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Its a
tough ride @ BEC round 1.
Brandon Park Enduro.
Winners Left to Right:
Jake Stapleton 3rd, David Knight 1st, Paul Edmondson 2nd.
Report &
photos by
Jonty Edmunds
Reigning FIM Enduro 3 World Champion David Knight claimed a
convincing win at the opening round of the '06 Motul British Enduro
Champion, the Diss MCC Ltd Brandon Park Enduro, where he finished 54
seconds ahead of runner-up Paul Edmondson at the end of the gruelling
one-day event. Winning each of the four timed special tests comfortably
Knighter claimed his sixth win in seven years at the opening round of
the BEC series.
Knowing that the event was going to be a challenging one for all
Knighter made his intentions of taking victory crystal clear right from
the start of the race and topped the opening special test by some 14
seconds. Going on to win the second test by 11 seconds Knighter then
posted his quickest special test time of the event on the third lap
where he once again finished 14 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. With
a commanding lead of close to half a minute David then eased his pace
during the fourth and final special test yet still managed to post a
time some 11 seconds quicker than anyone else on the final lap.
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David Knight on
the Speed Test
Chris Hockey
charged hard for 7th.
As is often the case with Diss MCC Ltd
organised BEC events the Brandon Park Enduro wasn't all about being the
fastest rider on the sandy special test. With each lap split into two
time checks, the second check of each lap became increasingly tight on
time as the day went on. On the fourth and fifth laps the majority of
the Championship class riders dropped time with just eight finishing the
day without time check penalties. With a minimum of two minutes to spare
at the end of the tightest checks Knighter finished the event with no
time penalties.
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Rider Comment:
David Knight:
"I'd say the event was the most physically demanding race I've ever
done in the Thetford Forest. I reckon it's just about the best I've ever
ridden at the opening round of the BEC as well. I was expecting it too
be tough and it was but I've really enjoyed it. It really has been a
great event and winning it is a perfect start to the championship.
"The first test was
quite tricky for me because I was expecting it to be nice and smooth and
ride pretty fast but it was already really rutted with some nasty tree
roots in some of the corners. I was quite aggressive and just used all
the berms, which gave me a good time. The second lap was much nicer
because all the berms flowed well and I was able to really get on it. I
felt really good on that test and put in a really good time. The test
got a little rougher on lap three so I decided to ride really relaxed.
It seemed the harder you pushed the worse it was. On the last lap it was
difficult to know how hard to push so I slowed my speed a bit and rode
safely as I knew I had a pretty good lead.
"The long check was
fun to ride but a bit dodgy in places. On the fourth lap it was really
tight because there were a lot of Clubman riders to get passed, which
resulted in a few near misses. I still had two minutes at the end of it.
The tight check on the last lap was a real workout, you were close to
riding flat out the whole check, for 40 odd minutes. Although it was
hard work it was really enjoyable, a great start to the British
championship."
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After competing in the event for the first time in ’05 Australian
Jake Stapleton showed that he will certainly be a force to be reckoned
with in this season’s BEC series and placed as runner-up to eventual
event winner David Knight on the opening timed special test. Determined
to top the E2 class Jake’s hopes of victory took a turn for the worse
on the second special test when he broke his left foot peg after hitting
it on a tree stump. Despite the obvious handicap of having to finish the
test with just one foot peg Jake still managed to post the fifth fastest
time before recording the second quickest time on the third timed test.
With just a handful of seconds
separating him from four-time world champion Paul Edmondson the
fourth and final run through the rough and technical special test proved
to be a frustrating one for the Aussie rider. Failing to beat Edmondson
Jake dropped to the runner-up spot in the E2 class and into third in the
overall Championship class results. Despite his obvious disappointment
Jake showed that he has the speed to challenge for the E2 BEC title in
’06.
Australian Jake
Stapleton giving it all in the high speed Brandon test.
| Rider
Comment:
Jake Stapleton:
"I managed to clear the tight check but I really had to work
hard to do it each lap. It made it a really hard race. I felt
pretty comfortable during most of the event but it has certainly
been tough, really tough. I was using a bit too much energy during
the tight check, which meant that I was getting a tired nearing
the end of it. Apart from that I’m really happy with my speed
and the way my event went.
"My first test
went really well, I think I was second behind David. But on the
second test I hit a tree stump hard and basically had no left foot
peg for half the test, which obviously slowed me down quite a bit.
I think if that hadn’t of happened then I would have finished a
lot closer to Paul Edmondson. My third test was pretty good, like
the first one, but then I blew through a berm on the last test,
which was enough to lose me some time. Everything went fine on the
last test but I just didn’t get it together as well as I would
have liked.
"Not losing
any time was a big thing and I feel like my speed on the special
tests was pretty good. If things stay the same then it looks like
being a really interesting championship." |
After
the four timed runs through the rough and rutted special test
Husky Sport Husqvarna mounted Chris Hockey found himself in fourth
position in the E1 class trailing 125cc mounted riders Jason
Thomas, Ed Jones and Andrew Edwards. But with numerous riders
losing time or coming close to losing time at the end of the
fourth lap of the event the fifth and final lap of the race was to
be a decisive one. Given just over 40 minutes to complete the 100
per cent off-road, 20 mile check Chris was one of just two E1
class riders not to lose time. With Scott Richard Hay the second
E1 rider to remain on time, Chris topped the class having
performed faster on the four timed special tests. In winning the
Enduro 1 class Chris takes an early lead in the E1 BEC standings.
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Chris Hockey in the
Brandon Park test.
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For Euan McConnell the event also proved to be a good one. Competing on
a mid-sized four-stroke in BEC competition for the first time in many
years, the Scott wanted to simply finish without mistakes. Despite his
reserved approach to the race Euan showed that he had clearly gelled
with the TM450cc machine in the few short weeks he had been riding it.
Fourth quickest on the opening and second timed special test, McConnell
placed as the fifth quickest rider on the third timed test before again
recording the fourth quickest time on the fourth and final timed test.
Reaching the end of the event’s tight check without penalty on both
the fourth and fifth laps of the race McConnell, like Stapleton, proved
to be very much on the pace and finished with a solid result.
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Rider
Comment:
Chris Hockey: "It’s
been a great weekend for me, I certainly can’t complain with my
result. I had a pretty good run through each of the tests and was
happy with the way most of them went. The first test was nice and
smooth for me so I was able to choose my own lines around it. On
the second lap it was really cut up with ruts and berms in every
corner. I didn’t ride smooth on the second test but it was
already obvious that cleaning the tight check was going to be more
important than good test times.
"Everything
went really well on the third and fourth timed tests. I’ve been
working really hard since Christmas to get fit after being ill
with kidney stones and I felt really good. I didn’t have any
problems all day. Passing riders on the tight check gave me a real
boost of confidence so I just kept pushing hard. I used my minute
on the last two laps and finished as one of two riders in the E1
class to go clean on time." |
Euan McConnel
posted 4th place overall - just off the podium.
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Rider Comment:
Euan
McConnell:
"With it being a new bike my game plan was just to make sure
I didn’t stall it on any of the test, or fall off on any of
them. I’ve only been riding the bike for two weeks so I’m
still getting used to the four-stroke. I managed not to make any
mistakes on the first test but I felt so comfortable on the bike
that I pushed a little too hard on the second lap and fell. It was
just a stupid crash in a slow corner. I calmed down after that and
just tried to ride as smooth as I could. The third and fourth
timed tests went well after that.
"I used my
minute on the tight check on the last two laps but managed to get
into a pretty good rhythm. There were a lot of riders to pass on
the second to last lap, which made things interesting, and then on
the last lap I was really tired. I’m really happy with my result
and really enjoyed the event."
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Disappointingly for the Husky Sport team, Enduro 2 class rider
Daryl Bolter was unable to take part in the event having recently been
diagnosed with having a broken scaphoid bone in his right wrist. With
the injury requiring surgery Daryl is expected to be out of action for
up to three months.
Results - Championship class
- David Knight 525 KTM 1337.83
- Paul Edmondson 250 Honda 1391.98
- Jake Stapleton 250 TM 1398.32
- Euan McConnell 450 TM 1414.18
- Simon Wakely 250 Honda 1418.33
- Wayne Braybrook 250 Honda 1447.55
- Chris Hockey 250 Husqvarna 1461.48
- Richard Hay 125 KTM 1461.66
- Edward Jones 125 KTM 1571.53
- Tim Forman 250 Kawasaki 1575.23
© Article
& Photos - are Copyright.
to Jonty Edmunds, Husky Sport, TM and KTM.
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