When the going gets tough...David Knight gets goimg

by Andy Dukes

As part of his pre-season preparations, BMW Motorrad Motorsport's new recruit David Knight will contest this year's Tough One extreme sprint scramble on a BMW G 450 X sport enduro. The fifth running of one of the United Kingdom's most popular extreme enduro events takes place this weekend at the Nantmawr Quarry in Oswestry, Shropshire, and the 30-year-old from Ballaugh in the Isle of Man will be returning with the aim of taking his fifth Tough One title in a row. Having signed for the factory team late last year, David is keen to get as much experience on the BMW sport enduro as possible, in preparation for an assault on the 2009 Enduro World Championship, as well as other selected extreme enduro events. Just last weekend, the Manxman competed in the Dalby Mountain Enduro on the Isle of Man, beating his brother Juan to post a first win on his competitive debut for BMW, riding a series production G 450 X with modified suspension. Despite nursing a sore wrist and ribs, David is looking forward to being the only BMW rider at The Tough One this weekend.

David Knight and his BMW G450X Challenge

"The Tough One has been an important part of my pre-season preparations for the last four years, as well as an event I really enjoyed competing in," said David. "As well as being a great event it gives me the chance to compete in front of a home crowd - something I've not been able to do too much of during the past two years as I raced in the States. This year the Tough One is the only extreme event I will compete in pre-season, so it's extra special."

Trying to stop David Knight from a fifth consecutive victory will be a whole multitude of world-class riders that will be eager to get their hands on the 'winner takes all' £2,000 prize fund and relieve `Knighter' of his coveted crown. These include KTM factory rider Taddy Blazusiak, who will be out to go one better than his runner-up position last year; established extreme stars like Wayne Braybrook; four-times World Enduro Champion Paul Edmondson; current British Enduro Champion Tom Sagar, and many other top-class riders from the UK enduro scene.

"Like at any extreme event anything can happen and nothing's guaranteed until the race finishes. Obviously, having won the event four times before I'm feeling confident but there's some very strong competition. Competing on my BMW for the first time will add a little excitement, and it's the first time I've raced the event on a four-stroke. I know that there's a handful of riders that want to stop me from winning for a fifth time but I'm ready to give the race everything."

This year's course has been planned for close racing and designed to offer the greatest possible entertainment to spectators, which of course means that it will be incredibly gruelling for the riders, who will begin The Tough One with a 300-metre run uphill just to get to their machines! As well as the usual natural obstacles such as gnarly rocks and root-infested climbs, there will also be log crossings, field sections, tyres, cars and even wagons to overcome. A lap of around four kilometres will keep the racing sharp, that's for sure.

David is very much looking forward to competing this weekend, although his main focus is keeping himself fit and sharp for the forthcoming season - in his opinion the most exciting of his career to date.

"My goal this year is to win BMW their first World Enduro Championship title. The level of competition in the WEC is higher than ever so it's going to be a challenging season, but one I'm really looking forward to. Everyone in the team is working hard to make sure we can produce the best results possible. There's two months before the WEC starts, and I can't wait."


David Knight profile

Nationality - Manx
Current residence - Ballaugh, Isle of Man
Date of Birth - 31/05/1978
Birthplace - Douglas, Isle of Man
Family - single
Height/Weight - 6'4" / 207 lbs (1.95m / 94kg)
Hobbies - trials riding and all motorsports
Year turned pro - 2000
Bike - BMW G 450 X
Mechanic - Scott Brooker (Scotty)
Class - WEC E3
Startnumber - 101


Career Highlights

GNCC Champion XC-1 2007/8
GBXC Champion 2008
Mexico Fun Enduro Winner 2008
AMA Endurocross Champion 2007
FIM Indoor Enduro World Champion 2007/8
A4DE Champion 2007
Two-times World Enduro Champion 2005/06
2nd place World Enduro Champion 2000/01/02/04
Two-times Erzberg Extreme Winner
U.S. Red Bull Last Man Standing Winner 2005 and 2006
AMA Enduro Cross Champion 2005
ISDE Overall Winner 2005
Six-times British Enduro Champion

This feature originally appeared in February 2009 - Updated: 03/07/09

Updated on: 03/07/09 at 18:45 CST