May 11, 2006

Knight dominates in Portugal

SCOTT team rider David Knight continued his winning ways in the ’06 World Enduro Championship by claiming victory in the Enduro 3 class on both days of the GP of Portugal. Winner on both days of the series opener in Sweden, Knighter added another 50 points to his world championship tally in Guimaraes and now leads the E3 class by 12 points over his KTM teammate Marko Tarkkala. Topping the E3 class on both days in Portugal, Knight also finished the opening day as the overall fastest rider in the event.



With conditions in Portugal in complete contrast to those in Sweden - dry, dusty and rocky - special tests and a demanding course made the second round of the ’06 championship a challenging event for all those competing. With fast and flowing motocross and enduro special tests, the event’s extreme test was arguably the most challenging ever used in a WEC event, causing problems for many of the series’ top riders. For Knight, the extreme test proved tricky in places but allowed him to use his trials skills to open up a commanding lead in the E3 class on both days.

On day one, Knight won all but one of the event’s eight special tests in the E3 class to finish one minute and 18 seconds ahead of teammate Marko Tarkkala while Swede Bjorne Carlsson placed third. Despite not being completely happy with his performances on the event’s extreme test, Knight comfortably outpaced his rivals and added to impressive performances on the motocross and enduro tests. He also placed his factory KTM at the top of the unofficial overall results.

Day two was very much the same as day one for Knight as he topped all but one of the days’ special tests. But pushing too hard too soon, Knight fell once on the first timed enduro test and then again, harder, on the first timed motocross test. Then, stalling his bike on the first timed run through the extreme test, it wasn’t until the end of the second lap that he was able to open up a gap at the top of the E3 class. Easing into his rhythm during the second and third laps, Knight managed to open a commanding lead to claim his fourth Enduro 3 class win of the season.

Knight’s next event will be the third round of the World Enduro Championship, to be held in Spain on May 13-14.



David Knight: “Everything went well for me on day one. I was a little unsure of what to expect on the first lap but I just tried not to make any mistakes and things started well. The extreme test was really difficult but it was also good for me. I didn’t feel as if I was riding that well on that test but my times were really good. On the enduro and motocross tests I was just trying to use smooth lines because both tests were getting really rough. Obviously I wanted to win the Enduro 3 class but being the fastest overall rider as well was a great bonus.”

“I had another great day on day two but things didn’t start too well for me. I crashed on the first enduro test and then on the motocross test. It was only a small crash on the enduro test, which didn’t cost me much time, but my crash on the motocross test was pretty big. I was a bit eager at the end of the motocross test and crashed hard. I banged my head when I crashed so I was feeling a bit groggy for a while. I then stalled my bike in the next extreme test, so I wasn’t leading by much after the first couple of hours. I got myself sorted out after that and started to open up a good lead. I just tried to go too quick too soon and when I slowed down a bit on the second lap I was riding faster. I ended up winning, which is what I came to do, so I’m really happy with the way the whole weekend has gone.”

2006 MAXXIS FIM Enduro World Championship - Enduro 1

1 CERVANTES Ivan SPA SCOTT
2 ALBERGONI Simone ITA
3 POHJAMO Petri FIN SCOTT
4 BELOMETTI Ales ITA SCOTT
5 OBLUCKI Bartosz POL
6 MICHELUZ Maurizio ITA
7 RODRIGUES Helder POR SCOTT
8 HARTMANN Mike GER
9 BERGVALL Peter SWE
10 BLANC Freddy FRA SCOTT

2006 MAXXIS FIM Enduro World Championship - Enduro 2

1 ARO Samuli FIN SCOTT
2 AHOLA Mika FIN
3 AUBERT Jonny FRA
4 MERRIMAN Stefan AUS
5 PLANET Fabien FRA SCOTT
6 GALINDO Xavier SPA
7 SALONEN Valtteri FIN
8 GUERRERO Cristobal SPA
9 BECONI Andrea ITA
10 DINI Fabrizio ITA
11 EDMONSON Paul GBR
12 BOTTURI Allessandro ITA SCOTT
13 SILVAN Petteri FIN SCOTT
14 MCCONNELL Euan GBR
15 ALBEPART Emmanuel SCOTT FRA
16 KLUTZ Thierry BEL SCOTT

2006 MAXXIS FIM Enduro World Championship - Enduro 3

1 KNIGHT David GBR SCOTT
2 TARKKALA Marko FIN SCOTT
3 CARLSSON Björne SWE
4 GUILLAUME Sébastien FRA
5 KEHR Marcus GER
6 PERSSON Daniel SWE
7 PAOLI Alessio ITA
8 KUKLIK Vita CZE
9 ZANNI Alessandro ITA
10 BERNARDI Paolo ITA