Fast and furious racing at BSEC Rnds 3&4
Perfect weather and ideal track conditions ensures exciting
weekend of racing at Llangrove
In complete contrast to the wet and washed out opening rounds of the ’11 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship rounds three and four of the GMC Events organised series saw perfect track and weather conditions ensure enjoyable and close competition in all classes. With a fast and flowing cross-country style course bathed in sunshine throughout the two days of racing David Knight dominated the Elite class while top honours in the Under 19 class were shared by Australian Ben Burrell and Manx youngster Jamie McCanney. Danny McCanney, Jamie’s older brother, enjoyed a double Under 23 class win while Tyson Maytom-Jones hit double top in the Expert class…
Close to two minutes ahead of his closest competitor in the Elite class at the end of the third round of the ’11 BSEC series David Knight showed the kind of form he’s hoping will carry him to Enduro 3 World Championship glory this season. Muscling his factory KTM around the picturesque Llangrove circuit, Knight again topped the result sheets on day two finishing one-minute clear of Greg Evans while extending his lead at the top of the championship. With Evans riding to two deserved runner-up results third went to Si Wakely at round three, followed by Daryl Bolter, Tom Sagar and Paul Edmondson. At round four it was Sagar who behind Knight and Evans rounded out the top three followed by Bolter, Wakely and Edmondson.
With hard fought racing in all classes Aussie rider Ben Burrell came out on top in the Under 19 class at round three, finishing ahead of Jamie McCanney. With McCanney making a costly mistake on lap four, which cost him the win, Burrell finished just under 20 seconds clear at the top of the class. Third went to Steve Holcombe with Jack Rowland, Jordan Scott and Joe Jones rounding out the top six. Round four saw Jamie McCanney claim the win, placing just five seconds ahead of Burrell. Irishman Jordan Scott improved his round three result to claim third overall and best 125cc rider ahead of Jack Rowland, Steve Holcombe and Joe Jones.
One of the strongest and most consistent performers at rounds three and four of the Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship was Danny McCanney. Winning the highly competitive Under 23 class on both days, Danny was the second overall fastest rider to David Knight on four laps at round three. Eventually placing over one-and-a-half minutes ahead of his nearest rival, at round four he again topped the result sheets to complete a near faultless weekend of racing. Australian Josh Green made a solid UK debut finishing second to Danny on both days as he returns to form following a shoulder injury. Jonny Walker, Alex Rockwell, Matt Moffat and Ashley Wood rounded out the overall Under 23 class top six at round three while Rockwell, Walker, Moffat and New Zealander Jason Davis were the top six finishers at round four.
Battle for the top spot in the Expert class focused around two riders – Tyson Maytom-Jones and Wyn Hughes. Failing to perform at his best at the opening rounds of the series Maytom-Jones claimed a double class win with a convincing victory at round three but then having to fight all the way to the very last special test of round four to claim the narrowest of winning margins. Wyn Hughes was the rider pushing Maytom-Jones the hardest with the pair followed home by Steve Hunt, Derek Brawn and Oliver Hart at round three and Hart, Hunt, Brawn and Richard Ely at round four.
Paul Davies claimed a convincing Clubman class win at round three, finishing ahead of Alastair Millar, Jamie Jenkins and Daniel Alldred. Repeating his victory at round four Davies was followed home by Steve Biddle, Ian Smart and Alastair Millar.
The 2011 Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship returns to action over the weekend of April 30/May 1 with rounds five and six taking place at Rogers Hill raceway in Dorset.
Jonty Edmunds – BSEC Events Director: ‘After the horrible weather conditions at the second round of the championship it was great that we were finally able to enjoy two days of fantastic racing. The great course at Llangrove added to the dry weather ensured perfect track conditions, which lead to some amazing racing in all classes. Moving from a forest course to a farmland cross-country track ensured things were very different to the first two rounds, allowing a few new names to appear further up the results. Also, running a round of the BSEC in a not before visited part of the country worked out extremely well.”
John Collins – ACU Trials & Enduro Chairman: ‘It’s been another fantastic event with the great weather ensuring an enjoyable two days for all concerned. Just as at the opening rounds of the series it was once again clear that we have some fantastic emerging talent in a number of the BSEC classes and with the international enduro series’ soon starting the event was unquestionably the best training possible.”
David Knight, KTM, Elite: “It’s been a good and fast weekend, and a great final shake down ahead of the first Enduro World Championship race. The track was good – pretty fast in most places but it got rough towards the end of the first day, which I really liked. It was the kind of track where it was hard to make time but it was easy to lose time. 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. All of my times were consistent and I had six good laps. We made some changes to the bike before the race, which is now the final specification for world championship, and we didn’t change it once. I feel really confident on the bike now.”
Ben Burrell, KTM, Under 19: “I crashed in the first three laps on day one, which obviously wasn’t the best start to the event. But I managed to work my way up to first, so that was good. I was a little slow to get going on the first lap on the second day, and then I crashed on the second lap. I managed to get going ok after that but I had a little issue with the bike on the last lap but all in all I got second so it wasn’t too bad. The track was good fun. The high-speed sections were really quick but the wood and river sections were great, nice and technical. I’m all ready for my first EWC race in a couple of weeks now, where I’ll ride a 125. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Danny McCanney, Gas Gas, Under 23: “It’s been a really good weekend for me. 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.”
Si Wakely, Husaberg, Elite: “I’m really happy with my performances, especially on day one. I was a little surprised really with how well things went, but kept pushing hard to hold onto my positions. I started thinking more about not falling off rather than trying to go faster at round three, which I think is because I’ve not done that many races yet this year. I felt really comfortable on my bike and didn’t make any mistakes. Yeah, day one was a great day. I had one test on day two where I fell off twice. I still managed to get a top five result but those couple of mistakes cost me a better result. All in all it’s been another great weekend for me. I’m really happy.”
Jamie McCanney. KTM, Under 19: “Sprint enduro racing is still fairly new to me so every time I go out I learn something new. But I had a really good weekend. The first day was going really well until I made a stupid mistake and lost half a minute or so in one test. I got stuck on a riverbank and had to have a second go at it, which lost me the time. I managed to get second place with a good last test, so I was happy with that. I tried to learn from my mistakes on day one and made sure I was more consistent, which worked out well. I managed to win the Under 19 class, so I’m really pleased with that.”
Greg Evans, KTM, Elite: “I managed to put in a great first test on day one, which set me up well for the day. My second test was ok, but then I fell in both of my next two laps. I managed to hold on to the runner-up spot even with my crashes, which I was pleased with because it showed that my speed was good. I wasn’t too far away from David on the first couple of laps so I was happy with that. I liked the track in the opposite direction on day two and managed to take a few seconds out of the riders in third and fourth with a good first test. I crashed then on the second, third and fourth tests but again held on to the second position. The rest of the day went well and there was no way I was going to catch David so I just rode safe and took second again, which I’m really pleased with. It was a great weekend and the track was superb.”
Josh Green, TM, Under 23: “I was a little nervous before the start if I’m honest because this was my first race here on the UK mainland. I’ve not been on a bike for five weeks because of my shoulder problem but everything went well. My body’s a bit sore now but I really enjoyed the weekend, it was a great event. I got caught up with few riders on the opening laps and made a few mistakes but after that I got going and ended up second in class, which was good. Day two went well. I only crashed once but I was feeling tired because of not riding much lately. I got second again and without my mistake wouldn’t have been too far off the class winner so I’m happy enough. It’s been a great work out ahead of the first world championship race and I’m really pleased to finally be racing in the UK.”
Daryl Bolter, KTM, Elite: “The biggest thing for me is that I rode like I know I can this weekend. The first two rounds of the series weren’t good for me, I just didn’t ride like I can, so to get back on the pace here was great. It was just one of those off weekends. But I felt much better here and it showed in my riding. It definitely helped being on a bigger bike here but I rode well, which I’m happy with. I didn’t crash all weekend and although I made a few small errors all laps went well. Overall it’s been a very good weekend for me. I’m glad to be back on form.”
Alex Rockwell, Husaberg, Under 23: “It’s been a bit of a mixed weekend for me. I hit a tree on the first lap on day one and got it wedged between my front wheel and the engine. I was there for over a minute. I had to spend the rest of the day playing catch-up after that. The second day started really well and I managed to get some good times in but a few mistakes towards the end of the day cost me. Fair play to Danny and Josh as they were both really on it, but it was a good day and I really enjoyed it. The track was fast but I enjoyed it, it was certainly different.”