Number One! Again!

Published: 19th September 2006

Author: Words and photo by Jonty Edmunds

It's said to be harder to defend a world championship than it is to win one in the first place but it seems no-one told David Knight that...

There are several things that the '06 FIM World Enduro Championship will be remembered for but above all else it is the dominance of Manxman David Knight that will, for most, be the season's defining memory.
While French newcomer Johnny Aubert arrived with a bang, Swede Joakim Ljunggren emerged as the future king of Swedish enduro and the series itself travelled to pastures new, Knighter delivered seven devastating and demoralising blows to his Enduro 3 class mates, the like of which have never been seen before. Expected to successfully defend his E3 world championship having been the most dominant rider in the class in '05, no-one - not even David himself - expected to make winning a championship look as easy as he did this year.
    But the most impressive thing about Knighter's '06 E3 world championship is the way in which he won his crown. While simply scoring one-point more than any other competitor would have been enough to lift the title, winning each and every day of the series leading up to winning the title is something few, if any, riders have ever done before in the WEC. It didn't happen by accident, it didn't happen because of weak opposition and it certainly didn't happen because DK got lucky. It happened because Knighter wanted to win more than any other rider.
    Before most of his rivals had finished eating their Christmas leftovers Knighter put himself on a plane and headed to the States for two weeks of intensive pre-season training around the jump-littered tracks of southern California. The reason he travelled to the US and not to the more traditional southern European enduro training grounds was simple. David realised that despite winning on all but one day of the '05 series his speed on motocross tracks - proper motocross tracks - could be improved.
Despite establishing himself as the world's fastest enduro rider Knighter acknowledged there was room for improvement. And by heading to SoCal and hooking up with the likes of Travis Pastrana, Seb Tortelli and numerous other US and European motocross stars he could train with - and learn from - the best of the best. He then headed home to compete in numerous indoor and extreme events where he showed he was more than ready to defend his E3 title.
But Knighter's biggest challenge lay ahead - the WEC's first ever winter enduro, the opening round of the '06 series. Confident that he could win in countries he'd raced in before, fitting studded tyres to his factory KTM and racing in sub-zero conditions was a whole different story. With his expected closest championship rival Marko Tarkkala having grown up using spiked tyres during the long Scandinavian winters, Knighter knew that winning in Sweden would be harder than in any other country. He also knew that if he were to stand any chance at all of topping the E3 podium in Ostersund he would have to 'get his head around riding on ice'. So Knighter packed his bags a full 10 days before the opening round of the season, headed to northern Sweden alone and began watching, learning and perfecting his ice racing skills.
In winning the opening round of the '06 WEC season outright Knighter proved two things. Firstly, despite having serious doubts himself that he would be able to win he showed the world just how much he wanted to retain his E3 title. Secondly, he proved that a non-Scandinavian could win a winter enduro.
What followed was David Knight at his very best. In Portugal, Spain, Italy, Canada and the States he claimed win after win after win while his rivals were forced to acknowledge that they didn't stand a hope in hell of beating him. The tougher the race the bigger the winning margin. The bigger the winning margin the bigger the smile on Knighter's face. The end result of a season of hard work? A well deserved second E3 world championship.
While he may not have been going for a 10th world championship title, Knighter's achievements in '06 have nonetheless been highly impressive. Expected to win as he did in '05, over the course of a season David has proved that he is undoubtedly number one. Not just in the Enduro 3 class but in the World Enduro Championship.
The '07 WEC will be a lesser championship without Knighter who's heading Stateside for his next big challenge. And with his unquestionable work ethic and desire to succeed, DK will no doubt meet this new challenge - that of winning next season's US Grand National Cross Country series - head-on!