Wednesday March 5, 2014 at 1:28pm
Sherco Factory rider David Knight claimed yet another British Champions title last Sunday, crowned 2014 ACU British Extreme Enduro Champion following his impressive win at Cowm Quarry. Knight’s victory made it two out of two but he certainly didn’t have things all his own way and the win wasn’t in the bag until the final two laps.
Shrouded in fog, the superb views of the Cowm Quarry venue were completely obscured at the start of the day. Visibility was down to a handful of metres in places for the second round of Eddy’s X-treme Enduro as the first race got underway. The riders who made the long trek from Germany must have thought they were at the edge of the world.
The course laid out by Paul Edmondson and his crew was hard, the afternoon course was even harder with the addition of some huge loose shale climbs which were to really make their mark in the Pro, Expert, Clubman race. Even the flat going was tricky as Knighter will testify, following a high speed off midway through his race.
Cowm Quarry is a tough place at the best of times but weather conditions on Sunday made for one of the hardest extreme enduros ever to run in the UK. The fog lifted shortly after the 9.30am Veterans, Youth and Sportsman race got underway and a period of calm, at least in terms of weather, settled over the venue.
A huge line up of riders roared off the start and completely disappeared for over 10 minutes until they completed the first lap of the race.
Jack Staines had the lead off the start but serious arm pump saw him let fellow Youth class rider Antoine Criq take the lead while Veteran Karl Greenhall grabbed second place. A quick blast around the MX section at the start led riders to the first rock garden. The narrow passages halted plenty of contenders and allowed the front-runners to make a decent break. Greenhall made the most of it and pursued Criq, eventually passing the youngster to take a lead that lasted for over half of the race. Staines was far from done. With dogged determination he fought back and with just over 30 minutes remaining he re-took the lead. Greenhall had no answer as Staines powered ahead, urged on by his Dad, Keith Staines (whose lap times were only slightly less than his sons, and he was on foot!). A convincing win overall was thoroughly well deserved, finishing over two minutes clear of Veteran Greenhall while Criq, aboard his Edmondson Racing Beta, grabbed third overall.
Will Emery was third in the Youth class while Martin Sandiford grabbed second spot in the Vets while Anthony Ayrton was third. Ian McMahon was top Sportsman rider over a minute clear of his nearest rival Joe Edge as Daniel Sadler finish third in class.
All eyes were on the afternoon race battle between David Knight and KTM Factory rider Jonny Walker. Husqvarnas Graham Jarvis was out with a shoulder injury picked up while practicing in the week coming up to the event so there was an open invitation to make a top three spot for someone.
Paul Bolton was fast off the line on his Eurotek KTM and was first to clear the narrow rock garden but with Knighter snapping at his heels the inevitable happened and both Knight and Walker sped past. Knight was first to hit the huge slope and he found it was just as hard as it looked. He had to take a second run to get to the top while both Walker and Bolton had cleared it at first attempt. Walker seized the moment and put the hammer down as Knight regained momentum and a few laps later the roles were reversed, again at the big hill as Walker took a hard fall and winded himself, allowing Knighter to pass.
It seemed to be all over but Walker got his breath back and took up the challenge once again, closing on the big Manxman with every lap. Knight knew the pressure was on and increased his pace but then near disaster struck. A high speed crash across one of the flatter sections of the course saw him hit the deck hard – so hard he lost a glove as he put his hands down for protection as he fell and bent his elbow back the wrong way. Walker again took the lead but Knight resurrected himself once more, overcoming the arm pump which dogged him throughout the race and pitted for goggles and gloves. Walker continued onwards without a fuel stop but in the dying stages he paid the price.
Just metres behind Knight on the MX track his machine stopped and he took three minutes to push around the course while Paul Bolton un-lapped himself in third spot. Walker charged onwards to take second place as winner Knight admitted he ‘just rode around the final lap and got stuck everywhere’.
Bolts had a terrific ride and despite a few hiccups he got what he deserved, a podium place. Just missing out was Ben Hemmingway who pushed his Beta hard.
With great support from German riders there were a few unknown quantities in the field but Marcus Kehr was possibly the most well know with his long history of enduro successes and he did well to finish fifth considering the competitors ahead of him.
The Experts were somewhat overshadowed by events in the pro class but a real battle took place between Rich Ely and Lloyd Price with Price just coming out on top by a couple of minutes despite Elys last-minute charge in the dying stages.
The Clubman class saw Josh Law take the win. Cowm Quarry is on his doorstep and he certainly knew how to ride the venue in such tricky conditions. Henry Morehouse and Mick Boam had a real fight for second and third spots with Morehouse just taking second with 30 seconds to spare.
The weather was mixed to say the least with rain falling as the afternoon race drew to a close but it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the riders or the excitement of the crowd who witnessed a memorable battle between two world-class riders.