Honda MX Recall

Honda motocross cycles recalled for crash risk

By Myles Snyder, ABC27 News

Published: September 6, 2017, 12:50 pm

Honda CRF450R (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

WASHINGTON (WHTM) – American Honda is recalling certain off-road motorcycles because the transmission gear can break, posing crash and injury hazards.

The recall involves all 2015 and 2016 Honda CRF450R motocross cycles with 450cc, 4-cycle engines. Vehicle identification numbers ending in 7FK400015 through 6FK403360 for the 2015 model, and 36GK500009 through 1GK502993 for the 2016 model, are included.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says owners should stop using the motorcycles and contact an authorized dealer to schedule a free inspection and repair.

Honda is contacting all known purchasers directly.

No injuries have been reported.

Barcia Says Goodbye With Class!

Justin Barcia – A New Ride?

Justin Barcia has written an open letter thanking his team, Joe Gibbs racing for their help, but has also mentioned he will race somewhere else in 2018. Will it be in Europe, America or maybe Australia?

For a long time the American has wanted to race MXGP, but unfortunately at the moment there seems little for him here. No factory rides, and I can’t see him racing for a privateer team in Europe. Below is his open letter.

Hello Everyone,

As this season comes to an end so does my time with the Joe Gibbs Racing Team. I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone at JGR for all they have done starting with Coach who is a great man and it has been a pleasure to get to know over the last three years. Coy and Jeremy have worked hard to give us the best chance for success off and on the track as does the entire crew including my mechanic Ben who is always busting his butt off for me. Thanks again guys!

I have been asked by many people what is next for me and I will let you know as soon as I know. For now I am going to take a little break to allow for my mind, body and spirit to heal and then it will be back to work prepping for 2018 so when an opportunity arises I will be ready. I look forward to re-grouping and showing that I still have plenty in the tank.

I also would like to thank my Fiancé Amber who has been my rock through this difficult season and battling through injuries. My parents who I can always count on for everything I need have been awesome so big thanks to them, as well as Dr. Steve Navarro who always has my back. And last, but not least I would like to thank my fans who have stuck behind me and are great to talk to at the races. They stick up for me on social media sites and I will be working hard to make them proud in the upcoming season.

Thanks for reading, see you all soon,

Tony Cairoli 2005

Antonio Cairoli – Title Number One

12 years ago nearly to the day, Antonio Cairoli won his first world motocross championship. At the Lierop circuit in Holland, the Sicilian rider joined Stefan Everts as a champion, and it was in the deep sand of Lierop that Cairoli started what has been an amazing run of victories. Cairoli his first world title, and Everts his ninth.

Everts and Cairoli both claimed their 2005 titles in the MX1 and MX2 class respectively at Lierop in Holland on Sunday, September 4, 2005. As Everts was getting near the end of his amazing career, Cairoli was just starting his. Now here we are more than a decade later, and its Cairoli’s turn to pick up number nine.

Everts took his fifth straight championship since 2001 with his seven GP win of the season. In the process he increased his record number of motorcross wins to 86, with a grand total of nine world championships. Italian 19-year-old Cairoli took his first world championship with a fifth place.

The MX1 first race saw the Belgian MX legend lead from the start, and finish 13 seconds ahead of second placed Steve Ramon and third place Josh Coppins.

The second race proved tougher in the early stages with Ben Townley fighting hard for the lead, but it was to no avail as Everts once more swept past and opened up a sizeable lead. Everts won from Townley and Ramon.

“In the end it was great to wrap up the title ins tyle by winning both races, and it was ncie to share this moment with so many fans,” said Everts. “Surely this title did not come easy, and this is probably the first GP where I had good starts in both races. I had to work hard to win this year, but it makes the satisfaction even bigger. Maybe it’s just because I grow older.”

Youthful Cairoli overcame wrist and ankle injuries to claim the 2005 MX2 world championship with an overall fifth position. The first race was won by Marc de Reuver from Tyler Rattray and Britain’s Bill MacKenzie, with Cairoli finishing in seventh place. The second race saw Rattray win from de Reuver. Third was David Philippaerts, fourth MacKenzie, and eighth Cairoli.

“I hurt my left wrist yesterday, and my ankle injury already made it hard to push in the deep sand. I fought hard to make it happen here and I kept on believing,” said Cairoli. “Two laps before the end my team informed me that i ahd wont he title and it was the most amazing feeling ever. I have now one big goal left and that is to get a good result with the Italian team at the MX of Nations in France.”

Of course Cairoli will again head to Holland, again in the deep sand, but this time a new school circuit at the MotoGP circuit in Assen, and again he will be celebrated as possibly the greatest of all time. The memories this man has given the fans is just out of this world, and looking back on that day in 2005, it really makes you realize what he has achieved.

Honda"s Gajser to race Monster Cup!

Tim Gajser to race 2017 Monster Energy Cup

By Dan Lamb
September 1, 2017

 

Tim Gajser will make his hotly-anticipated debut in the Monster Energy Cup on Saturday 14^th October at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, as he and the #243 Honda CRF450RW will tackle this flagship event with Team HRC.

Gajser is a big fan of supercross and regularly trains on his own private Supercross track in Slovenia. He will take on the three 10 lap main events for the first time in his career working out of the American Honda Rig.

Inside the floodlit stadium in the city that never sleeps, the Monster Energy Cup brings together the world’s top riders to battle it out for the highly coveted Monster Energy Cup and one million dollars in prize money. Winners in the past include AMA supercross champions Ryan Villapoto and Eli Tomac. The event is one of the most watched race events of the year. Its unpredictability and technical track layout offers a racing spectacle that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

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Tim Gajser ²⁴³

I am really looking forward to racing in the Monster Energy Cup this year. I want to go there, have fun and enjoy it as racing in a stadium in America is a whole new experience for me. I have an awesome new limited edition kit from Fox to debut on the night which I think everyone will love. Obviously when I enter a race the goal is to win but this is completely something new for me as I am entering without any real expectations of where I will be. I have a track at home that I can train on so after MXGP I will add more Supercross elements to it to help me prepare for the race. I want to come out to America a week early to practice on an American Supercross track.

Roger Harvey

HRC General Manager – MXGP

Team HRC are really looking forward to seeing how Tim performs in this prestigious event alongside many of his American counterparts. It is one of the most popular none championship events that is in the supercross calendar and draws interest from around the world. This is the first time that Tim has ridden at this type of event, we were originally scheduled to race this event with Tim in 2016 but a shoulder injury prevented his participation. It goes without saying that Tim will have a great deal of support from the MXGP paddock with everyone wanting him to put on a good show on his CRF450RW.

France win International Six Days Enduro

The French Are On A Roll!

Photo Credit: Andrea Belluschi/Future7Media

France are the 2017 FIM World Trophy team champions, putting the finishing touches to their week-long dominance of the blue-ribbon class at the 2017 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Brive, France.

With Jeremy Tarroux – Sherco, Loic Larrieu – Yamaha, Christophe Nambotin – KTM and Christophe Charlier – Husqvarna all successfully making it through the final day motocross races without problems, France claimed an eventual six-minute and fourteen-second margin of victory, helped in part by strong final moto performances from Larrieu and Charlier. Despite riding with broken bones in his right hand, Christophe Nambotin – KTM delivered one of the most hard-fought performances of the event, ensuring France won on home soil.

Not to be out done by their senior class team-mates, France’s FIM Junior World Trophy team also claimed victory, finishing on top of a thrilling two-nation fight to the very end of the final day of competition against Italy. 

Collectively Jeremy Miroir – Husqvarna, Hugo Blanjoue – Yamaha and Anthony Geslin – Beta placed fifteen seconds ahead of Italy with the USA rounding out the top three. In the Woman’s World Trophy competition Australia also put the finishing touches to a near faultless week to claim a fifth consecutive class win.

Australia were the World Trophy team winners on the sixth and final day of the 92^nd running of the FIM ISDE. Finishing in a collective time of forty-three minutes and twenty-seven seconds Australia placed thirty-two seconds ahead of Finland, who were helped by solid performances by Eero Remes – TM and Matti Seistola – KTM. France placed third ahead of Great Britain and Sweden. But in finishing third France did everything they needed to do to secure the World Trophy class victory ahead of Australia, Finland, Portugal, Great Britain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Brazil, Norway and Switzerland.

“This is such a great feeling,” commented France World Trophy team rider Christophe Nambotin. “To win the World Trophy team competition here in France is amazing, especially after the final few days I’ve had. I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything more than just ride around because of my injured hand, but thankfully the rest of the team rode amazingly and we did what we set out to do. For our Junior World trophy team to also win, it’s the perfect end to a great event for us.”

Serving up one of the closest ever FIM Junior World Trophy team final results, Italy went on the offensive during their final day motocross races in the hope of moving ahead of France and taking the class win. 

Topping the sixth day by six seconds, in finishing ahead of the USA and France they stepped closer to the top of the Junior Trophy results. But it was not enough. 

Doing just enough to remain out front, France eventually topped the class by a slender fifteen seconds, much to the delight of the thousands of spectators who turned out to enjoy the final day of competition. 

With Italy claiming second, the USA rounded out the podium. Great Britain placed fourth with Spain, Chile, Mexico, Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden rounding out the top ten.

Bringing their ISDE participation to a close in the best possible way, team USA topped the FIM Women’s World Trophy results on the sixth and final day, placing thirteen seconds ahead of Australia with Canada, Sweden and France rounding out the top five for the day. 

But it was Australia, as it has been time and time again in recent years, who topped the Women’s World Trophy classification. With Jess Gardiner – Yamaha, Jemma Wilson – Yamaha and Tayla Jones – Husqvarna putting their experience to good use, they collectively claimed a six-minute and forty-six second margin of overall victory. The USA, with all three riders competing in their first ISDE, claimed a well-deserved runner-up result with France third, ahead of Sweden, Italy, Canada, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.

In the Club team competition Italy took a dominant win, finishing more than eight minutes ahead of Wales with SRT Offroad third. Team KTM 2 were the eventual winners of the Manufacturer’s award as Kailub Russell – KTM, Taylor Robert – KTM and Daniel Milner – KTM placed close to three minutes ahead of KTM 1 with KTM 3, TM Racing, Beta Boano 1 and Husqvarna 2 rounding out the top 6. 

Pavia Senior were the winners of the Motorex Challenge, placing ahead of KBS UAMK Team Unhost and Pavia Junior. Sylvain Fournier was the winner of the Michelin Challenge.

Putting in one of the stand out performances of the final motocross races, Josep Garcia – KTM worked his way to the front of the Enduro 1 class final moto in style, going on to claim victory ahead of the USA’s Ryan Sipes – Husqvarna and Eero Remes – TM. 

In addition, the Spaniard also topped the Enduro 1 class overall results, finishing ahead of Ryan Sipes – Husqvarna and Davide Guarneri – Honda. The highest Junior World Trophy team rider in the final E1 standings was Italy’s Davide Soreca – Honda.

In the Enduro 2 class it looked for much of the final motocross race as if Loic Larrieu – Yamaha would claim a start-to-finished win, but a mistake on the final corner of the race handed victory to Nathan Watson – KTM, who for much of the race seemed destined to finish third. 

With Watson securing the win, Christophe Charlier – Husqvarna placed second with Alex Salvini – Honda third. Despite his final moto slip-up, Loic Larrieu – Yamaha topped the final E2 standings by one-and-a-half minutes from Australia’s Daniel Milner – KTM and Alex Salvini – Beta. The highest placed Junior World Trophy class rider in the final E2 standings was Albin Elowson – Husqvarna in fourth.

Leading home a KTM one-two-three at the end of the final Enduro 3 motocross race, Spain’s Jaume Betriu claimed the win ahead of the USA’s Taylor Robert with Finland’s Matti Seistola – the early pace setter – third. 

But it was Taylor Robert – KTM who topped the E3 category results, placing an eventual one-minute and forty-seven seconds ahead of Betriu with Australia’s Daniel Sanders – KTM third and Matti Seistola – KTM, Matthew Phillips – Sherco and Ruy Barbosa – Husqvarna rounding out the top six. Barbosa was the highest placed E3 class Junior World Trophy rider.

With this year’s ISDE now closed, the focus now shift’s to the next edition to be hosted in Chile in October 2018.

RJ & Honda On The Gas!

Hampshire wins MX2

RJ Hampshire has won the MX2 class at the Grand Prix of United States. The young American rider put on a brilliant 1-1 performance to take victory. Australian Hunter Lawrence finished with 3-2 for second overall, and third overall was Thomas Covington with 2-4 results.

“Its hot out here. It is good, I got the lead and it felt good. This is fun.”

Hampshire led the second MX2 moto from Covington, Jonass, Lawrence, Cooper, Harrison, Van Doninck, Seewer, Bogers, Lieber, Sexton, Cervellin.

Not a lot happening as Hampshire continued to lead from Covington, Jonass, Lawrence, Cooper, Harrison, Seewer, Van Doninck, Bogers and Lieber.

Lawrence and Seewer both went past Jonass, and a few laps later Lawrence went past Covington. Seewer also closing on the American.

Lawrence and Seewer catching Hampshire, but the American is pushing hard to keep the lead and the overall.

Hampshire held it together to just cross the finish line ahead of Lawrence and Seewer.

More soon

MX2 – GP Classification

1 31 Hampshire, RJ USA AMA HON 25 25 50
2 96 Lawrence, Hunter AUS MA SUZ 20 22 42
3 64 Covington, Thomas USA MUL HUS 22 18 40
4 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS SUZ 12 20 32
5 245 Harrison, Mitchell USA AMA YAM 18 12 30
6 486 Sexton, Chase USA AMA HON 15 13 28
7 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT LAMSF KTM 11 16 27
8 19 Olsen, Thomas Kjer DEN DMU HUS 16 10 26
9 172 Van doninck, Brent BEL FMB YAM 10 15 25
10 189 Bogers, Brian NED KNMV KTM 14 11 25
11 161 Östlund, Alvin SWE SVEMO YAM 7 8 15
12 57 Sanayei, Darian USA AMA KAW 8 7 15
13 33 Lieber, Julien BEL FMB KTM 0 14 14
14 191 Cooper, Justin USA AMA YAM 13 0 13
15 145 Mellross, Hayden AUS MA YAM 5 6 11

MX2 – World Championship Classification

1 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT KTM 696
2 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI SUZ 656
3 19 Olsen, T. DEN HUS 523
4 6 Paturel, B. FRA YAM 504
5 64 Covington, T. USA HUS 457

Herlings Is The Real Deal!

Herlings wins USGP

Despite racing in really warm conditions, around a very American styled circuit, Jeffrey Herlings has completed a dream week with victory at the Grand Prix if United States. The Dutchman who had gone 1-1 in the last round of the AMA Nationals last weekend scored 2-1 results today after a terrible start in the opening moto.

The MX2 world champion was quickest all weekend, and continued to build a very good season, winning his fourth MXGP Grand Prix. Eli Tomac finished second overall with a very solid 1-3 result, and Antonio Cairoli was third overall with 2-3 scores.

Jeffrey Herlings: Its awesome. I got a good start and worked my way to the front. Its so hot, like 95 and a lot of humidity. I enjoyed the ride. You know, with five or six minutes to go I wanted to attack and I thought that was best, but then he went down and I got the lead. Bad start in the first moto, but second in the second moto, which helped.

Eli Tomac: We are really happy how things ended up today. We were struggling yesterday and I got a holeshot and won the first moto. To be honest I was surprised with their pace early on and they got away. The track beat me up a bit too and it was tough.

Antonio Cairoli: You know, I tried to get the title. I have a lot of points, but you always want to win. I did the moto good, but my fitness dropped and I was struggling in a rut and slipped over and crashed. Jeffrey passed and he was riding fast, its different because we started late and is riding fast now. We started fast and are riding slower now.

Cairoli took the lead in the second MXGP moto, followed by Paulin, Nagl, Strijbos, Herlings, Tomac, and Gajser. Herlings quickly into second place, and Tomac fourth. Paulin, Tomac and Strijbos in a nice battle.

Cairoli looking brilliant at front as he made a small break on Herlings. Tomac went past Paulin and moved into third place, and he is setting out after Cairoli and Herlings.

Herlings clocks the quickest lap of the race, and closes a little on Cairoli as the two front guys have made a break on the others.

Cairoli then clocked the quickest lap of the race, and Tomac is now eight seconds back in third. Paulin next, then Strijbos, Desalle, Bobryshev,Antie, Van Horebeek and Gajser 10^th.

Herlings closing in on the leader as Herlings riding really well. Cairoli still looks strong, but can he contain the young Dutchman? Tomac losing ground now on the front two, as the KTM guys push harder and harder.

Looked like Herlings backed it down, and was back on it again as the race closed up. Herlings into the lead as Cairoli crashed in a corner. Herlings lapped Justin Barcia in the last lap of the moto.

Herlings won the moto from Cairoli and Tomac.

MXGP – Overall Classification

1 84 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KNMV KTM 22 25 47
2 3 Tomac, Eli USA AMA KAW 25 20 45
3 222 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 20 22 42
4 243 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS HON 18 14 32
5 99 Anstie, Max GBR ACU HUS 15 15 30
6 12 Nagl, Maximilian GER DMSB HUS 16 10 26
7 25 Desalle, Clement BEL FMB KAW 12 13 25
8 259 Coldenhoff, Glenn NED KNMV KTM 14 11 25
9 89 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB YAM 11 12 23
10 777 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS MFR HON 13 9 22
11 21 Paulin, Gautier FRA MCM HUS 1 18 19
12 22 Strijbos, Kevin BEL FMB SUZ 0 16 16
13 77 Lupino, Alessandro ITA FMI HON 7 7 14
14 51 Barcia, Justin USA AMA SUZ 8 6 14
15 999 Goncalves, Rui POR FMP HUS 6 4 10

GAUTIER PAULIN’S FIRST MOTO FLYING W AT THE USGP

This had to hurt!

What It Takes to Win in the Woods

Moto Spy pays a visit to Kailub Russell as he takes on a round of the GNCC Championship.

The Grand National Cross Country Championship (GNCC) is America’s premier woods-racing discipline in the two-wheel world. With 13 rounds spanning the woodlands of the East Coast, the GNCC Championship pits some of the world’s best enduro riders against the elements, insanely rough tracks, and each other to determine a champion. Each race lasts around two hours, and with riders’ heart rates averaging around 180 bpm throughout, GNCC is a battle of attrition more so than just about any other form of offroad racing.

KTM’s ace in the hole in GNCC is a young North Carolinan by the name of Kailub Russell. The 26-year-old has three GNCC titles to his name, and seems on his way to a fourth so far in 2017. At round four in Camp Coker, South Carolina, Russell took Red Bull Moto Spy through yet another one of his winning weekends in GNCC.

GNCC racing is a game of finesse, and aggression. Gone are the days when a race could be won by just cruising around riding at half throttle the whole time. GNCC racers now are on a level of fitness and bike ability that closely rivals the stars AMA Pro Motocross — many GNCC racers are also professional caliber motocross athletes.

In fact, to the untrained eye, GNCC looks just like motocross, just in the woods. But the tracks and racing in the woods is a far cry from the 100-plus-foot jumps and deep, loamy soil of MX. GNCC riders are much more subject to natural terrain and elements seemingly designed to trip them off their rhythm, be they trees, roots, dust or extreme dirt conditions. It’s a discipline not for the faint of heart, as proven by Russell’s heart rate data from round one in 2017.

To most people, a dirt bike race is a dirt bike race. But racers who have set tread on a GNCC course know that it is a form of racing unlike any other. A fast pace, a technical and brutal race track and the heat and humidity that overtake the eastern United States all make GNCC an arena that separates the men from the boys, as just about any GNCC fan is sure to tell you.

David Knight interview

David Knight MBE is certainly a legend of the HydroGarden Weston Beach Race. The four-time Enduro World Champion has won at the event six times, including a quad victory, and this year he’s back, he’s ready for it and he’s looking forward to a great weekend on the sands of Weston-Super-Mare on October 13-15. We caught up with the Manxman to find out exactly what he’s beenup-to…

Knighter it’s been a while since we’ve heard a lot about what you’ve been doing or racing, can you give us a bit of an update?
“I’ve done quite a few races this year, but I had a new hip put in late November 2016. I’d had hip surgery in 2011 to tidy things up, but it only worked well in my left hip. I was out for a long time with that, but in the last three years I’d say I’ve really been struggling. I’ve been scared to put my foot down and going through the cycle of pain killers, hurting it, struggling with it, more pain killers. I was living in agony, and the worse thing was I couldn’t do the little things like bend down and play with the kids. Even watching TV  was uncomfortable. The first guy I saw said I’d probably never race again, but I saw a really good surgeon in the Isle of Man. It didn’t matter really to me, as I was in so much pain it had to be sorted whether I could race again or not.”

Things must have gone okay as you’re back on a bike and seem to be riding a fair bit, right?
“Ross (the surgeon) was convinced I would be fine. I was pretty ill for the first couple of weeks after the surgery, but on the third week I started feeling a bit better, then in week four I rode a bike for the first time. I was at a practice day and Ross called to say he thought I could ride. I thought he was joking and said I’m not bothered, I’d rather leave it longer, but he thought it would do me some good. I couldn’t put my socks on at that point, but after getting on the bike and stretching it a little bit, it was sore for sure, then after a night’s rest I could get my socks on the next day and I never looked back.”

So you didn’t mess about much and got back racing again?
“After a steady few weeks I was getting there. I did a race in Wales in January, I was battling with Graham (Jarvis) but took a wrong turning and ended up in a hole up to my handlebars, although apart from that I was racing for the win, which was really nice for me because while I didn’t have the fitness, my hip felt good. It’s August now and they said it would take 18 months to get the hip to its best, but even looking back over the last two months since the race I did in Mexico, my hip is a lot better than it was then. Hopefully in another three months it will be another big step in flexibility. It’s probably better now than it has been for 10 years.”

How have the races gone since then?
“I’ve had some real stupid luck in the races in the British Extreme and that, but my speed is there, and I know that things are in the right direction. At the Mexico race they had some issues with the organisation, but the first big full day I won and there was a few top boys there, so I know I’m getting back to where I need to be. I’ve done training schools in Mexico and Israel, which have been good, I’ve been busy with them, my training schools and tours in the Isle of Man and doing the races I want to do, without going overboard. I’ve done the Isle of Man Enduro Championship and there are some good riders in that including the McCanneys – I’ve won all five rounds so that’s been good too. They’re pretty old school with special tests like they used to be, and I did the Tough 100, which was also good. Unfortunately the Red Bull Romaniacs wasn’t great for me, I was crashing and some of the race was a bit much, but I had good days with positive results to take away.”

How do you see things going forward from here?
“The biggest problem is getting enough time training. You’ve got to pay bills and got to work. I’ve been doing a bit of testing, suspension work, in fact I never know what I’ll be doing. It would be nice to have an income and a routine. One week I’m testing tyres, the next week I’m doing training schools, then a race. I’ve even been in Bosnia doing training schools as well as racing. Having said that it’s been great doing some of these special races in places I maybe wouldn’t have thought to go, because you’re meeting new people and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. There’s much less rushing than racing world championship, and you get to socialise with it. I think I’m probably enjoying it now more than ever.”

The HydroGarden Weston Beach Race is an event you’ve always relished in doing; tell us a little bit about that?
“The HydroGarden Weston Beach Race is one of those special races, I’ve only ever DNF’d or won it – I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but luck has a lot to do with it. The last two times I’ve been really prepared, I had a Yamaha France bike and the bike was great, but it broke down after two laps and then the year after the same thing happened again. It’s typical Weston. In some years I did an indoor on the Friday and Weston on the Sunday with no prep, turned up with a bike that was a practice bike and won. It’s strange! I’ve had bad luck in the last two years, but when I won it I felt like it was a holiday race. I love it there, I’ve enjoyed the success. I’ve won on a bike and a quad, as has my brother. It would be hard to do that again and you’d need to train for it, but who knows.”

What do you think your chances are this year?
“At Weston anything can happen, you can’t predict it. Jonny (Walker) could do well, but he lacks experience. To be honest you get AMCA guys that can do well because of the experience. Todd (Kellet) was impressive last year, and he has that experience you need to do well. His brother doesn’t ride a lot but can finish top 10 at Weston. It’s one of those races. We’ve had Stefan Everts and Josh Coppins there in the past and Marc De Reuver when he was the best sand rider in the world, and I lapped him! So it’s sand, but not sand like we think in motocross. So we’ll just have to see, it’s about surviving the three hours”

What is your strategy for the race?
“It’s a big race; one of the iconic races in the UK. It’s a special race that’s still going – it has had its ups and downs but I think it’s on its way up a bit more again now. There’s been some lean years, which is better as a rider, but getting through the first half hour unscathed is the most important thing when the entry is as big as it is now.”

Do you have any advice for first-timers?
“For a newcomer I’d say you need to treat it like a long distance hare and hound or enduro race. You see guys going into the first or second turn like they’re doing a Grand Prix motocross qualifying and end up cartwheeling down the track! You don’t need to be in the lead, but for someone looking for a win you need to be around top 10 first lap, as the bottlenecks can allow people to get ahead of you with the fences being opened. You need to use your head and bike preparation is massive for Weston. You need the bike to last for three hours in that sand. So often you can get to an hour to go and you’ve no brakes, your chain is hanging off, your sprocket teeth are worn. You need the right equipment! It still doesn’t guarantee anything, you can ride through lakes and prep on the beach and not find a problem that you might get at Weston, but it will help. You don’t want to give all your tips away though do you!”

We look forward to Knighter lining up on the start for this year’s HydroGarden Weston Beach Race event on October 13-15 2017. For more information, entry and tickets please visit www.westonbeachrace.com