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Knighter wins
the E3 World title.
Maxxis GP of Greece
@ Serres.
David Knight celebrates his
2005 World E3 Title win.
FIM Maxxis World Enduro Championship: Round 8.
KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli rider David Knight became '05 Enduro 3 World Champion at the eighth round of the World Enduro Championship, staged in Serres, Greece, following two dominant class winning performances. Having only been beaten once this season during world championship competition, on the 13th day of the series in Finland, Knighter again performed at his best and deservedly claimed his first world title.
Knowing that he could claim the title at the penultimate round of the series Knighter started day one cautiously despite setting the pace in the E3 class. Once comfortable with his riding he upped his speed as he has at each and every previous round of the series. By the mid-way point of the race he had opened up a commanding lead. Not wanting to push any harder than needed David then slowed his pace slightly but maintained his position at the front of the class and topped the first day by close to one-minute.
Knighter blitzed the
opposition on the tests by a whole minute!.
Needing to finish inside the top three on day two to claim his first world championship title, David attacked the opening lap to open up a comfortable lead at the head of the E3 class. Deciding then to ride a little more cautiously David fell on the enduro test on lap two but remained at the head of the class.
The third and final lap of the event proved simply to be a formality for David as he maintained his lead of over 40 seconds ahead of team-mate Marko Tarkkala. Well aware that the E3 title was all but his, Knighter opted to have a little fun during the final extreme test of the event and entertained the large crown that had gathered to watch. With his mother waiting at the end of the test to congratulate him, Knighter was mobbed by his KTM team as he rode out of the final test of the event to claim yet another day E3 world championship day win but more importantly his first ever world championship title.
The final round of the '05 WEC series takes place in Italy on October 15-16
Knighter showed class action
in Serres Greece.
David Knight: "It's great to have won the title with one round to go because it means that I can have some fun in Italy now. Winning the title is something that I have been working hard to do all season so to finally be crowned world champion is fantastic. I wasn't really nervous, it's has just been difficult to know hard to push on the special tests. I didn't want to do anything stupid and not be able to win.
"On day one I settled into the first couple of tests and then started to push a little harder. I knew that I could win because I had a good lead after three or four tests. I just cracked on at a good pace and had a good, big lead at the end of the day. I really, really enjoyed day one.
"Knowing that I just had to finish inside the top three to win the title gave me something to focus on during day three. I pushed hard on the first lap and had a good lead. I backed off a bit in the second lap. Near the end of the second lap I nailed it out of a corner near the end of the enduro test in front of my mum and a few others that had come to watch me and ended up on my arse.
"I went really carefully on the last lap apart from on the motocross test. It was easier and safer to attack that, which is what I did. I knew that I could take it really easily on the final test of the race, which meant that I could have some fun.
"Winning the world title is obviously what I have been working towards all season so to have finally done it is a great feeling. Since I was a kid I have always wanted to be world champion. When I was a kid I wanted to win a trials world championship, then when I started racing the world enduro championship I wanted to win an enduro world championship. I knew from the start of the year when I was testing with the Farioli KTM team that I could win this season. Once I had won the first three or four races I knew that the title was mine to win.
"This season has been the hardest year of my life in many ways, as well as the season that I finally realised my dream of winning the world championship. Losing my father made me work harder than ever, especially during the second half of this year. I promised the ol' man that I would win the title, so this one's for him.
"I want to thank everyone that has helped and supported me this season. Not only KTM, my team and all the team sponsors, but everyone that has supported me."
David Knight world champ.
Daryl Bolter also did brilliantly scoring
two runner-up finishes.
Daryl Bolter showing real
style on awesome terrain.
Husky Sport Husqvarna rider Daryl Bolter, racing for the Italian Mucci Racing Husqvarna team, placed as runner-up on both days in the Enduro Junior class at the eighth round of the World Enduro Championship, staged in Serres. On day one Bolter narrowly missed out on the class win finishing just one second behind Australian Jake Stapleton.
Competing in Greece for the first time ever, and enjoying racing in the dry conditions, Bolter started day one well and battled with Stapleton during each of the day's three laps. With Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero having already been crowned '05 Enduro Junior World Champion, Bolter and Stapleton swapped test wins ensuring that they arrived at the final extreme test of the day just seconds apart and as the two riders to beat in the EJ class. Despite not making any mistakes Daryl found himself pushed from the top spot by just one-second following a superb ride by Stapleton. Although disappointed not to have won the day Daryl was extremely pleased with the fact that his test times would have placed him in sixth in the Enduro 1 class.
On day two Daryl was determined to reverse his day one result and claim the class win but competing aboard his 125cc machine found that he simply didn't have the power to compete against his 250cc mounted rivals. Trying as hard as he could to match the pace of Stapleton Daryl crashed hard on the final run through the enduro test and was lucky to finish the race. Despite his high-speed get-off, which ended his hopes of winning the day and saw him limp onto the podium, Bolter remained ahead of the third placed rider to claim the runner-up spot as he had on day one."
Daryl Bolter: "Day one was really good. I was disappointed not to have won the class after battling with Jake all day but I'm still really happy to have finished in second. I felt that I was riding well on the tests and I really enjoyed the day.
"Day two was also good. I was beating my test times from day one and thought that I might be able to win. I was comfortably in second but I really wanted to win so I gave the final enduro test my all. I had a very big crash, which I was lucky to walk away from. I still managed to finish in second but obviously I wasn't as close to Jake as I was on day one.
"It's been a great weekend, which I've really enjoyed. I've not really raced on terrain like they have in Greece before but the motocross and enduro tests have been two of the best tests of the season. It was also great to be a part of the CH Racing Husqvarna team, their support was awesome."
Results - Day 1
Enduro 3 class
1. David Knight (KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli) 45:50.220; 2. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 46:49.998; 3. Seb Guillaume (Gas Gas) 46:50.897; 4. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 46:59.156; 5. Mika Ahola (Husqvarna) 47:01.144; 6. Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 47:55.289; 7. Alessio Paoli (TM) 47:55.529; 8. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 48:47.974; 9. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 49:12.520; 10. Mario Rinaldi (Husaberg) 49:35.239; 11. Michal Rudolf (KTM) 51:19.877; 12. Jakud Horak (KTM) 55:04.536; 13. Nikolaos Mpourtzopoulos (Gas Gas) 55:15.871; 14. Tobias Auerswald (Husqvarna) 55:16.441; 15. Spiros Stamatopoulos (KTM) 1.02:00.947
Enduro Junior
1. Jake Stapleton (TM) 47:50875; Daryl Bolter (Husqvarna) 47:52.031; 3. Oriol Mena (Gas Gas) 47:59.552; 4. Joakim Ljungren (Husaberg) 48:14.786; 5. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 49:15.441; 6. Julian Dubac (Husqvarna) 50:13.771; 7. Mike Kock (Honda) 50:36.245; 8. Juras Dozza (KTM) 51:26.118; 9. Richard Wressel (Husaberg) 52:34.813; 10. Patrick Wikman (KTM) 53:31.253; 11. Lukas Sedacek (KTM) 53:55.341; 12. Loannis Tridas (KTM) 55:17.888
Results - Day 2
Enduro 3 class
1. David Knight (KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli) 53:20.665; 2. Marko Tarkkala (KTM) 54:09.540; 3. Xavier Galindo (KTM) 54:17.992; 4. Mika Ahola (Husqvarna) 54:21.178; 5. Seb Guillaume (Gas Gas) 54:54.184; 6. Alessandro Zanni (Honda) 55:30.486; 7. Alessio Paoli (TM) 55:35.845; 8. Marcus Kehr (KTM) 55:54.306; 9. Vita Kuklik (KTM) 56:09.005; 10. Mario Rinaldi (Husaberg) 57:46.110; 11. Maurizio Magherini (Beta) 58:11.607; 12. Michal Rudolf (KTM) 59:14.839; 13. Jakud Horak (KTM) 1.03:20.976; 14. Tobias Auerswald (Husqvarna) 1.04:33.415; 15. Nikolaos Mpourtzopoulos (Gas Gas) 1.07:10.271
Enduro Junior
1. Jake Stapleton (TM) 54:47.284; 2. Daryl Bolter (Husqvarna) 56:22.128; 3. Oriol Mena (Gas Gas) 56:22.307; 4. Joakim Ljungren (Husaberg) 56:25.458; 5. Julien Dubac (Husqvarna) 58:24.543
6. Juras Dozza (KTM) 58:59.663; 7. Marc Bourgeois (Husqvarna) 59:40.069; 8. Mike Kock (Honda) 1.00:07.289; 9. Richard Wressel (Husaberg) 1.00:32.782; 10. Lukas Sedlacek (KTM) 1.02:50.591; 11. Loannis Trigas (KTM) 1.05:09.303
Report: Jonty
Edmunds
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DirtyBiking 2005. Not to be
reproduced without prior permission.
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