|
| News and products for the motorcycle enthusiast and professional |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
KTM ENDURO
KTM factory team riders David Knight, Cyril Despres and Giovanni Sala claimed three of the top four places at the second ever running of the twin-cylinder class race at the 12th Erzberg rodeo, staged in Eisenerz, Austria, where Manxman David Knight claimed an impressive win, with his new 950 Super Enduro R, ahead of Finn Simo Kirssi with Despres claiming third and Sala fourth. Reigning Enduro 3 world champion and KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli rider David Knight claimed victory in the twin-cylinder class of the ‘06 Erzberg Rodeo to go with his winning ride in the Hare Scramble race at last year’s event. Competing on KTM’s 950 Super Enduro R for the first time ever, having given the Austrian manufacturer’s new 250 EXC-F a winning UK debut just four days earlier, Knight finished two seconds ahead of Simo Kirssi having posted a time of eight minutes and 52 seconds on the first of his two timed runs. Backing up Knighter’s fantastic result was the fact that Dakar winner Cyril Despres and former five-time World Enduro Champion Giovanni Sala also secured great finishes. Placing third, having spent two months developing the race version of the 950 Super Enduro R, Cyril Despres posted a time of 9:02.38 on his first run up the mountain. Finishing in fourth Sala’s quickest run was just six seconds slower, which was good enough to give the Italian a well deserved fourth place finish. Proving both the robustness and competitiveness of KTM’s production 950 Super Enduro R a select number of international journalist were entered into the twin-cylinder class race at the 12th Erzberg Rodeo. Showing that the bike really is ‘Ready to Race’ Ryan Dudek from the US and Jonty Edmunds from the UK finished just two seconds apart in 10th and 11th places respectively. David Knight: “Racing the 950 Super Enduro R was certainly different to riding the 250 EXC-F, which I raced last weekend. I spent some time riding the production 950 the day before the twin-cylinder race, so that I could get used to the bigger bike, and I knew straight away that I would be competitive. It took me a little while to adjust to the race bike on my first run, because I hadn’t ridden the factory race bike before, but as soon as I got three or four corners behind me I immediately felt settled. My first run went well. I set off steadily because the first part of the course was pretty dangerous in places and you had to be very precise. I built my speed then, got some good lines, and had a good run up the mountain. I caught a few slower riders but I don’t think I could have gone much quicker. I was starting in among slower riders on my second run because I was sharing the bike Giovanni Sala was riding so I had to wait for him to finish before I could start. I made sure that I left a big gap between myself and the rider in front and didn’t catch them until right at the end of the course. I really enjoyed the second run, maybe a little bit too much because I was just having fun, waving at spectators and drifting in and out of the corners. I got some parts of the track better and on some bits I was slower but to beat everyone on my first time on a twin here is great. The 950 Super Enduro R was great fun to race and winning shows just how good the bike is.” Cyril Despres: “I’m really very happy with not only my result here at Erzberg but the results of the KTM riders in the 2-cylinder class — it has been a fantastic success. Two months ago Kurt Nicoll asked me to be in charge of the development of the 950 Super Enduro R race bike and the team of technicians and mechanics that I have been working with have been so enthusiastic about building this great bike, I am really proud of what we have achieved. My race was really nice. I am simply happy to be a part of the official KTM team but I am not too worried about my result, although finishing in third is great. I thought that my second run was my fastest but it was actually six seconds slower, which was a surprise. The course was really nice because there were plenty of places where you could open the throttle and really enjoy what the 950 Super Enduro R can do. It was great fun, I’m really looking forward to competing in the Hare Scramble race now.” Results: Erzberg Rodeo, twin-cylinder class
|
|
| Biker247.com is an Internet publication brought to you by The 247 Network - Visit our other sites at www.the247network.com. |
| The entire content included in this website, including but not limited to text, design, graphics, interfaces, or code and the selection and arrangements thereof is copyrighted as a collective work under the UK and other copyright laws and is the property of The 247 Network. |