06 March 2010

Despite Electraction TM UK rider Phillip McLaughlin claiming a well-deserved top 10 overall result at the opening round of the ’10 British Enduro Championship the Diss MCC organised Muntjac Enduro went far from as planned for the TM team. With visa issues frustratingly preventing new team signing Josh Green from competing McLaughlin and fellow Irishman Gordon Clarke were left to fly the flag for TM.

Having recently spent time training in the south of France the horrendously wet conditions at the Muntjac Enduro came as a bit of a shock to McLaughlin. Nevertheless the young Irishman quickly showed his improved competitiveness having switched away from a 450cc four-stroke and onto a 250cc four-stroke in the Enduro 1 class. Just five seconds behind eventual Enduro 1 class winner Paul Edmondson on the first test, Phillip then saw his hopes of a top three E1 class result disappear when his bike stopped mid way through the second timed test. With his fuel tank vent pipe having become blocked Phillip lost over one-minute as he tried to restart his bike. Eventually rectifying the simple problem McLaughlin then brought his event to a positive end with strong performances on the third and final tests. Including his troubled second test Phillip was the 14th overall fastest rider on the day, but having lost less time on the time controls than some of his rivals improved to 10th overall and fourth in the Enduro 1 four-stroke class results.

Ninth in the Enduro 2 class and 18th overall Gordon Clarke was pleased with his start to the ’10 BEC series. With little time spent riding prior to the event Gordon was pleased to reach the end of the Muntjac having made few mistakes on the demanding and heavily rutted special test. Despite dropping three minutes on the time controls Clarke performed consistently on all tests to make a strong start to the championship.

The Muntjac Enduro was hoped to be new team signing Josh Green’s first British Enduro Championship event. But having arrived from Australia into the UK, before heading to France to train ahead of the all important season opener, Josh ran into ‘visa issues’ when returning to the UK ahead of the BEC opener. With all of his required visa documentation and paperwork in order the ill considered and unprofessional actions of one border control officer resulted in Josh being forced to return to Ireland and miss the Muntjac Enduro. Although told by both the Australian and Irish authorities that he has the correct visa documentation Josh may be forced to return home to Australia in order to rectify the situation ahead of the opening round of the British Enduro Sprint Series at the end of March.

Phillip McLaughlin (TM EN 250 FI): ‘It was a mixed day for me. I started out being a little too cautious on the first test because I didn’t want to make any big mistakes and ruin my day, but that cost me a bit because I was a little ways off the pace. I had a really good pace going during the second test but then the fuel tank breather hose got blocked, which caused the bike to stop. I seemed to be trying to start the bike for ages and a load of riders past me. Because I’d lost time on the test I then had to push really hard to clean the time control. Because I’d lost a lot of time I knew I wouldn’t be able to pull it all back but my first back-to-back test went well. I then caught another rider on the final test so I lost a bit more time. Not the best of days but I was really pleased with my riding and despite the one breather hose problem my bike was great too. It was just a shame that the weather was so bad.’

Gordon Clarke (TM EN 300): “I don’t think anyone was expecting the event to become quite as muddy and sloppy as it did. The Muntjac is always sandy, and normally cold and dry, so to get so much rain was a massive shock. The weather destroyed the test. It was one long rut from start to finish from the second lap and unless you were line perfect the whole way around it was hard not to make any mistakes. Partly because of the weather I’ve not been able to ride as much as I’d have liked before the event, so I found it a bit difficult to get myself up to race pace for the tests. It was a tough four tests but I enjoyed it and am really looking forward to the rest of the championship now.’

Results – Championship class, overall
’10 Metzeler ACU British Enduro Championship, Rnd 1

1. David Knight (KTM) 1398.07; 2. Paul Edmondson (Suzuki) 1417.27; 3. Daryl Bolter (KTM) 1429.28; 4. Si Wakely (Husqvarna) 1443.86; 5. Tom Sagar (Suzuki) 1448.69; 6. Greg Evans (KTM) 1453.66…10. Phillip McLaughlin (Electraction TM UK) 1536.61…18. Gordon Clarke (Electraction TM UK) 1788.16