Moving Up!
Published: 17th October 2006
Author: Words and photo by Jonty Edmunds
Only just recently more a collection of events than a true national series, the British Enduro Championship is now on the up and up. So which way now for the BEC?
Why is it that the grass of Italian, Spanish or even French special tests seems greener than it is in the British Enduro Championship?
Is it because BEC races are run in places named Bordon and Rhayader rather than the far more exciting sounding Central European regions of Castiglion Fiorentino or Serravalle Pistoiese? Or is it because enduro is perceived to be a much less 'dirty' word on the continent and as a result other people's national championships must be better supported and more professionally organised than our own? Or are the facts that southern European countries have historically attracted non-nationals to their domestic series and have more world championship regulars competing in them that makes us think they are better?
Whatever the reasons for thinking that the BEC ranks about as high in the league of European national enduro series as Britain normally finishes in the European Song Contest, the reality of the matter is very different. Most involved in the championship might not be aware how good the BEC is at present, the ACU themselves might not know just how good the BEC could become and many probably don't give a s**t how it compares to series they'll never compete in. But the fact of the matter is that the BEC is now one of the best national enduro series in Europe.
This season the Grampian MCC ran a BEC event for the first time ever, a first class event with two world class special tests. The Dyfed Dike Bike Club & Aberystwyth MCC organised its first ever two-day BEC event and proved that organisational inexperience can easily be overcome with ambition and enthusiasm. The Rhayader MCC & LCC returned to the series for the first time since boot gators were cool while the Diss MCC refused to see its event die due to a loss of land and ran a one-day event to start the series with professionalism and enthusiasm. Then, after seven months, the REME-organised Natterjack Enduro brought the series to an exciting, if somewhat wet, close.
Don't believe me when I say the BEC is on the up and up? Well ask Britain's four-time world champion Paul Edmondson. Having raced professionally in the British, Spanish and Italian national enduro championship as well as competing in enduro events in the US, Paul will tell you that the BEC hasn't been as good as it is at present for many years. The quality of the events is better than they have been for many years, the number of clubs supporting the series is at an all-time high and the championship class is, to borrow a US phrase, super-competitive. The BEC is hauling ass!
Competing in the BEC we have not only the world's best enduro rider David Knight, four-time world champion Paul Edmondson, European Enduro Champion Tom Sagar and former EEC champion Daryl Bolter but numerous experienced and enthusiastic riders that together make the level of the BEC series higher than all but a few southern European national enduro series. With more two-day events than either the Italian or Spanish championships the BEC is actually the envy of several major European motorcycling federations.
But it could be even better. And now is the time to make it stronger. With competitors seemingly willing to back a national cross-country series as much as they are a three-legged horse in the Grand National the time is right to raise the BEC to a higher level. By combining the enthusiasm shown by the small but hard working group of clubs that keep the series alive with a well thought out and structured plan of attack the BEC could become Europe's best national enduro series. We might never be able to rival the names of events held in the Italian, Spanish and French series but we can build a better national enduro series.
So what do we need to make the BEC better than the rest? Well, while we might not have the weather the Spaniards do, the backing of 'official' teams like the Italians or a truly professional governing body like the French we do have the ingredients - well organised existing events - to build a better championship. If we do as they have in the States where an AMA-backed National Enduro Promotions Group has been formed - a select group of knowledgeable enduro professionals and enthusiasts brought together to 'bring added momentum and interest to the enduro series' - then the BEC could realistically start to move forward with pace.
By learning from both the mistakes and successes of World Enduro Championship promoter Alain Blanchard and by thinking about what the series is really trying to do (which as far as I'm concerned is the same as any national championship and that's to prepare British riders for international competition) then without drastic changes the series can be improved. It won't happen overnight and it won't happen without clubs wanting to make the series stronger but if it did then the British Enduro Championship could become the #1 series in Europe.
Whether the powers-that-be recognise that the BEC has the potential to be one of Europe's very best national series remains to be seen. If they do then the British enduro series can expect to become more entertaining, likely attract competitors from overseas and maintain the interest of existing riders while helping the country's best youngsters better prepare themselves for international competitions. If they don't then a golden opportunity to modernise and improve the BEC will have been missed.
And it would be a crying shame for all concerned if that were to happen...