Solid result at rd2 of the EWC for Knighter
Date: March 28, 2013
Knighter.net Honda rider David Knight produced two more solid 5th place results in the GP of Argentina in very hot and dusty conditions. Just missing the podium on day 1, David had to ride all day Sunday battling with the pain of an injured finger that he caught on a tree on the final lap on Saturday.
The race began on Friday night with the supertest in the centre of San Juan with an estimated 10,000 spectators watching. With the E2 class starting first, David put in a great time getting third, less than one second from first.
Day 1 was 4 laps of short but rough special tests. David started well with the same five guys swapping and battling for the top positions, just like in Chile one week before. With little to separate them, it was the rider who was most confident pushing 100% in every corner who would take the win. A few small but costly mistakes, including catching his finger on a tree on the final lap and having trouble gripping the handlebars on the remaining 3 tests, was enough to put David fifth, just 15 seconds from third. Yet again the top five E2 riders were in a class of their own overall which shows the outright speed the guys are racing at.
Day 2 was always going to be tough on the very rough special tests, especially with an injured finger. Having to grit his teeth and try for a solid result, David struggled to hold on for the first lap having small crashes on the first two special tests causing him to lose touch with the leaders. Instead he decided to concentrate on getting fifth again and if anything happened to one of the guys in front then he would be near them to capitalise on it. As the day progressed David started to get faster and actually close the 3rd and 4th place riders but with the gap being around 20 seconds from the lap 1 errors, it was a little bit much to ask and he was happy enough under the circumstances to get 5th place again.
David Knight
It’s definitely been a tough weekend for everyone as the tests were short but very rough with not much time or rest in between. Again I was very happy with my riding on Saturday and stayed in contact with the leaders most of the day and I was very close to the podium yet again, just missing out but the pace we all had to ride at we are all going to make mistakes. One of them was spectators putting big rocks on the line on a blind corner, I just clipped it and crashed, Ivan Cervantes also hit it before me and said he was very lucky to stay on. On the extreme test on lap 4 I caught my finger on a small tree and dislocated it, so it was very difficult on the final Mx and enduro test to grip the handlebars so I lost some time but altogether I am very happy with everything as we were a step ahead of the other riders and classes.
Day 2 was more frustrating than anything, knowing my fitness and the very rough tests would suit me, my finger was hurting really bad and it was impossible to grip the handlebars, crashing on the first 2 tests by just not being able to grip on properly. After lap 1 me and Paul Eddy decided to just ride my own race and just try and get 5th as the top 4 were over 20 seconds in front so that’s what I did and as the day went on I got faster, rode smooth to try and limit any mistakes and started making time back on 3rd and 4th position, so although it was still a solid result, I was disappointed as I am very sure it would have been a podium spot, but it is part of racing and even though I couldn’t fight for the podium on Sunday my pace compared to everyone else was really fast.
All in all I’m really happy with everything especially my speed, the Honda and with the whole team. Again we were fighting the factory teams, now I can get back home, get my finger sorted and get the suspension dialled in the last few percent I need to be able to fight even harder to get that podium we desperately want and deserve when we start the European leg.
Again a big thanks to Paul, Greek and Rudy, brilliant job by all three guys again, and thanks to all our sponsors.
Cheers, Knighter