This weekend David Knight made his winning return to ACU Metzler British Enduro Championship action at the Bel Dyfi Enduro following his hip surgery. Following a tough season the entry list was missing a few names, like Alex Rockwell who had to miss the event due to a broken hand. Also included on the entry list were a few riders riding injured such as Greg Evans who was defending his Championship lead with a pinned shoulder after breaking his collarbone in Finland.
Saturday morning saw heavy rain as the riders prepared for the start of the event. With the riders setting off at 9am as they headed towards the first test of the day. The first test was the Dyfi test and was the longest and the most technically demanding test of the year. With extreme sections of man-made and natural obstacles with fallen tree trunks, large rocks and polished slate climbs. David Knight marked his return to fitness after finishing the first test over 20 seconds ahead of Jonny Walker in second place and then in third place is was Tom Sagar. David Knight finished the day with a strong lead of nearly 3 minutes over runner up on the day Tom Sagar. Danny McCanney finished the opening day in a solid third place to round out the podium positions. Lewis Belfield took the win in the Experts ahead of Alun Jones in second and Jack Rowland in third. Wyn Hughes secured the victory in the Veterans class and in the process clinched the 2011 Veterans Championship.
On Sunday morning the skies had cleared and its was be David Knight who continued on with his fine form by leading Tom Sagar in the opening test by over 20 seconds. Jonny Walker finished the opening test in third place. With three laps scheduled for the Championship class it would be Tom Sagar that would push David Knight closest for the win. Tom was looking good for the runner up position but he lost 2 minutes at the end of the day due to a mechanical fault on the bike. In the end it would be Jonny Walker that took 2nd and Greg Evans came home in a strong third place, which is a great result for a rider competing with a Broken collarbone following his crash at the ISDE.
Lewis Belfield was the best of the strongest in the Experts class and took the win and in the process wrapped up the Experts Championship with Joe Deakin in the runner up spot and Gethin Humphreys was 3rd. The Veterans Championship had already been secured by Wyn Hughes, but he continued to ride hard and won all 3 tests by over a minute over Paul Davies and Phil Smithson in 3rd.
The Sixth and Final round of the British Enduro Championship now moves to The Natterjack Enduro on the 24th and 25th September.