A full entry of over 200 riders will tackle Diss MCCs GH Motorcycles Muntjac Enduro on Sunday 19th November. The event forms the final round of the 2017 ACU British Timecard Enduro Championship and the 20 mile course of forestry going at Thetford in Norfolk is looking in good shape.
The club have been hard at work marking out a lot of new going and the special test has been altered in a few places to avoid areas which previously had a tendency to cut up when it turns wet. At the moment, the going is very dry which should make for excellent riding.
Repeating the format tried for the first time last year, the championship riders will be starting at 08:45 to enable them to ride the first special test back-to-back, before riding the test again on laps 2 and 3, and then 3 times on lap four! This format combined with the compact nature of the event makes it all action and enjoyable for spectators and support crews.
Newly crowned Junior World Champion, Brad Freeman – Beta Boana Racing Sport, starts as favourite. On top of his success in the world enduro championship, Brad has already taken the E3 2017 British Championship honours and overall victory on 4 out of the 6 BEC rounds held this year. However, Manxman Danny McCanney - Rockstar Energy - Husqvarna Factory Racing who won this event outright in 2016, is going to provide a real challenge. He is already E2 BEC champion and achieved 5
th overall in E2 World Enduro Championship and was setting a blistering pace and winning the E2 class in the final round in Germany.
Dan Mundell – Apico/JD Racing KTM has tied up the E1 class but he will be battling it out for honours on the day with Jack Edmondson - Coastal Racing, Husqvarna UK. Jack actually won the first test outright at last year’s Muntjac by nearly 4 seconds and whilst he has been out injured most of the summer months, he has only recently returned and took a class win at the GNCC Ironman Raceway in USA. This secured him 3rd overall in the GNCC 125 class in his first season competing across the pond which is a great result considering time out with injury.
In the Championship E1/4 stoke the very spectacular to watch and talented rider Lee Sealey - Yamaha UK Offroad Experience should close out the series by taking a well deserved win.
The above riders will expect intense competition from the first test with lots of other extremely talented riders looking for victory including Joe Wootton (winner of the Santon Enduro in Thetford Forest in February and recently having a strong ISDE in the Junior team), Alex Snow (winner of the ACU GBX Sprint Championship) and Thomas Ellwood (good ISDE Junior Team result in France). Competing in the championship class and likely to also present a challenge are the likes of Todd Kellett (winner of the October 2017 Weston Beach Race) and the Luke Parker, Eastern Centre Motocross Champion.
In the expert class Brad King, Jay Thomas, Alex Walton, Andrew Bisset, Jon Hunt, Kev Murray and Rich Ely will be fighting it out for British Championship Expert Class overall honours and also their respective class wins. Hunt has secured the Expert E1 4 stoke championship but the other classes are still up for the taking. Another rider in the thick of it will be Adam James back riding the British Championship after recovering from injury. A good ISDE performance in France has helped him to get confidence and fitness back.
The clubman championship will also see strong competition with the current top three, Fred Adams (102 points), Harry Hiller-Rees (92) and Allyn Taylor (88) all fighting for the 2017 BEC clubman crown.
Experts will be timed on their first three tests and clubman on the first two tests. One of the reasons why these classes do not ride more tests is to reduce the overlap of riders due to the short course. Never the less the last check of 20 miles provides the greatest test.
For safety reasons all riders are reminded that the refuelling area is a walking speed area – no exceptions unless you are riding within the bypass provided. Even then, from the yellow flag into the control, is walking speed. It is also important that all refuelling is carried out on an environmental mat, so bring one and use it.
Everyone is asked to park sensibly as some of the parking area has now been fenced off. Please do not obstruct the forest track entrance / exit to the event as this is a first aid route.
Many thanks to event sponsor GH Motorcycles and G&B Finch Aggregates of Colchester for their support and also for generously supporting the 2017 Eastern Centre Enduro Championship. See you there!
Report Andy Waters – Photos Gemma James & Ashleigh Blunt