PODIUM RESULT FOR KNIGHT ON WEC RETURN

31-year-old Manxman, David Knight, made a return to the World Enduro Championship podium at the penultimate round of the 2009 series staged in Serres, Greece this weekend.

It was Knighter's first ever WEC event on board the Paul Bird Motorsport Kawasaki KX450F machinery backed by World Superbike Racing sponsors, Vent-Axia and Supercasino.com.

In unfamiliar dry and dusty conditions, Knight took an early lead in the E2 class on day one before his progress was halted when he broke a footpeg on the first timed enduro test. Ending the day fourth, Knight won each of the four extreme special tests.

On day two, a three-rider fight for the E2 top spot saw David battle against Juha Salminen and Cristobal Guerrero. Dominating the extreme test once again, David missed out on the runner-up position by less than half a second and was placed just 18 seconds behind eventual winner Salminen.

David Knight: "The main thing for me is that I really enjoyed the event. It was tough with the heat but generally I'm pleased with the way it went. Returning to the WEC was never going to be easy, but I've improved throughout the weekend and know where improvements can be made. Day one started really well and I managed to open up about an 18 second lead, which was good, but then I broke a footpeg in the first enduro test. On the extreme test, my bike was perfect, but it was too soft on the enduro test. I was pleased enough with the way the first day went though. The second day was really good and things were really close between myself, Salminen and Guerrero early on. I made some mistakes on a few tests, caught a few slower riders on some others, and at the same time Juha was riding really well. I'm pleased that I was competitive, but a little disappointed that I missed out on second by next to nothing. I feel like I've improved a lot during the weekend and that I really started getting back into it. Like I said I know where I can improve the bike and myself so I'm looking forward to the French Enduro Championship event next weekend and the WEC final the week after. I have to thank my team for doing a great job all weekend."

Stuart Bland, Team Co-ordinator: "We're really happy with David's performance throughout the weekend. He dominated all the extreme tests and steadily improved his pace on the motocross and cross-country tests. This is the first race on fast dry terrain and with further improvements we'll definitely be challenging for the win next time out in France. Aside from a few small errors and the problem with the footrest I think we could have been even higher up on the podium. The Kawasaki KX450F performed flawlessly and David is getting more comfortable on the bike so we are confident that there is still a lot of potential to come. I was also really impressed and want to congratulate the organisers on a really well run event."

Results 2009 WEC Round 7, GP of Greece
Enduro 2 class, Day 1
1. Johnny Aubert (KTM) 55:42.12;
2. Juha Salminen (BMW) 56:09.19;
3. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 56:19.35;
4. David Knight (Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team) 56:48.58

Enduro 2 class, Day 2
1. Juha Salminen (BMW) 51:13.10;
2. Cristobal Guerrero (Yamaha) 51:31.91;
3. David Knight (Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team) 51:32.28

Details and profiles of the riders, team and bikes as well as championship information, pictures and calendar etc can be found at www.kawasaki-racingteam.eu. Further news can be found also at www.paulbirdmotorsport.com and David's own website at www.knighter.net
Picture attached of David Knight courtesy of Jonty Edmunds.
ENDS