'It was the best of times, it was the worst of
By TMX Archives on 14th Mar 06
This stage of the year is always the best of times - and that's especially true of the '06 season. This stage of the year is always the best of times - and that's especially true of the '06 season. This issue of DBR will be winging its way to the presses two days before the Hawkstone International MX (which is why our coverage from the event will be featured in next month's mag) but, even with deadline hanging over us, at the time of writing the whole office is buzzing with excitement.And that's just one event! The prospect of a whole year of Stefan Everts in his retirement campaign fighting it out with Josh Coppins, Mickael Pichon and Seb Tortelli promises to make 2006 a vintage year for motocross.And that's just one class! MX2 should be just as good with Tony Cairoli aiming to defend his title from KTM's dashing duo of Tyla Rattray and Marc De Reuver. And I better not forget Billy MacKenzie - the Scot proved last year that on his day there's no-one faster in MX2, he just needs to have 'his day' a little more often.And that's just one sport! The same day as the GPs kick off in Zolder the WTC gets under way in Spain. After two years without a world title Dougie Lampkin is looking to take his eighth outdoor crown. With the four-stroke HRC Montesa now having a full year of WTC development under its belt - and if he can steer clear of the horror crashes that ended his championship challenge in '05 - Dougie starts the outdoor season with a great chance of overtaking Jordi Tarres in the all-time win list.Over in the world of enduros we've got Manx man mountain David Knight primed to do the business in the WEC. Knighter dominated last year - missing out on just one win in the series - and his 2006 campaign has started out in typically forceful fashion with a string of victories.See what I mean about being the best of times? Anticipation is a beautiful thing...Of course there is a downside and that is the increasing threat to the sports we love because of environmental concerns. Finding places to ride - legally - is getting tougher and tougher and one of the biggest problems centres around the noise the 'new' more environmentally-friendly four-strokes put out. I'm sure the irony of switching to four-poppers to bring emissions down only for them to cause a different sort of pollution isn't lost on most readers.But there is a glimmer of hope. Our chief bike tester Tony Marshall is freshly back from Sicily where he rode the V-twin Aprilia enduro and supermoto machines. Tony reckons the bikes are super-quiet and, thanks to the fuel injection system, should be more efficient as well which can only be a good thing. And there could be an even simpler solution...Sutty was watching his mate Eddie Holmes racing his CRF250X at Culham and reckons the enduro silencer made it sound like a lawn mower around the track without sapping all the power. So there you have it, a quick and easy solution to noise problems - just make everyone run an enduro silencer. This way bikes are quieter and it's a level playing field.All you need to do then is hammer home to all the numpties out there who normally wouldn't bother the importance of keeping them properly packed. Which presents a whole different set of problems...Sean