.
The event of course came with the precursor of an 18-hour drive from the ferry.
The course featured a typically hard pack motocross-style test and going, with a seven minute long enduro test which was more like a goat track with some very steep descents.
Dust was the major problem for everyone on the first day – it’s dangerous when you can’t see where the track goes!
As I didn’t compete in the first round of the Championship, in France, due to work commitments, I had to start near the back of the class – which meant eating a lot of dust and almost zero visibility when overtaking slower riders, both on the going and in the tests. I did quite enjoy the two tests, particularly the motocross test which very fast and flowing and yet safe too. I started very average and steadily got faster towards the end of the day, before I stubbed my leg out on the going, twisting my knee, which became very sore. That was the only problem I had all day. I finished the day in 18th.
After overnight rain the course was in superb condition for day two, and this meant no more air filter changing too! Oh, and more grip. But then at the end of the first lap the heavens opened and the rain just kept coming. This made the hard pack trails and tests very, very slippery. This was dangerous, but I did prefer it to the dust, and with no pain coming from my knee and with no dust I was able to give the tests a much better go, and so was much happier with the my times. My only problem coming in the final test where I stalled the bike – but the Yamaha fired up straight away to minimize the damage. I finished the day 15th and much closer to the guys in front.
Many thanks to all the Brits out there helping in the service areas, awesome to have you there putting on such a crucial service.
E1 4t Class – Yamaha WR 250
Result – Day 1 - 18th Day 2 - 15th
Kiwi
Many thanks to: Team Morris Lubricants Yamaha; Yamaha Off Road Experience; George, my pit crew, and of course all my other sponsors...... Ribco racing, EMG Ford, Core, Matrix Helmets, Alpinstars, Cti, Reef, Dragon Goggles, Morris Lubricants, Acerbis, Dunlop, DEP Pipes, Renthal, Fro, Dr Shox, Rock Star Energy Drink.
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