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2006 ERZBERG RODEO XII (AUSTRIA) KTM factory rider David Knight claimed a convincing victory in the Red Bull Hare Scramble race at the 12th running of the Erzberg Rodeo event staged in Eisenerz, Austria where the Manxman collected his second win in as many years. Having topped the ’05 running of the event at his first visit to the gruelling Erzberg race, David proved once again to be the king of the mountain and finished the ’06 event in a time of 1:17.33. In doing so he placed nine minutes clear of the second place finisher. Joining David on the podium in third position was KTM’s Cyril Despres who after a disastrous start fought his way to the front and came extremely close to finishing second. Having secured victory in the twin-cylinder class of the ’06 Erzberg Rodeo event aboard KTM’s 950 Super Enduro R David Knight stated the Red Bull Hare Scramble race determined to ‘do the double’ and become the first rider to win both races at the same event. Starting well Knight arrived at the second hill of the race behind fellow KTM rider Werner Muller from Austria before then needing two attempts to get up the event’s third hill, which dropped him down to just inside the top 20. Quickly back inside the top five Knight then hit the front 15 minutes into the race as the course started to get technical. 10 minutes later he was comfortably ahead and after one-hour and 17 minutes he reached the end of the event to claim his second Erzberg Hare Scramble win. Nine minutes behind David Austrian trials rider Andreas Lettenbichler was the next rider to cross the finish line, closely followed by KTM mounted former Dakar winner Cyril Despres. With Despres having placed third in the twin-cylinder class, and having to head straight to the start of the Rallye Opri Maroc after the Erzberg event, the Frenchman got caught out by one of the early hill climbs in the race and lost valuable positions just a few kilometres from the start. Eventually getting himself to the top of the third hill Cyril then began to work his way forward and as the race neared its close was within striking distance of the runner-up spot. Unable to make it into second Cyril claimed a well deserved third place finish. Despite constant rain during the 12th running of the Erzberg Red Bull Hare Scramble some 40 rider made it to the finish out of over 1000 starters. Of those that finished just under half were mounted on KTM motorcycles. David Knight: “Winning the Red Bull Hare Scramble as well as the twin-cylinder race has made it the perfect weekend at Erzberg for me. I was a lot more confident going into this year’s event because I knew what to expect and the race went really well. I missed the jump at the start because another rider started his bike too early and I looked across to see what was happening. I still managed to get a good start though, which was good. I got roosted with rocks by Werner Muller on the second hill so I went wide on the third hill, hit a hole, lost all my speed and had to go back to the bottom again to get another run at it. “I managed to get back passed a load of the riders that had passed me without too many problems and then got roosted with rocks by Giovanni Sala on the 950. I got told then that I was in third so I settled down a bit then. I knew that Travis Pastrana was ahead of me but I passed him when he got stuck on some rocks. I only had Muller to get passed then and I was shouting and shouting at him to let me passed because his bike was just firing rocks at me all the time. “Once I got passed I had no problems at all and just tried my best not to damage the bike. I got told that I had a good lead so I just rode steadily to the finish. It was definitely easier than last year’s race but I enjoyed it much more as well. “Winning both classes was what I wanted to do but winning the twin class having not seen the bike until my first run up the mountain was great. I’m just pleased to have been able to defend my Hare Scramble title and make it a great weekend for KTM.” Cyril Despres: “I was really surprised and pleased when I arrived at the top of the first hill because I was in third position. I have never had a good start at Erzberg. I was right behind David but then I messed up on the third hill. I had to go back to the bottom of that hill, turn around and try again, and have another three attempts at getting to the top. In the end a journalist had to pull my bike for the last few metres. “I was in about 30th position then and spent the next half an hour passing rider after rider while trying to make up the time I had lost. I really had to push myself. The first section of the course in the trees was really hard because there were no real lines. I was really pleased to have arrived at the top of the mountain after my terrible start. In the Red Bull hill I caught Travis Pastrana and managed to pass him and move ahead of him in the race. “Nearing the end of the race I was battling with Graham Jarvis and we passed each other a few times before I managed to get away from him a little bit. In the last rock section the Austrian rider that eventually finished second was stuck. I thought that I would be able to pass him but he had some help from three or four spectators and was able to stay ahead of me. I’m really happy with my result and enjoyed the event very much.” Results: Erzberg Rodeo, Red Bull Hare Scramble Photo courtesy of KTM
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