Knighter
wins GNCC Rnd 7…and also
finishes second in Erzberg Twin-cylinder class
Plus... Tadeuz Bzazusiak
(who?)
- Beats all the Worlds best at Erzberg
1) Knighter's Report:
Reigning Enduro 3 world champion David Knight took part in two
different events in two different continents this passed weekend when
he travelled from his home in the Isle of Man to Austria where he
placed a close second in the Twin-cylinder class at the world famous
Erzberg Rodeo before jumping on a plane back to the UK and then on to
the States where he won round seven of the US GNCC series to move back
to the top of the series’ standings.
Starting the Twin-cylinder race at Erzberg as defending class
champion having won first time out last year, Knighter came
painstakingly close to making it two wins from two starts as he
recorded the fastest time on the first of two runs up the ‘iron
mountain’. Having finished eight seconds ahead of his nearest
competitor on his first run things started well for Knighter on his
second assault of the 100 per cent up hill course but a mistake as he
neared the end of the 13.5 kilometre track saw him drift wide while
exiting a corner and coming off the track and into a rocky rain gully.
Losing valuable seconds getting back on to the track Knight recorded a
time of nine minutes and six seconds - two seconds faster than his
first run but four seconds slower than that of Finland’s Simo Kirssi.
In doing so Knight finished as runner-up before heading directly for
the airport.
Arriving in the US ready to make up for
the disappointing fourth place result he scored at round six of the
GNCC series, Knight claimed his third win of the ’07 GNCC series
after a relatively straight forward race at The Spartan GNCC. Starting
well Knight hit the front after one lap but then found himself back in
fourth after falling when he hit a rock in a single track section of
the course. Opting to follow his competitors for some time in order to
work out where he was faster David then made his move, moved back into
the lead, and opened up a 40 second advantage at the flag.
Following his third US GNCC race win
this season David returns to the top of the US GNCC championship
standings on 149 points, one point ahead of Charlie Mullins.
David Knight - Erzberg: "It
was a bit of an eye opener getting on the Super Enduro bike again and
then racing straight away with next to no time to get used to the
bike. I just tried to be as smooth as I could because the course was
really slippery – if you slide coming into a corner it was really
difficult to scrub off speed and turn. I found it harder to remember
the track this year compared to last year. I made a few mistakes on my
first run, but I think most riders would have done the same, but it
went pretty well.
"The second run went well really. I felt I was riding pretty
smooth but it was so easy to make a mistake. I didn’t push quite as
hard as I could on some of the hairpin turns, just to be safe. One of
the corners was off cambered and I got pulled into a ditch full of
rocks at the side of the track. I had to slow down a lot to get back
onto the track. I reckon that without the mistake I could have done a
time under nine minutes. It’s disappointing not to have won, but it
was close. It was good fun though."
David Knight – Spartan GNCC:
"I guess I got the result I should have also had at the last
round of the series. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after flying from
Austria to the UK and then on to the States and racing twice all in
three days but things worked out perfectly. I started ok, got to the
front, made a mistake and crashed, and then followed the other riders
for a while. I was faster in a few sections so I passed Charlie and
things were good after that."
Results - XC 1 class US GNCC
Series Rnd 7, The Spartan GNCC
- 1. David Knight (Red Bull KTM Off
Road Race Team) 2.58:15
- 2. Charlie Mullins (Yamaha) 3.00:23
- 3. Barry Hawk (Yamaha) 3.01:04
- 4. Jimmy Jarrett (Suzuki) 3.01:13
- 5. Glenn Kearney (Suzuki) 3.01:47
- 6. Garrett Edmisten (Kawasaki)
3.04:13
- 7. Russell Bobbitt (KTM) 3.04:33
- 8. Brian Garrahan (Yam) 3.05:26
- 9. Jesse Robinson (Kawasaki) 3.05:47
- 10. Josh Strang (Suzuki) 3.06:28
Results - Twin-cylinder class Erzberg
‘07
- 1. Simo Kirssi (BMW) 9.02:93
- 2. David Knight (KTM) 9.06:93
- 3. Werner Muller (KTM) 9.14:48
- 4. Gio Sala (KTM) 9.21:27
- 5. Marc Coma (KTM) 9.29:5
- 6. Micky Dymond (BMW) 9.31:71
- 7. Chris Pfeiffer (BMW) 9.39:05
- 8. Greg Tracy (BMW) 9.42:09
- 9. Klaus Martinjak (Aprilia) 9.49:96
- 10. Peter Bachler (Aprilia) 9:57.72
BMW thrilled with
their result at Erzberg
Simo Kirssi took the prologue win in the twin cylinder class for
BMW from David Knight, as the fastest man and bike up the mountain,
aboard a 1200cc HP2 BMW. Read the full reports with photos Here.
2)
Tadeuz Bzazusiak
(who?)
- Beats Worlds best at Erzberg
The perfect sensation - privateer rider Tadeuz
'Teddy' Bzazusiak (POL) wins the Red Bull Hare Scramble 2007 for KTM!
Overheard
Snippet: Interestingly Tadeuz - a total unkown - didn't even have a
bike to compete on and I heard through the grapevine that someone lent
him a Gas Gas to have a go because he appeared to be very talented.
But he was refused an entry, then someone lent him a KTM and
miraculously his entry was accepted!!
Now I
wonder who was helping Red Bull sponsor the Erzberg event, h'mm let me
think - well I don't know, but it obviously was not Gas Gas, that's
for sure.
Anyway...
The toughest motorcycle Offroad race crowned a new king today:
Tadeuz Bzazusiak from Poland reached the finish line of the Red Bull
Hare Scramble in a sensational 1:29, 48 hours! The 24 years old Polish
Trial rider attracted the interest of race director Karl Katoch with
his breathtaking riding skills and was entered to the Rodeo-X
Endurocross race by Katoch. In the Superfinals on Saturday evening
Tedy proofed that this was a good decision and simply won the Wild
Card starting spot in the first row of the Red Bull Hare Scramble!
On board of a borrowed (!) KTM, Teddy lined up amongst the world's
best Enduro riders at today's starting grid - and made the sensation
become reality. A great succes for the young talent and surely an
important step towards a career as a future Factory Rider!
Click Here for the full
official Erzberg 2007 Reports (By KTM & by BMW)
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