Knight fever!

Some 12-months after the initial Eddy's Xtreme event, this spectacular venue pulled in thousands of spectators, all eager to see the battle between Farioli KTM's David Knight, KORR's Jonny Walker and Flite Husaberg's Graham Jarvis continue in their race to become the first official ACU British Extreme Enduro Champion. They were not disappointed!

 

Walker's outstanding win in the opening round of the series at Buxton posed a massive question – had Knighter finally met his match or was it simply a blip on the radar. All eyes were on the big Manxman and he answered many questions with two flying laps during timed qualifying that put him nearly a minute ahead of Graham Jarvis, his closest competitor, with a slightly below par Walker down in third spot.

 

The course at Parkwood Off-road, Tong, provided all the elements necessary for an event of this type. Steep ravines, ditches, streams and rocks with plenty of slippery mud in places, plus several very fast woodland sections between the extreme bits made for a truly fantastic course.

 

The added attraction of Tong is that spectators have a roadway running around the whole venue with the course crossing and running alongside it in several places.

 

The format for the second round was very different to the series opener. Instead of two one-hour races, there was a single two-hour race with the added twist that qualifying times counted for Championship places and points were awarded for the fastest two laps, with points awards going down through the places.

 

Two sessions of qualifying saw the Clubman and Veteran riders take to the track first for 40-minutes, followed by a separate session for the Expert and Pro riders. With points awarded for finishing positions this was virtually another round of the Championship, albeit 40-minutes in length.

 

Clubman Aled Price topped the first session but the ongoing battle between Veteran riders Craig Parkes and Mark Houson continued throughout qualifying with Parkes just beating Houson – on the latter's home course – by six-seconds over a combined time of each rider's best two laps with Justin Carter taking third place in the Vets. Zac Sherwin and Josh Law joined Price as top three in Clubman qualification.

 

In the Pro and Expert qualifier David Knight lead the field out onto the course and he went balls-out for three laps to post 8.24 and 8.34 followed by Jarvis on 8.52 and 8.57 with Walker in third place on 8.51 and 9.31.

 

Walker's team boss Julian Stevens was absent but his place was ably filled by KTM Off-road School boss, Ady Smith, who admitted that the last time he had spannered for anyone was for Paul Edmondson at a World Enduro round back in 1993.

 

Knight's determination to silence his critics was obvious as he hit the massive ditch, four metres across, that had logs and rocks on the leading edge. He hit hard and flew long to virtually a dead stop on landing before tuning and hammering off up the course. The tricky rock wall near the end of the lap saw him ride feet up as many others struggled to paddle to the summit. According to Knight, jumping the ditch didn't really gain much time but it was spectacular and that is why people flock to see him perform.

 

After three laps he had posted the two fastest times of qualifying and exited the course even though there was plenty of time remaining.

 

Graham Jarvis used every ounce of his Trials skills to edge into second spot with Jonny Walker close behind in third. Tom Sagar was suffering from flu and did well to take fourth with Paul Bolton putting in an excellent performance in fifth spot as Ben Hemingway and Gave Houson took fifth and sixth. Jack Lee topped the Expert ranks from Tom Howe, Mark Jackson, Luke Copestake and Tom Healy.

 

Before the main event began, Youth riders were given the chance to try the course although many of the tougher sections were missed out. The front row of the pack contained Mike Gilby, Brad Freeman, Jack Staines, Andrew Bull and Jack Edmondson and it was a battle for supremacy between these five.

 

Gilby, Staines and Freeman soon pulled a lead on the rest of the field with Freeman desperate to take a win following his disappointing performance at Buxton.

 

The hour-long race saw Freeman and Gilby never giving an inch for 50-minutes but eventually Freeman pulled a 90-second lead to take the win ahead of Gilby with Jack Staines in third, Jack Edmondson in fourth and Andrew Bull in fifth.

 

The tension mounted as the start line slowly filled under the huge Husqvarna arch, each rider in a specific slot depending on their qualify time. The front row consisted of Knight, Jarvis, Walker, Sagar and Bolton with Ben Hemingway, Gav Houson, Jack Lee, Jamie Lewis and Danny McCanney on the second rank.

 

In the charge for the first corner, Jarvis left the line a yard ahead of Knighter, but within seconds they were bar to bar as Knighter took a faster inside line. Row after row of riders left the start at five-second intervals and by the time the last row left Jarvis had the lead from Knight a quarter of the way around the course, such was the speed of the leading duo.

 

The Flite Husaberg rider seemed to have the measure of his KTM-mounted rival but opted to ride through the massive ditch three-quarters of the way around the lap as Knight closed the gap by jumping it and landing alongside him – a feat he performed on nine out of 12-laps!

 

Jarvis got away slightly earlier than Knight. With a ravine and the rock wall still to come it was anyone's guess who would lead by the end of the first lap.

 

Knight's determination saw him cross the line ahead of Jarvis but only by a couple of seconds and these two riders were in a race of their own from that point onwards. Knight put the hammer down and pulled away at a terrific pace as Jarvis maintained his calm, both riders lapping back-markers on only their second lap. Knight continued to extend his lead and took the chequered flag 4.5-minutes ahead of Jarvis, the only rider he hadn't lapped.

 

Jonny Walker was slightly out of sorts but put in a great performance to stay in third place ahead of a pack of Pros, all eager to overtake him. Paul Bolton constantly pressed him early on, eventually taking fourth as MPS Husqvarna rider, Jamie Lewis, on a brand new 310 Husky, surprisingly held fifth place in his extreme event debut.

 

 

Rd 2 – Parkwood Off-road, Tong, nr Bradford (fasteddyracing)

Pro: 1 David Knight, 2 Graham Jarvis, 3 Jonny Walker, 4 Tom Sagar, 5 Paul Bolton.

Expert: 1 Jack Lee, 2 Tom Howe, 3 Mark Jackson, 4 Luke Copestake, 5 Tom Healy.

Clubman: 1 Aled Price, 2 Zak Sherwin, 3 Josh Law, 4 Jane Daniels, 5 Lee Sealy.

Vets: 1 Craig Parkes, 2 Mark Houson, 3 Justin Carter, 4 Scott Stephenson, 5 Chris Salt.

Youth Race: 1 Brad Freeman, 2 Mike Gilby, 3 Jack Staines, 4 Jack Edmondson, 5 Andrew Bull.

Pro: 1 David Knight, 2 Graham Jarvis, 3 Jonny Walker, 4 Paul Bolton, 5 Jamie Lewis.

Expert: 1 Jack Lee, 2 Mark Jackson, 3 Luke Copestake, 4 James Dent, 5 Tom Healy.

Clubman: 1 Josh Law, 2 Ben Winston-Howard, 3 Lee Sealy, 4 Aled Price, 5 Jane Daniels.

Veteran: 1 Craig Parkes, 2 Mark Houson, 3 Chris Ball, 4 Scott Stephenson, 5 Chris Salt.The first major enduro event of the New Year certainly lived up to expectations as the Husqvarna-sponsored second round of the British Extreme Enduro Championship, Eddy's Xtreme Enduro drew in massive crowds yet again at Tong, near Bradford.

 

Report: Tim Tighe

Pictures: Tilde Tighe and Tim Tighe

 

Some 12-months after the initial Eddy's Xtreme event, this spectacular venue pulled in thousands of spectators, all eager to see the battle between Farioli KTM's David Knight, KORR's Jonny Walker and Flite Husaberg's Graham Jarvis continue in their race to become the first official ACU British Extreme Enduro Champion. They were not disappointed!

 

Walker's outstanding win in the opening round of the series at Buxton posed a massive question – had Knighter finally met his match or was it simply a blip on the radar. All eyes were on the big Manxman and he answered many questions with two flying laps during timed qualifying that put him nearly a minute ahead of Graham Jarvis, his closest competitor, with a slightly below par Walker down in third spot.

 

The course at Parkwood Off-road, Tong, provided all the elements necessary for an event of this type. Steep ravines, ditches, streams and rocks with plenty of slippery mud in places, plus several very fast woodland sections between the extreme bits made for a truly fantastic course.

 

The added attraction of Tong is that spectators have a roadway running around the whole venue with the course crossing and running alongside it in several places.

 

The format for the second round was very different to the series opener. Instead of two one-hour races, there was a single two-hour race with the added twist that qualifying times counted for Championship places and points were awarded for the fastest two laps, with points awards going down through the places.

 

Two sessions of qualifying saw the Clubman and Veteran riders take to the track first for 40-minutes, followed by a separate session for the Expert and Pro riders. With points awarded for finishing positions this was virtually another round of the Championship, albeit 40-minutes in length.

 

Clubman Aled Price topped the first session but the ongoing battle between Veteran riders Craig Parkes and Mark Houson continued throughout qualifying with Parkes just beating Houson – on the latter's home course – by six-seconds over a combined time of each rider's best two laps with Justin Carter taking third place in the Vets. Zac Sherwin and Josh Law joined Price as top three in Clubman qualification.

 

In the Pro and Expert qualifier David Knight lead the field out onto the course and he went balls-out for three laps to post 8.24 and 8.34 followed by Jarvis on 8.52 and 8.57 with Walker in third place on 8.51 and 9.31.

 

Walker's team boss Julian Stevens was absent but his place was ably filled by KTM Off-road School boss, Ady Smith, who admitted that the last time he had spannered for anyone was for Paul Edmondson at a World Enduro round back in 1993.

 

Knight's determination to silence his critics was obvious as he hit the massive ditch, four metres across, that had logs and rocks on the leading edge. He hit hard and flew long to virtually a dead stop on landing before tuning and hammering off up the course. The tricky rock wall near the end of the lap saw him ride feet up as many others struggled to paddle to the summit. According to Knight, jumping the ditch didn't really gain much time but it was spectacular and that is why people flock to see him perform.

 

After three laps he had posted the two fastest times of qualifying and exited the course even though there was plenty of time remaining.

 

Graham Jarvis used every ounce of his Trials skills to edge into second spot with Jonny Walker close behind in third. Tom Sagar was suffering from flu and did well to take fourth with Paul Bolton putting in an excellent performance in fifth spot as Ben Hemingway and Gave Houson took fifth and sixth. Jack Lee topped the Expert ranks from Tom Howe, Mark Jackson, Luke Copestake and Tom Healy.

 

Before the main event began, Youth riders were given the chance to try the course although many of the tougher sections were missed out. The front row of the pack contained Mike Gilby, Brad Freeman, Jack Staines, Andrew Bull and Jack Edmondson and it was a battle for supremacy between these five.

 

Gilby, Staines and Freeman soon pulled a lead on the rest of the field with Freeman desperate to take a win following his disappointing performance at Buxton.

 

The hour-long race saw Freeman and Gilby never giving an inch for 50-minutes but eventually Freeman pulled a 90-second lead to take the win ahead of Gilby with Jack Staines in third, Jack Edmondson in fourth and Andrew Bull in fifth.

 

The tension mounted as the start line slowly filled under the huge Husqvarna arch, each rider in a specific slot depending on their qualify time. The front row consisted of Knight, Jarvis, Walker, Sagar and Bolton with Ben Hemingway, Gav Houson, Jack Lee, Jamie Lewis and Danny McCanney on the second rank.

 

In the charge for the first corner, Jarvis left the line a yard ahead of Knighter, but within seconds they were bar to bar as Knighter took a faster inside line. Row after row of riders left the start at five-second intervals and by the time the last row left Jarvis had the lead from Knight a quarter of the way around the course, such was the speed of the leading duo.

 

The Flite Husaberg rider seemed to have the measure of his KTM-mounted rival but opted to ride through the massive ditch three-quarters of the way around the lap as Knight closed the gap by jumping it and landing alongside him – a feat he performed on nine out of 12-laps!

 

Jarvis got away slightly earlier than Knight. With a ravine and the rock wall still to come it was anyone's guess who would lead by the end of the first lap.

 

Knight's determination saw him cross the line ahead of Jarvis but only by a couple of seconds and these two riders were in a race of their own from that point onwards. Knight put the hammer down and 

pulled away at a terrific pace as Jarvis maintained his calm, >>> 

<<< both riders lapping back-markers on only their second lap. Knight continued to extend his lead and took the chequered flag 4.5-minutes ahead of Jarvis, the only rider he hadn't lapped.

 

Jonny Walker was slightly out of sorts but put in a great performance to stay in third place ahead of a pack of Pros, all eager to overtake him. Paul Bolton constantly pressed him early on, eventually taking fourth as MPS Husqvarna rider, Jamie Lewis, on a brand new 310 Husky, surprisingly held fifth place in his extreme event debut.

 

FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX JANUARY 13

 

BRITISH EXTREME ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP

Rd 2 – Parkwood Off-road, Tong, nr Bradford (fasteddyracing)

Qualifying

Pro: 1 David Knight, 2 Graham Jarvis, 3 Jonny Walker, 4 Tom Sagar, 5 Paul Bolton.

Expert: 1 Jack Lee, 2 Tom Howe, 3 Mark Jackson, 4 Luke Copestake, 5 Tom Healy.

Clubman: 1 Aled Price, 2 Zak Sherwin, 3 Josh Law, 4 Jane Daniels, 5 Lee Sealy.

Vets: 1 Craig Parkes, 2 Mark Houson, 3 Justin Carter, 4 Scott Stephenson, 5 Chris Salt.

Youth Race: 1 Brad Freeman, 2 Mike Gilby, 3 Jack Staines, 4 Jack Edmondson, 5 Andrew Bull.

Main Races

Pro: 1 David Knight, 2 Graham Jarvis, 3 Jonny Walker, 4 Paul Bolton, 5 Jamie Lewis.

Expert: 1 Jack Lee, 2 Mark Jackson, 3 Luke Copestake, 4 James Dent, 5 Tom Healy.

Clubman: 1 Josh Law, 2 Ben Winston-Howard, 3 Lee Sealy, 4 Aled Price, 5 Jane Daniels.

Veteran: 1 Craig Parkes, 2 Mark Houson, 3 Chris Ball, 4 Scott Stephenson, 5 Chris Salt.