Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Published: 06th December 2007
Author: Sean Lawless
fa la la la la la, la la la la, tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la, la la la la… Yep, Christmas is upon us, the goose (not to mention various DBR staff) is getting fat and another year in the dirt is drawing to a close. And all-in-all I reckon 2007 has been pretty kind to British off-road fans.
In the land of motocross Billy MacKenzie and Tommy Searle have won GPs and Tommy’s advanced to a pretty-bloody-good second in the world plus we’ve also got a new world champion in the shape of 44-year-old Dave Thorpe. Apart from a cover shot a few issues back we’ve not really given DT the respect his fourth world title deserves so hopefully we’ve redressed the balance a little with this month’s six-page feature illustrated by Nick Haskell’s brilliant back-in-the-day images.
If I had to put money on who would be our next world champ then – apart from DT making it #5 in 2008 – it’d have to go on Tommy. I’m not saying it’s by any means a cert but the only thing that’s increased more than his maturity this season has been his speed. It’s been a steep learning curve for Tommy but if he keeps improving at this rate who knows what he’s capable of next season? At the very least he should be making life difficult for our favourite Sicilian…
It’s only human nature that people are always looking for the next big thing and while Tommy was cleaning up in the Lites class at Sheffield, the next next big thing was running away with the BW85cc division before nipping across to Paris to successfully defend his Prince of Bercy crown. I haven’t seen Max Anstie since he was ripping up dad Merv’s junior SX track on a Husky auto back in Y2K and it was great to watch all that promise he was demonstrating seven years ago coming to fruition. And it was equally encouraging to speak to him afterwards and discover that despite the pressures of signing for the factory KTM team Max is incredibly easy-going with his feet firmly rooted to the ground.
Over in enduros we’ve not had a world champ this season but Tom Sagar’s had a stellar year in the WEC’s EJ class to finish in third and then backed that up with an impressive performance at the ISDE. I know a few MX riders who view enduros as a bit of a soft touch but by and large – discounting Johnny Aubert – it’s the trials guys who find the switch to woods racing a little easier. Tom’s following in the footsteps of probably the most successful trials rider turned enduro rider ever, David Knight – and the big man has had a pretty good season of his own, overcoming all sorts of problems to win the coveted AMA GNCC crown. Good work Big Foot!
Trials has been a little less of a happy hunting ground but our ladies did successfully defend their TdN title and Michael Brown lifted a world crown of his own so the Brits are still keeping their end up on the feet-up side of things.
Finally this month I want to say a few words about a good, good mate of everyone in the DBR and T+MX offices and for that matter just about everybody else who were lucky enough to meet him. Tony Macari died at his home near Stoke-on-Trent last month after falling down the stairs and sustaining fatal head injuries. Tony had a huge heart and a huge personality and from the moment he joined our advertising sales team in 2005 to the moment he left earlier this year he made this building a fun-filled, better place to work. Our hearts go out to his wife Michelle and his young daughters Olivia Grace and Ella Sofia.