Under a Knight sky
By TMX Archives on 9th Jul 09
ROUND five of the GBXC series provided riders and spectators with a real treat. Yet another new venue, Glanusk Park in South Wales, saw a proper gnarly woodland course, which ran for 11kms through the Glanusk Estate Forests, with a special test type section on an open grassy field at the end of each lap.
As if this superb venue wasn't enough the event saw the UK debut of David Knight on a brand new Kawasaki KX450F. Just days after signing a deal with Kawasaki Europe and fresh from last weekends GNCC Snowshoe win, Knighter was in good spirits and very relaxed, and glad to be back on home turf with an appreciative crowd cheering him on.
Steve Ireland and Paul Edmondson once again managed to better the previous GBXC round by providing one of the best forest venues ever seen in the UK plus the chance to see Knighter in action on his new mount. The tight and technical forest, with a handful of steep climbs and several steeper drop-offs, was counterbalanced by top-gear, flat-out fire roads and rocky tracks, which eventually spat riders out onto the open field section by the pit area and lap scoring.
As the series nears completion a handful of the classes could have been decided and an overall champion declared. A win from Tom Sagar would have seen the Pro class wrapped up and the same for Darryl Bolter in the Pro Lites.
The Pro race line-up was a buzz of excitement as Knighter lined up, next to Mark Roberts' JKJ Kawasaki, with many spectators and riders from the morning race taking the opportunity to check out Knighters new ride.
As the flag dropped Linc Brewster took the lead, closely followed by Roberts with Knighter in fifth. A long, slightly downhill straight saw the riders take a sharp turn over a stone wall and off into the woods.
Some 16 minutes later the instantly recognisable bark of the 450 Kwak wound its way through the trees and out on to the slippery special test field. Knighter had pulled a minute lead over the pack on the first lap and looked set to win hands down.
His aggressive and determined style showed he was out to make a point, whilst Greg Evans was closest to the leader and was also going very quickly. Si Wakeley and Darryl Bolter were also in the mix but by the first re-fuelling stop Knighter had it in the bag.
With over a four-minute lead the Manxman cruised the rest of the race, putting on a show for the masses of spectators scattered around the course, taking the win to a tumultuous cheer from the crowds at the finish line. Si Wakeley and Darryl Bolter had their own battle going on and it was Wakeley who snuck into second overall as Bolter took third and the Pro-Lite win plus the Pro Lite Championship.
Sagar, along with Euan McConnell and Ollie Moyce took a slight diversion at one point when they missed a broken tape and took a minute or so to get back on track but none of them were as unlucky as Gav Houson. Houson crashed heavily on the first lap and went off to hospital with a broken collarbone.
KB Racings Lincoln Brewster charged after Bolter in the Pro-Lites and closed to within ten-minutes to take second place ahead of an on-form Rudy Austin, fresh from his Snowshoe trip. Jon Hinam took fourth ahead of an off-form Lee Edmondson.
GB X-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 5 – Glanusk Park, South Wales (GBXC)
Pro: 1 David Knight, 2 Simon Wakeley, 3 Greg Evans, 4 Tom Sager, 5 Aston Bird.
Pro Lite: 1 Darryl Bolter, 2 Lincoln Brewster, 3 Rudy Austin, 4 Jon Hinam, 5 Lee Edmondson.
Expert: 1 Lewis Belfield, 2 Joe Jones, 3 Harry Hillas, 4 Gary Daniels, 5 Richard Ely.
Clubman Two-Stroke: 1 Callum Hicks, 2 Tom Hirons, 3 Rhys Davies, 4 Tom Healey, 5 Ross Benton.
Clubman FOUR-Stroke: 1 Sean O'Neill, 2 Gareth Delahey, 3 Grant Churchwood, 4 Jim Buchanan, 5 John Jones.
Over 40: 1 Keith Jenkins, 2 Mark Houson, 3 Colin Jones, 4 Dai Smith, 5 Ian Shannon.
Sportsman: 1 Luke Smith, 2 Stuart James, 3 Chris Pryce, 4 Steven Hurley, 5 Huw Jones.
Novice: 1 Danny Morris, 2 Ashley Bowden, 3 Michael Windsor, 4 Ian Blackwell, 5 Chris Coulson.
Youth: 1 George Bayliss, 2 Gethin Humphries, 3 James Dent, 4 Alex West, 5 Josh Snowden.
Ladies: 1 Jane Daniels, 2 Sophie Thomas, 3 Claire Taylor, 4 Helen Spiers, 5 Leah Jones.
For full report, see T+MX NEWS, Friday, July 10, 2009