Left to right: Knight, Braybrook, Edmondson.

Some events may be bigger and some may have a few more famous people. But if its sheer entertainment you want, whilst viewing the most talented riders - trying their very best to conquer the horrendous obstacles they are faced with, the Steve Ireland run 'Tough One', is King.

Jolly trials ace points to their bikes high in the woods. ... 
and to start, they have to run to them first!

Despite it being mid winter and the weather man making all kinds of threats, thousands turned out at Nantmawr Quarry on 20^th January to see the worlds best Enduro and Trials riders do battle over a 4.5 mile course of 'mixed going' !!

The Tough One all lit up at the fantastic Nantmawr quarry venue.

When it comes to laying out extreme tracks, Steve certainly has a wicked sense of humour (I like it). Riders were faced with giant rock piles that would take a thousand convicts hundreds of years to crush. Downhill drops that a black belt Olympic skier would shudder at, climbs that would make good practice for Everest and K2 expeditions and enough logs and tree roots to keep a team of lumberjacks busy for months.

Enduro and Trials riders all use the same course - of course!
This bit wasn't so easy on an enduro bike.

Mind you there were apparently some 'nice' bits in between ;o)

I have to state here that although I am in full admiration of anyone who 'had a go' on the day, when I heard that the clubman race was to use exactly the same track as the world class Trials and Enduro riders, my first thoughts were:

• Had they ever been to one of Steve's Tough One events before they entered?
• …and if so, were they drunk when they filled out the entry form?

You may think I am being cruel, but in the sentence - The Tough One is an extreme enduro. The word EXTREME is the give away!

Simon Thomas trying to climb back to his bike.

I couldn't face watching the clubman race, its not that it wasn't entertaining - in fact I was told it was VERY entertaining (as anticipated). I just don't like the sight of that much blood just after breakfast!

Steve Colley made all the obstacles look so darn easy.

But these clubman guys were very brave (or should that be foolish?) and battled hard to 'win' a place in the pro final. Now I found that word 'win' in this context strangely odd. As I would have imagined, that anyone in their right mind who had ridden the early morning qualifier - and scared themselves sh**less all the way around, would definitely NOT wanted to have to do it again later in the day!!

At night & covered in mud, these 'wheel spaced' apart logs proved tricky.

Amazingly out of the thirty entered, all but seven had a go at - and completed, a second lap. When the flag dropped the experienced Paul Sagar took the win with a very creditable 5 laps completed, followed by Kevin Harris & Gareth Hopkins on 4 laps a piece.

The atmosphere for all the races was just awesome.

In my opinion all the riders deserved a medal. If you are an off-road rider yourself and were there, you already know why, if you were not you probably can not imagine how difficult, dangerous and frightening, an extreme enduro race circuit can be!

Mastering horrendous wet rocks in dim light with slippery knobbly tyres takes some doing. Riders here are trying not to form an orderly queue.

The good news is that after treatment from the excellent medic team on hand all riders were in a fit condition to watch and enjoy from a safe distance, the rest of the days fun.

For the first time ever at a Tough One and in fact I think as a first in the UK, Steve Ireland had incorporated a 'Speed Trial'. This took place just after mid day and the line up of talented riders was impressive indeed. Steve Colley, Wayne Braybrook, Ben Hemingway, Alex Wigg, Dan Hemingway, Micheal Phillipson and Becky Cook, to name but a few.

To a good trials rider in daylight, these tyres were no problem.

At 1pm the flag dropped and Speed Trial was on. The twenty plus riders had to sprint 300 yards up a steep slippery and stony hill to get to their bikes. The action was incredible, the skill of these riders was almost unbelievable, even when watching. Trials riders are normally used to taking their time and accessing obstacles before attempting a section. But now they were in a head to head race. Whoever completed most laps within the hour would win.

Almost pitch black as many struggled on this steep climb.

Trials bike are not designed for speed - or comfort, but all these riders were exhilarating to behold. With almost no hesitation whatever was thrown at them, they just charged over the course at incredible speed. The huge drops were dealt with very bravely as these tiny bikes tore down the steep slopes, fast and quietly, but headshaking - as the steep steering angles and soft suspension were not designed for this type of event in mind!

This rock face was treacherously steep and very high.

Obstacles that would prove a nightmare later in the day to the big enduro bikes using knobbly tyres, were mostly dealt with almost lightly, as the trials pattern tyres softly wrapped themselves tightly around each obstacle in turn.

Out of the truck and over a wet slippery car - just one of the amazing obstacles on show. (Earlier in the day, Mark Tucker from Devon came unstuck on one of these and entered the pit area head first - not to 
continue I might add!)

WOR's Steve Ireland and his team had very cleverly laid out a course with short sharp shocks and alternative longer way around 'chicken runs' here and there. - For occasions where a good bike and courage just wasn't enough to conquer the going.

Gangs of spectators linked arms to tug riders up 'The Root of all Evil'.

Besides being a spectacle, the race itself was very exciting to follow. As the lead and top positions changed places as regular as an 'orderly' French or Italian queue!

Huge powerful headlight and smaller handlebar mounted light, would 
have been accompanied by helmet mounted lights also,

Wayne Braybrook and Steve Colley kept passing each other and briefly holding the number one spot all through the race. Closely followed by Ben Hemingway and Alex Wigg who both fought so hard to try and get the podium third spot.

Yep, this is about all the riders can see - dodgy or what.

As the chequered flag dropped, Steve Colley took the win - despite single handedly refuelling himself in the pits, from a tremendously hard charging Wayne Braybrook in second. Ben Hemingway had managed to pull out just over 2 minutes to take third place from 'Wiggy' Alex Wigg in fourth - all on 8 laps.

Plummeting down through the evening hail storm.

If she is anything like my daughter she'll hate me saying this, but… a special mention has to go to Becky Cook who finished with a very creditable 4 laps under her belt - and the only lady brave enough to enter.

What a line up, no less than 4 World Champions. - Paul Edmondson, Anders Eriksson, Kari Tiainen and of course, that awesome force from the Isle of Man - David Knight.

Paul Sagar in better light.

Plus many British Champions and other world class riders, so we all knew we were to be in for a very special treat indeed.

Proving he is not just a fast rider but also an ultra fit - all round sportsman. When the flag dropped and the Pro's starting running the 300 yard sprint to their bikes, he got to his bike just behind Wayne Braybrook (yes the same Wayne that had just ridden brilliantly in the speed trail 2 hours earlier!). This was no mean feat as both their bikes were much farther away in the line up than everyone elses!

Wayne - proving once again that he is become a real challenger on the world stage, took the early lead from David Knight, while Paul Edmondson and Tom Sagar traded places in third and fourth.

Even top trials riders get it wrong when its this hard.

After a few laps Knighter managed to pass Braybrook - only to find that shortly afterwards he was again lying in second spot. Braybrook had nipped by while David had taken a less promising line as they both fought past struggling back markers.

The Expert race started 60 seconds after the Pro's and raced exactly the same course. Again the action was hot as all wanted the glory of the win.

A few laps in and the clear blue skies suddenly darkened, grey clouds loomed and ice cold winds and hail hit hard. The climbs got even greasier, the log piles and tree roots slipperier and the down hills became even more frightening. It wasn't long before most riders started to look the same shade of brown.

I don't want to go down there, its so dark and steep...

Although the sky cleared briefly before the onset of darkness, the damage was done. There was now no longer any rest for riders anywhere on the race track, as even the 'flatter' rock strewn linking trail that wound its way around the edge of the sheer cliff face high above us, had become quite 'tricky'.

One of the most exciting aspects of the main Tough One race, is the final hour riding in darkness. As that time approached riders pitted not just for fuel, but also to connect - and in some cases fit - all manner of intricate lighting equipment, all trying to gain that edge.

Some were brave enough to get up speed here and there. 

The variation of lighting setups was intriguing to say the least. Many had bikes decked out like Christmas trees, other were bedecked with so many helmet mounted lights, they looked like a chain gang of diamond mine workers. But whatever the rig, riding off road in the dark is no joke and on this sort of going any mistake could prove treacherous.

As riders crashed lights started to fail and towards the end many were riding around - in pitch black conditions - with just a feint glimmer coming from a single totally mud covered and very dim light bulb!

The 'Root of all Evil' just before nightfall.

Early hopeful Nick life from Devon was gutted when forced to take early retirement due to suffering a complete stator failure after one lap. Simon Thomas discovered his back brake lever had snapped off only when he had started to descend the horrendous drop from the top of the high cliff on his second lap. He stayed on - but the crowd jumped back a long way as he failed to stop and turn at the bottom!

Bravely - or foolishly - he continued to race on without complete control and later paid the price, when he took a headlong dive into the lake past the start line log pile. Now I don't know about you, but with no back brake and then going swimming (he went completely under) in icy cold muddy water, continuing to race a bike in the dark and in another hail storm, would not be my first priority!

Sand dunes at night anyone?

But alas Simon is made of sturner stuff and he set off to get some tools to drain his bike out. So congratulations to him for finishing.

This race is so difficult, that in many areas around the course, most riders in the UK simply do not have the skill to conquer the obstacles. But - and this is all part of the fun that is 'The Tough One' - teams of spectators link up arms, to tug and lift, struggling riders up or over whatever obstacle is in their way. BUT… only after the rider has made a good effort at doing it in the first place. So don't think you'll have a go next year and have an easy way out!

All the most spectacular parts of the track are within ultra easy walking distance from the parked cars. So shelter, quick cuppas and a rest are very conveniently placed. But when the races are on, no one in their right mind wants to miss anything.

This trials rider took a superb alternative line.

When the 2 hour flag dropped David Knight had held off Wayne Braybrooks charge and took 1^st place on the podium, to Wayne's magnificent second 2^nd podium position of the day. - Both these riders had managed a fantastic 14 laps.

Paul Edmondson rode beautifully smoothly and was a joy to watch - and it paid off for him as although he had diced to and fro with Tom Sagar for the whole two hours, he managed to grab 3^rd place when it counted. Tom was right behind for 4^th - also on 13 laps, but alas no podium for him.

Not everyone made this quarry face drop without decking it.
Most of us felt sick just watching.

A fantastic ride from Cornwalls Steve Dustow saw him take 1st place in the Expert race with a very creditable 10 laps from Lincoln Brewster on 9. 

Could it be improved, probably not a lot. Even the race commentator and loudspeaker system was really good. But one small thing that would have help spectators follow riders themselves and watch personal battles develop, would have been to have the bike number plates wiped clean as they finish/start each lap. It would have been great to have been able to tell who was who ;o)

I won't witter on anymore as the photos will tell the tale. But I will add below extracts from - and links to - the official press releases and reports from WOR and David Knight.

David Knight commented: "What a wild race. Starting the race with all the other Pro class competitors was a first for me having had to climb hills and build my bike before getting going in previous years. The run to our bikes went well though. I was just behind Wayne Braybrook getting to my bike so I followed him for a while before passing him. I had a pit signal that said I had a one-minute lead and the next thing I knew I bashed into Wayne in the rocks. He must have taken a different line when I was stuck behind a rider and passed me without me knowing.

"On the second lap I hit a lapped rider and Wayne passed me again. I passed him for a third time shortly after that and then got my head down and settled down a bit. Because I’ve not really been on a bike since the Red Bull Last Man Standing race I felt a bit slow early on, but I felt happier towards the end of the race. I was a bit tired at the finish, but it was pretty tough."

Knighter making it look easier than it was.

WOR Events’s Steve Ireland: "Where do I start…Seeing the car park full was great and made all the hard work worth it. The event has grown year on year since it started in ’05 and judging by all the great feedback I’ve had this year’s event was without question the best, despite the on and off bad weather.

"The whole day went perfectly, every race started bang on time, with no problems or injuries. We made a big effort to improve on last year’s event and I feel we achieved that.

"Having Anders Eriksson and Kari Tiainen agree to come to a WOR Events race, and compete alongside David Knight, was just magic. The three of them were nothing but the professional superstars they are all day, working with them was a pleasure. David’s performance was fantastic, absolutely amazing.

"There was such a positive vibe in the quarry that it really did feel like an international event. Trying something new with the Speed Trial is a risk, but I have no doubts that it worked. Riders and spectators enjoyed it and it added to the day’s entertainment.

Bikes lined up for the Le Mans type start - after the 300 yard up hill run !

"I’d like to thank each and every one of my WOR Events team for all the work they put in before and during the event, everyone who entered the trials race, the Nantmawr Quarry land owners, Trials & Motocross News for their behind the scenes help, and the companies that supported the event, Michelin, Gas Gas, Motul and Trail Tech, and of course all the spectators for helping to make it such a memorable day."

• Tough One - WOR official Report.
• Tough One - David Knight's Report.