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The final round of the 2013 Enduro World Championship was held in St Flour, France. Knighter.net Honda rider David Knight was looking for a strong end to the series as it is likely to be his final full-time season in the EWC before switching to hard enduros for 2014. With a tough technical track awaiting, Knighter was up for the challenge and couldn't wait to get going. Getting massive cheers from large French crowd definitely helped David to a great start on the Friday night Supertest by setting the 3rd fastest time. Saturday morning, and all eyes were on the weather as heavy rain was forecast. The morning was dry and David started well, fighting in the top three throughout the opening two laps. Then the heavens opened and monsoon type rain fell for several hours making the race very slippery and difficult which played right into Knighter's hands where he took the lead and pulled away from the others, securing the win… That was until he got to the finish and was told he had incurred a three minute time penalty for clocking in early. Apparently the check time at the paddock was increased by 3 minutes because of the rain but unknown to David and his team, he had stuck to the original schedule only to be told at the finish. With the penalty David was placed 8th, feeling very disappointed and angry. Day 2, and with the rain only stopping in the early hours of Sunday morning, the decision was made to do 4 short laps, only timing the short Motocross test on each lap as the FIM said the other two tests were impassable, despite the riders still having to ride through the enduro test! David started well with 3rd fastest time, then on the second lap made a small but costly mistake dropping 8 seconds. Having a decent 3rd lap and a very good 4th lap to just miss out on a podium result in fourth position. Although a little disappointed, he was glad to be back fighting at the top again. David Knight: I've been through a tough part in my career the past few seasons and it does drain you and destroy your confidence massively, so to beat everybody has boosted me up a little again. To get the penalty hurts but at least it didn't cost me a world championship title, so ill take the positives and forget about it. Sunday was a very strange day, basically they only ran the MX test 4 times, they needed to run something and that's what they done. We could have ran the enduro test also in my opinion, we rode it untimed each lap so I don't understand why they didn't just time it also. It was a bit of a lottery as the test kept on getting changed, but I was thereabouts all day, just having a bad second test trying a new line to try and make a couple of seconds up but I got stuck and it cost me 7 or 8 seconds. It might have been the difference for 3rd but I was still happy enough with 4th place. It's been a tough old season but I think Paul, Nick and myself along with everyone who has helped and supported us in any way at all has done a good job when we have had the chance so we will keep working hard and keep at it as we have other races coming up still and hopefully I'll keep getting stronger.
Knighter wins the Abbey BEC Reigning and 15 times British Champion, David Knight made a welcome return to the British Enduro Championship at the weekend by dominating both days of the Abbey Enduro in Wales. Three days after winning the Fast Eddy EnduroX, the Knighter.net Honda rider looked very strong and determined, continuing his strong return from injury by winning 20 of the weekends 21 special tests and showing that he is getting back to his old self after a tough few months with wrist and thumb injuries. The race was run over 4 laps on Saturday consisting of 3 special tests per lap and 3 laps on Sunday. Conditions were slippery and the track got very rough by Sunday's final lap. David rode very strong all weekend only once having problems in a special test when his goggles steamed up and caused him to clip a tree and crash. It was a good weekend for Manx riders as fellow Manxmen Jamie and Daniel McCanney completed the podium making it an all Manx 1-2-3. David Knight: It was my first British Enduro of the season and it was a good tough enjoyable event, for me it's what enduro is all about. The 3 special tests were all different from one another, the enduro test was almost 11 minutes long and pretty fast, the MX test was 5 minutes and a good mix, and the extreme test was 3 minutes long held in woodland terrain, very different from the other tests. I love tests like this and have missed riding them this year. I started well on Saturday and just gained confidence the more I rode. As the weekend went on we made small adjustments to the bike and I felt I made some big improvements, which is what I was aiming for before the final EWC in France. Winning the event on both days by such a large margin was nice as I've been out with injury for a few months and I was happy with how I rode. There is still room for improvement as always but the only real mistake I made was trying to go flat out with my goggles fogged up and I clipped a tree which caused me to crash. It was my own fault but everything else went great, the 450 Honda ran perfectly and I really enjoyed the event. It's a pity there are no EWC events like this anymore. I'd like to say thanks to the organisers and well done to everyone involved. Now for me I'll get ready for the French EWC where I'll aim to finish the World Championship with a strong result. Thanks to everyone who has helped and supported me.
After a couple of months lay off with a wrist and hand injury,
Knighter.net Honda's David Knight returned to race action at the big
X-Games final in downtown LA on Sunday. After collecting a bronze in
Brazil in his only other X-Games outing earlier in the season, David was
mainly looking to get back to racing, have fun and get a solid result.
David and mechanic Nick arrived on Tuesday to do some training and
testing during the week, unfortunately the bike was stuck in customs and
wasn't released until Friday afternoon, too late to do any training but
they at least got a couple of hours at the famous Glen Helen raceway on
Saturday morning just to make sure all was well. David Knight: I've really enjoyed X-Games this weekend, it was my first race back after injury and I felt pretty good in practice and my qualifying was really good as normal. I’m happy enough with 6th place in the final, I knew I couldn't push that extra few percent for the 12 lap race as my fitness is not where it needs to be for endurocross as its completely different from anything else. My bike being stuck in customs all week didn't help as I was going to train hard and get the bike dialled back in for endurocross during the week. I had to guess gearing and suspension settings for the race which hurt us a little. The track was also very different to normal as it was very supercross like with many jumps, which is something that favours the guys with motocross backgrounds, but I really enjoyed it and it was good fun, that's the thing I like with it, the tracks are never the same with endurocross. Now I can build back up to where I was at the start of the season, we have lots of races left and I'm ready to get going. I'd like to say thank you to my sponsors, and also to JCR Honda and Pablo at Del Amo Motorsports for the help they gave me during the week. Knighter Photos: Garth Milan – www.themediumcg.com
After injuring his thumb and wrist in the GP of Spain the previous weekend, Knighter.net Honda rider David Knight decided to give the GP of Portugal a go in a bid to try and get some points. After flying to Manchester and seeing hand specialist Mike Hayton on Monday, to undergo X-rays and MRI scans, it was discovered there was minor ligament damage and soft tissue damage and bruising. Despite this he decided to give the race a go and hope it was possible to get a finish. David started well on the Friday night Supertest and also on Saturday morning holding 4th position, all the time in pain and struggling to grip the handlebars. After 2 laps David decided, along with team manager Paul Edmondson, to pull in and not risk injuring himself further. It was disappointing for all but really the only option the team had. David Knight: It's very disappointing as I'm sure I'd have got a podium during the last 2 weeks if I'd been healthy but I'll get back home now and do everything I can to be ready for Romania. I'm glad I tried to race but I wasn't ready, a big thanks to hand specialist Mike Hayton for doing his best and getting my hand to where it is already in 1 week, also Paul, Nick and Rudy who all worked hard and did everything possible to make the race as easy for me as possible. It's defiantly got me trying even harder for a podium now and hopefully we can have a little luck on our side. Thanks to all the sponsors also. Just a quick message to everybody doing this years T.T, hope you all have a safe and successful fortnight. Good luck everyone. Knighter
Knighter Clean Sweep Knighter.net Honda rider, David Knight, won Rounds Two and Three of the Fast Eddy ACU NORC championship held at Rogershill Raceway in Dorset at the weekend. David won Round 1 of the series, a British Extreme Championship, back in February. Rounds Two and Three were super sprint events, which are held over 8 laps each day. The special tests were held on an excellent hard packed surface which had a little bit of everything from fast MX tracks, to woodland and endurocross. David started Day 1 by winning the first test by 16 seconds from Jordan Rose, he then extended his advantage winning all 8 tests throughout the day and took the win by 1 minute and 8 seconds from Rose, with Danny McCanney 3rd, just 2 seconds behind. For Day 2, the test was altered in a couple of places by organiser Paul Edmondson, which made the test about 15 seconds longer. David was on a mission again, winning the first test by 16 seconds from McCanney and winning the remaining 7 tests, extending his lead to 52 seconds at the finish. It made it a very successful and enjoyable weekend ahead of the next EWC events, in Spain and Portugal, in a couple of weeks time. David Knight: I can honestly say I have really enjoyed this
weekend. Rogershill is an excellent venue and gave me the perfect
opportunity to give myself and the Honda a good shakedown before the
European part of the EWC.
Knighter podiums at X-Games Brazil Knighter.net Honda rider David Knight produced a great 3rd place result at the first X-Games World Series, the first time X-Games has been held out of its birth place in L.A. It was held in Foz Do Igacu, Brazil, a beautiful part of the country set on the edge of a rain forest. With all the best Endurocross riders present from both Europe and the USA, it was going to be a very big battle indeed! David went into the race pretty confident, that all changed after a few laps of practice however. Having felt comfortable straight away on the fast flowing track, he landed hard jumping some logs bending his wrist back aggravating an injury he received in Argentina a few weeks ago. Deciding to tape his wrist, David went out and rode a few laps in the second practice which helped a little but with the track consisting of lots of logs and jumps, it wouldn't be ideal. With a hot lap to decide the starting order, David pushed hard, but deciding not to take any risks and hurt his wrist anymore, still qualified a brilliant 3rd behind the USA riders, Cody Webb and Mike Brown. With a few hours break before the semi final and final event, the time was well spent with the doctor icing the wrist, taping it up and taking pain killers to try and help as much as possible. In the semi final, David made a great start, rounding turn one in second, but by now the organizers had heavily watered the track making it like an ice ring. With all the riders crashing and making mistakes it was a tough race but needing only to make the top five, Knighter placed second to qualify 3rd for the main event. With the start going to be crucial for the 10 lap main, David took the holeshot on his Honda and led for the first 3 corners until Blazusiak passed him for the lead. With David deciding to ride his own race, he settled in nicely and at the end off lap 1, was 3rd as Cody Webb also passed him. Blazusiak and Webb were having a great scrap with David not far behind then with Webb making a mistake David caught him and passed for second. For a lap they had a good fight then David got stuck in the rock hill and Webb got away again. The race was very intense and at the end David finished a great 3rd getting an X-Games medal at the first go which was a great way to end the competition.
The organizers had also watered the track really heavily, way too much as it turned to an ice ring for the semi and main event. In the semi I started well but like everyone else couldn't believe how slick the track was, I made lots of mistakes but so did everyone, and being one off the only riders on a 450 was also tough as 10hp would have been more than enough, not 60hp. I was real happy with second behind Browny. Then the main event I just decided to ride my own race, and that was made easier by taking the holeshot. Taddy passed me on lap 1, as did Cody so I just tried to stay as close as I could. I struggled to use the inside line on the rocks as it was hard to use the clutch with my wrist but this is where I was loosing time. Cody made a mistake and I passed him back but the 2 stroke seemed really good and I struggled to stay near him. I knew by lap 6 I just had to stay out of trouble and third was mine so just rode the race out, but it was really tough, physically and mentally. Taddy turned it around by winning the main as he struggled all day long, Cody rode brilliant all day but just made a couple of silly mistakes and that cost him the win as he was riding faster than anyone and I just rode steady really from when I hurt my wrist, I just tried surviving as best as possible and was really really happy to come away with third place and a medal. Just a big thanks to Honda Brazil for lending me a bike, also Metzeler tyres as I used stock sixdays enduro tyres against all the other guys who are on special super soft endurocross Dunlops, also the organizers for inviting me and Nick. Again the bike was great and I didn't really have to change much on a standard 450. Now to get my wrist sorted for the EWC. Cheers all, Knighter"
Knighter Honda rider David Knight started the 2013 enduro world championship with two solid 5th place finishes in the ultra competitive E2 class. Just missing out on a podium finish on both days by only a handful of seconds. Starting the Friday night supertest confident, David put in a solid first lap but at the start of the second lap made a mistake and got a track post jammed in his handlebars costing him valuable time in the very short stage. Saturday started good on stage 1 as David posted a very strong time even with a small crash near the start of the very long dusty test. Finding a good rhythm as the day went on he set fastest stage times during the day as five riders swapped places every stage at a very fast pace and very closely contested battle. Just missing out on the podium mainly due to Friday nights mistake David was very happy with his pace and enjoyed his first outdoor enduro on the CRF450 Honda. Winning the extreme award for the fastest overall combined time on the day in the extreme test. Sunday started even better for Knighter as he won the first enduro test, going faster than day 1, also faster on the MX test where he was losing most of his advantage on Saturday and setting very fast times on the extreme test. David was looking for a definite podium until a crash in extreme test on lap 2 in the dust from a slower rider cost him 20 seconds. Battling back on the final lap, setting 2 out of 3 fastest times, David missed the podium by less than 4 seconds and missed 2nd by 13 seconds. Showing however that the speed and pace is defiantly there. David Knight:
Knighter Honda rider David Knight dominated Round 2 of the Fast Eddy ACU British Extreme Enduro Championship at Cowm Quarry near Rochdale to win the 2013 ACU British Extreme Championship Title. After winning Round 1 in January, this second win gives Knighter his 14th British title and his first on Honda machinery. Held in sunny but very cold and icy conditions, the tough rocky track was going to be a lot more slippery and tricky than first thought. With all the top pro riders taking part it was going to be a good race at the front. With David getting a bad start, he managed to pick off second coming out of the first turn, just behind Jonny Walker, but by the first rock section the little Honda 250x was leading the pack! Not wanting to push too hard in the icy conditions on the first lap, David took it steady and at the end of lap 1 opened up a healthy lead. Increasing the gap on lap 2 while his rivals made mistakes, David pushed on but then on lap three he had a problem with the rear brake jamming on. Stopping numerous times to try and solve the problem he made an unscheduled pit stop where the problem was a bent rear brake pedal which was catching the clutch cover. Adjusting the rear brake to stop it binding, David rejoined the race in 2nd position, 20 seconds behind Graham Jarvis. Riding fast and smooth, David quickly caught Graham, got passed and pulled a healthy lead out again. Stopping to refuel at the 1 hour mark his quick filler system didn’t work properly David rejoined the race without a full tank of fuel. Still with a big lead Knighter rode another lap, refuelled again then put the hammer down! Riding very smoothly and very comfortably to stretch out a commanding lead and take a very dominant win. David Knight, “ I had a lot of fun at the race today, I was pretty confident going into the race as I'd been testing in Spain all week getting ready for the EWC and felt I was riding well. I got a poor start but got past the guys in the first few corners then just tried to ride smart and ride my own race. Apart from the rear brake problem, which was caused by me bending the pedal, and then the dump filler not working which both cost me at least a minute each, the race went very well. I had no crashes which wasn’t easy as the track was very frozen and the Honda CRF250X ran brilliantly all day. I really really enjoyed the race, the track was tough in places but lots of fun today and I think it actually made it more fun having the brake problem and coming from behind to win, Graham was back to his solid steady self and it was good to be able to catch up pass and pull away from him as he is riding well also. The best thing for me is it’s a big confidence boost as I've never been to Cowm Quarry before in my life and I know all the other guys train here a lot as it’s an awesome venue, so that’s really good to know and I'm really pleased how the past few races have gone. Again a big thank you to the Greek for prepping my bike perfectly, Paul Ed and his team for putting on 2 tough fun races and all my sponsors and supporters for making it possible for me to race." David’s next race is the final round of the Super Enduro World Championship in France on March 9th where he currently sits in 2nd, before heading directly to South America for the first two rounds of the EWC which will be held in Chille and Argentina.
Knighter 2nd at SuperEnduro with race 2 win. Knighter Honda rider, David Knight scored a brilliant 2nd place overall for Round 2 of the SuperEnduro World Championship held at the Palau St Jordi stadium in Barcelona. Most impressive was his win in the second final where he took the chequered flag by just under 20 seconds. Starting the day with timed practice, David went straight to the top with the fastest time by almost 2 seconds from Taddy Blazusiak. In the second practice Knighter was heading for the fastest time when a slower rider held him up but still scored the second fastest time, missing out by less than 100th of a second. Confident and comfortable for the three 10-lap finals, Race 1 started in the worst possible way for David when his gate failed to drop and his front wheel became jammed. David set off dead last and sliced his way through the pack at incredible speed up to third place, catching the leaders, when he made a mistake and dropped back to fifth, where he finished. Very frustrated and with the adrenalin pumping, Knighter started Race 2 from the second row as the start order is reversed. He held nothing back, and got to the lead on lap three and never looked back. Stretching the gap to just under 20 seconds at the flag and winning his and his Honda team’s first world championship event. In Race 3, David got a good jump out of the gate but got wheel spin on the very slick dirt and after a mid pack start passed a number of riders, but with the leaders having already stretched a big lead. Not giving up he got to fourth and still catching the guys in front David set sights on 3rd when a few small mistakes made him realize it was better to just ride the race out for 2nd overall. David Knight:" I am very happy with the overall result here in Spain, from the word go my lap times were fastest which is important for the outdoor EWC, but winning the 2nd final was brilliant for the team and myself, especially with all the top riders present. I'm disappointed about the first final as my gate clearly didn't drop, (there is video evidence) but they didn't stop the race which was not on so I had to fight from last, I got to 3rd or 4th but after 5 laps I had burned myself out having to ride so hard, and also the track was very difficult to pass and I made a mistake dropping me to 5th but what can I do. On Final 3 I was a bit careful around the first couple of turns and got boxed in and had to pass lots of guys again which was tough but I was catching the leaders in 4th but I was having to push a lot which was very risky as the track was very slippery so decided a few laps from the end to just settle for 2nd overall which puts me in second overall in the championship. It's been a good event so thanks to the organizers but a big thanks
to Paul Edmondson, Nick Ward and Gav Hunt for their brilliant work today
and it shows our Honda and our Team can win against the factory teams
already, in only our second race. Cheers, |
X-Games
Endurocross
David
Knight:
David
Knight wins 14th British Champoinship title
