Monday April 16, 2012 at 4:19pm
David Knight took another BEC double win at round two of the 2012 ACU Doodson British Enduro Championship at the Helmsley Enduro in North Yorkshire over the weekend. Unbeaten over four days of competition, he's the clear leader of the championship ahead of Tom Sagar and Daniel McCanney.
For the second round in the championship the riders were again faced with difficult wintry conditions, but true to his promise, the course set by John Kerwin stayed rideable throughout, providing a close, exciting competition. Knight (KTM) was at his best, typically over ten-seconds
faster than his nearest challenger in the test and able to gap his competition by as much as twominutes on the checks. Behind him, in close company, Tom Sagar (Honda) and Danny McCanney (Gas Gas) shared the runner-up positions 3-2, and 2-3 respectively.
The conditions made for difficult riding, particularly on the Saturday, and while this meant lost time for many, and a fair few DNFs, most riders conceded this was enduro as it is meant to be, a hard test of ability and endurance. Importantly it was a fair test both in the championship class and support classes, where early season winners Steve Holcombe (Experts) and Aled Price (Clubman) were topping the time sheets.
David Knight: “That was a good event, I reallyenjoyed it. The course held up well and the test was nice and grippy, it was probably faster at the end than at the beginning, despite the conditions.“It was a hard day on Saturday, and there was no rest,in fact it reminded me a lot of the courses we got in America riding GNCC, so I really enjoyed it. It was tight on time but I'd have liked it if they'd made it tighter still! “I was concerned it would be tough to take time out of Tom and the rest on the test, but it came and we had a lot of fun racing each other on the checks. A fun event,It was nice to come here to Yorkshire, as well.”
John Kerwin, Clerk of the Course: “The weather was against us this weekend, just before the start it started to snow which then turned to heavy rain, which made the course considerably harder, so I adjusted the number of laps to compensate. Due to the unexpected weather we had more riders with time penalties than was expected but there were still riders in every class who cleaned Saturday's times. On Sunday, in kinder conditions and with slacker times, the riders saw the true potential of the Helmsley going, with its long climbs, off-cambers and woodland trails. The test held up well and the test times reflect this. “Big thanks to Mick Seward at MPS Racing and Dave Plummer at Husqvarna for the inflatablearch and the miles of Husqvarna track tape for the special test, to Rob Sheldon of Rock Oil, to TM, and all the marshals who helped make this event possible.”
2012 ACU DOODSON BRITISH ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND TWO PROVISIONAL RESULTS
DAY ONE
Overall
1 David Knight KTM 500EXC
2 Danny McCanney Gas Gas EC300
3 Tom Sagar Honda CRF450
E1/2 Championship
No finishers
E1/4 Championship
1 Paul Edmondson Honda CRF250
2 Rheinallt Davies KTM 250EXCF
3 Jack Rowland Husqvarna TE250
E2 Championship
1 Tom Sagar Honda CRF450
2 Jordan Rose TM EN250
3 Alex Rockwell Husaberg TE250
E3 Championship
1 David Knight KTM 500EXC
2 Danny McCanney Gas Gas EC300
3 Jonny Walker KTM 300EXC
DAY TWO
Overall
1 David Knight KTM 500EXC
2 Tom Sagar Honda CRF450
3 Danny McCanney Gas Gas EC300
E1/2 Championship
No finishers
E1/4 Championship
1 Paul Edmondson Honda CRF250
2 Jack Rowland Husqvarna TE250
3 Rheinallt Davies KTM 250EXCF
E2 Championship
1 Tom Sagar Honda CRF450
2 Jordan Rose TM EN250
3 Jamie Lewis Husqvarna TE310
E3 Championship
1 David Knight KTM 500EXC
2 Danny McCanney Gas Gas EC300
3 Graham Jarvis Husaberg TE300
About the ACU Doodson British Enduro Championship
The ACU British Enduro Championship (BEC) is the premiere off-road motorcycle championship in the UK. With an officially-sanctioned 36-year history the championship encompasses the UK’s most long-standing, toughest enduros. Past champions include world champions David Knight and Paul Edmondson and worldwide enduro legend Geraint Jones. BEC enduros see riders compete for up to eight hours per day following a cross country trail according to a strict and often demanding time schedule, along the way completing special tests timed to the second. The winner is the rider who typically stays penalty free on the trail and sets the best times in the tests (the riders‘ scores being a accumulation of trail and test times – the least time wins). The BEC is governed by the ACU – the internationally sanctioned national governing body for motorcycle sport in the British Isles (except Northern Ireland).
2012 ACU Doodson British Enduro Championship
Round 3: July 14-15 Hafren, Mid Wales
Round 4: August 4-5 Dyfi, Mid Wales
Round 5: August 11-12 Llandovery, South Wales
Round 6: September 1-2 Natterjack, Hampshire
Round 7: October 13-14 SEEC, Surrey