Race promoter Steve Ireland excelled himself putting on the UK's most spectacular Extreme event ever - the 2006 KTM sponsored Tough One enduro at Nantmawr Quarry near Oswestry on Saturday 21^st January.

It was easy to find great viewpoints to watch the action.

The 2 hour race was staged over a 3 mile course featuring the most horrendous obstacles any dirt bike rider would ever wish to see - outside of a world trials round, which provided the most exciting entertainment British Enduro fans could ever hope for!

Although the 20 rider championship line up - who were racing for their share of the £2,500 purse - featured some top trials aces, noticeable by their absence were the lack of any MX heroes. Mind you after inspecting the track close up, I am not sure if any would have been able to complete a lap!

Mick Irving dropped his wheel into the lorry tyre section.

The two hour battle, - for that is what it was, saw the 27 year old Manxman David Knight reign supreme. Despite the fact that he had to scale a 40 foot high cliff face - all togged up in full riding gear and then sprint 200 yards to reach his bike - and that was after the rest of the championship riders had already gone. Apparently this was to give the rest of the field - including ex-world champ Paul Edmondson, a bit of a chance!

Riders faced this after the first turn hairpin turn.

The start flag dropped and the top boys shot off like high velocity bullets from a machine gun. One moment poised in dead silence with legs held high above their kick starts and in the next, a roar of sound echoed wildly around the huge quarry as the first wave disappeared, creating a cloud of flying dust and debris as they raced toward the first turn - and a 75ft almost sheer drop.

After dark good lights were really necessary.

Meanwhile an out of breath Knighter was just cresting the quarry climb, which he had scrambled up using every bit of strength in his limbs and was now running flat out toward his KTM and trying to reach it before the expert group got started one minute later. Completely exhausted he now threw his leg over his race bike and was almost to tired to start it. He later said "I was so tempted to just sit there and let the experts go first I was that tired".

Never the less David kept his race head, fired the bike up and chased hard, just managing to stay in front of the fresh keen experts determined to real him in.

Dropping into the valley of darkness.

It seemed like only a few moments before David Knight had caught the championship tail enders, as many were still struggling and collecting serious bruises trying to cross a pile of rocks which looked as if they had been left over from building Stonehenge.

Night jumping by candlelight anyone!

The severity of the superb track can not be overstated - it was that hard! All the track was within easy viewing reach and spectators were treated to spectacular sights. Clammering from one exciting part to another - to see the worlds best. Many of whom were looking like they were just beginners. Yes its true, seeing our heroes endoing and looping, high siding it on massive fallen trees and rock piles was almost to much to bear, - but it was a truly awesome sight.

Just how do you deal with this? (Carefully !!!)

Paul 'Fast Eddy' Edmondson has taken the early lead from Wayne Braybrook - but only just. Wayne was determine not to let the Ex-World enduro champ and trials ace get away and stuck within a few feet of his tail for lap after lap. As riders tired early coming to grief every few hundred yards on one obstacle after another, it wasn't long before all round dirt bike star Knight fought his way through the pack.

...and its even worse at night!

He rode so smooth his speed and ability was totally deceptive. Within a very short time he had fought up to third spot and then tackled Braybrook and Edmondson to take the lead.

Many experts looked as if this course was just out of their league, but all fought bravely determined to do well despite crash after crash. Those with trials skills definitely had a huge advantage, but the biggest surprise of the day was an unknown to me - Downhill MB star Rob Warner, who was charging through the pack like a dose of salts, especially on the old disused downhill mountain bike section packed with table tops, kicker jumps and berms like a downhill bobsleigh run. But this time he was doing it all 'Up-Hill'!

David Knight 01 passes behind Rob Jones 24 on a loose climb.

As dusk fell the big floodlights came on to illuminate a the most spectacular obstacles featured near the car parking areas. Not a single spectator was bored, there was just so much to see. But not necessarily so for some of the riders, whose 'lighting equipment' - I use that term loosely, was rather inadequate.

Uphill through the woods at night - it was great to watch.

Not so for Knighter however, as his multi-light setup made it seem as if he had brought the daylight along with him. Although out on the mountain it became difficult to read numbers, it quickly became apparent who was who by their lights. The best setups were multiple lights on the bike pointing wherever the front wheel pointed - which is not always forward on a dirtbike. Combined with multiple lights mounted on the riders helmet, so wherever the rider turned their head, a strong beam of light focused to show up all possible ruts, roots and 'other' obstacles (think fallen riders, dead bikes and broken bodies, etc.).

Riders wait to face the 'Root of all Evil' - which swallowed Fast Eddy!

In the darkness the crash rate started to rise quite dramatically. Quite frankly some racers must have been eating carrots for weeks to see at all judging by the dim glows that emanated from the front of some machines. Not to mention dirt covered lenses and those unlucky enough to have crashed and smashed nearly all their lights off - leaving only the glow of a dim indicator to find their way around.

'Interesting' sections had been humorously titled 'Alligator Pit' and 'Root of all Evil' etc., which made onlookers smile with glee, but as you can imagine the racers smiled slightly less when they arrived to see mayhem and turmoil in these deep places after dark!

Lights who needs em! - only one helmet light left - Caution needed.

Seeing the best in the world stuck on an evil narrow winding root infested hill, brought home the reality of how difficult much of this course truly was. To see David Knight fail whilst trying to avoid scattered bodies and bikes and try again and again put things into perspective. It was this part that I think finally put paid to Paul Eddy's race while still lying in second behind Knighter. Many spectators had got involved in trying to hoist bikes to the top. So capable stars were not only trying to make the difficult climb - which was bad enough anyway. But were also trying to weave around bikes, riders and spectators who were swarming like ants almost everywhere - all trying there best to help.

Steve Ireland had arranged a few small twigs to add interest.

But Paul using all his trials skill had seen another line and had got past the worst of it, when forced to suddenly swerve to the right. Unfortunately this part of the quarry was never intended to be ridden, so in almost pitch black darkness Paul and bike were seen disappearing over a rather nasty tree infested precipice - not upright!

Approaching unknown obstacles in the dark needed great caution.

At the time with all the other chaos and excitement we never gave it another thought, but quite a few of realised we never saw him again. So I hope he is not still there somewhere! And if you did finish Paul I apologise. In trying to get this report up quickly for everyone to enjoy, I do not yet have full details of all finishers.

At the end of what seemed like two very short hours for spectators - but two incredibly long hours for the riders, the 2006 Tough One had finished and a triumphant David Knight took the podium top spot with a huge round of applause from everyone. Wayne Braybrook stood next to him for a well deserved second place finish and a rather surprised Euan McConnell was beckoned onto the remaining thrid place podium. When interviewed Euan said "I had no idea I was doing so well. In the first hour I just kept crashing and falling off at every obstacle I saw. I realised that I had started to smooth it out and pick up the pace, but wow." At this point the commentator made some jokingly derogatory comment about Euan's support crew not doing a good job at keeping him informed.

Si Wakely, just one of the many who decked 
it here. This time it was his turn.

Everything about this event was larger than life and well worth the nine hour round trip to watch. I can not emphasise what a stunning job Steve Ireland had done putting this event on. It must be the best spectator event ever seen in the UK. To think that the BBC and ITV sport channels missed out on filming this one is a great loss to millions of TV viewers in this country - and world wide.

Rob Wrayford put up a good fight on his new KTM, - along with 
most of the entry, he looked very tired after 2 hours.

With only a few strategically placed cameras this event could have been so easily filmed really well and it would have made the best Extreme sport spectacle that the main channels would have ever shown.

I personally want to congratulate Steve and his team for doing such a brilliant job.

If I was asked:
Could anything be done to improve it? I would like to make only one small suggestion - Could next years event, please be three hours long!

I know the riders will kill me for suggesting it - but two hours in daylight before the hour of darkness would enable spectators to get around and see even more of the track.

Final Thought:
Someone commented that a trials bikes may have been a better machine for the job, on circuit with this level of difficulty. H'mm, will we see a trials entry next year I wonder?

AWESOME !!!                                            RESULTS

Report and Photos - Adrian Harris (Biker)