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Ups, downs and disappointment for David Knight at Weston Beach Race
14 ottobre 2008 Competing in the quad race first, Knight’s ‘just for fun’ outing saw him finish fourth. Running at the front of the race the Manxman lead for a while but during the closing stages of the three-hour event an intermittent fault saw his bike cut out on several occasions, which slowed his process. Despite his problem Knight still completed 17 laps and missed the podium just by one position. The serious stuff came during the solo event – the race Knight hoped to win. Starting well and claiming the holeshot the KTM rider spent much of the first hour racing against New Zealand’s Josh Coppins. Forced to catch back up to Coppins and then race leader Stefan Everts after his bike wouldn’t start following the first round of pit stops, Knight rode hard during the second hour and lead the race after the second refueling stop. Opening up a 30 second lead as the race neared it’s close, with 40 minutes remaining Knight’s bike stopped and refused to start for one-minute. Dropping back to second and behind Everts, David again pushed hard and closed back in on the Belgian. Disappointingly, Knight’s bike stopped again shortly after, which put his out of the race. Having competed 15 laps Knight was credited with 13th position. David Knight: “Because I was unable to compete at Weston last year I was really looking forward to this year’s event. It’s just too bad that both races weren’t two hours long as I’d have won both if they were. The quad event was just a bit of fun. It was going really well but I’m not sure if I got some water in my fuel or what because near the end of the race my bike started to cut out. Like I said it was just a bit of fun, so I wasn’t too worried about it. Fourth’s not too bad, but it could have been a win if I’d had a little luck on my side. “Not finishing the solo event is really disappointing. I was really pleased with the way I rode, enjoyed battling with Josh Coppins more than any other race I’ve ever done, I just can’t believe that having done the hard work and got into the lead it all ended with me finishing down in 13th. I made a great start but then decided to follow Everts and Coppins for the opening lap. We all broke away from the others and I had such a laugh racing with Josh. We kept passing each other for about an hour. My first pit stop went well but my bike didn’t start so I had to bump start it, which meant I was about 50 seconds behind Everts then. By the second pit stop I was right with him and coming out of the fueling area I was leading. “With about 40 minutes to go I was about 30 seconds ahead. That’s when my bike stalled and it took me about one-minute to get going again. Everts past me and although I was closing in on him my bike stopped again close to the pits and that was that. I’m not sure what the problem was but I was out of the race. Weston is hard on bikes but my motor was running well until it stalled the first time.” Results – ’08 Weston Beach Race (Solo) 1. Stefan Everts (KTM) 18 laps 2. Shaun Simpson (KTM) 18 laps 3. Jamie Lewis (Honda) 18 laps 13. David Knight (Red Bull KTM Off Road Team) 15 laps Results – ’08 Weston Beach Race (Quads) 1. Jeremie Warnia (Suzuki) 17 laps 2. John Mitchell (Yamaha) 17 laps 3. Carl Bunce (Suzuki) 17 laps 4. David Knight (Red Bull KTM Off Road Team) 17 laps |
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