Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128407
David Knight: Coming To America? With the success that KTM rider Juha Salminen has enjoyed in only his first full year in the United States. it is no wonder that the top Euros are chomping at the bit to come stateside and cash in like Salminen did. Reigning World Enduro and ISDE Champion David Knight may just be the next in line. In fact. there is a good chance that Knight will replace Salminen in the GNCC series in 2007. Knight has dominated just about everything he has ridden in Europe and came to America in November to ride the Red Bull last Man Standing race in Texas and the Maxxis EnduroCross in las Vegas. and he ended up winning both. He definitely proved that he has the speed to dominate the way that Salminen has, and he says he has the desire to spend a year or more in America. While he was in Texas, we spoke with the Isle of Man-native and talked about the 200S season and what might lay ahead in his future. en: You've had quite a good year so far, with the World title and the ISDE win. davidknlght: Yes. thanks. Hopefully, can make it even better, here. en: You are no stranger to these extreme-type EVents like the Last Man Standing. and you seem to do well in them. Do you like riding these types of competitions? davidknight: I've done extreme races in Austria before, and this Last Man Standing event here in Texas is a similar format to that. You just try to get through the first two laps safely, maybe in the top 10 or so, and try to save a little energy for the last two laps. There are a lot of my mates who all like this kind of race, and coming from a trials background, I like it too. At the World Enduro races, you stop at time controls, so you're not constantly going. At this, It's just non-stop. en: Do you change your strategy or style for these kinds of EVents? davldknight: Yeah, at a World Championship event, you just go as fast as you can go. For these, it's better to just go steady, get through the tricky stuff and keep moving. It's a long race, and I think the guys that just take off like idiots and go flat out like in a GNCC, I think those guys will start to struggle. en: Juha has adapted very well to the American series. Do you have any plans to come over for a season? davidknight: Yeah, actually my contract is to replace Juha in 2007 for the GNCC Series. That's 50-50 right now. en: You are here for the EnduroCross as well. You finished second last year. What are your expectations for this year? david knight: I'm here to win it. This [Last Man Standing race] is more for fun, and the EnduroCross is the one I'm here for. I missed the Barcelona EnduroCross this weekend to come to this race. It's a shame that I am missing that; it would have been good to get the suspension dialed in. But, I've been doing a little bit of training at home for it - not the same sort of track, but as technical as you can find. So hopefully I'll have two good races these next two weeks. Shan Moore Mike Lafferty: Enduro Man en: 50 tell us how the year went? en: What was your motivation this year? mikelafferty: The enduro series went pretty well. I started off with a bit of a rocky start, though. The first two races out West didn't go real well. But then, once we got back East and got the bike dialed in a little bit more, I ended up winning seven of the last nine events. The enduro series went better and better as we got used to the bike, and I was real happy with how it ended up. mikelafferty: Well, last year I was off because of the injury, so I was hungry this year to come back and get it again. I really missed it, and I went to a lot of races to watch last year. So, that seemed to spark a new interest. Now, the new interest is to maybe go back to a two-stroke. I've ridden a four-stroke for the past couple of years, and I'm thinking of maybe going back to a two-stroke for next year. en: Do you stili get excited about riding enduros? Mike lafferty came back from a dellastating knee injury in 2004 to record his seventh National Enduro Championship this year; leaving him just one tide short of enduro legend Dick Burleson's record. lafferty has bied his hand at other forms 0( racing, such as the GNCC series, but he makes it clear that, for him, the Enduro series is where it's at. We spoke with lafferty at the Red Bull Last Man Stand~ race. where he finished third after recovering from a spectaeutar crash. mikelafferty: You know, I really enjoyed my seventh one, especially coming back after blowing out my knee. It was a tough year, because I knew I had the speed, but it was just hard getting everything to come together. We just had some bad luck at the start, and it took a bit to get things turned around and get some momentum rolling. But once I got done, I was so relieved. It is definitely one of the ones I'll remember for a long time. en: What do you like about the two-stroke? mikelafferty: It's just something different. I've been real happy riding my four-stroke. I just want to try something new. I'm not saying that I am riding one next year for sure, but I am going to try one in these next few races to see. It's just so different. They are so much lighter and the power curve is different, so I'm just looking at changing things up a little. en: Do you think much about Dick Burleson's record eight Enduro titles? mikelafferty: I never though[ I would be here at seven, but now Iam going for eight. Wow, it's pretty cool. The fact that I've been doing it for 10 years makes it exciting to think that I can go for [the record]. I'm just excited about riding another year and seeing if we can pull out another championship. en: You are also riding the GNCC series. Is that something you want to get more into. or is the Enduro series still your main focus? mikelafferty: My main focus is stili enduros, but I am a little confused as far as what my plans are, as far as GNCC. I just don't seem to enjoy myself there. The tracks are just hard to get along with. If your head's not in it, it's kind of hard to ride around and get beat up for three hours. But, there are so many other good things about them, too. So, I'm really not sure what my plans are for the GNCC series. I'm still undecided. It's really a hard thing to do, to ride two series at the same time. It would be like someone riding the Supercross series and the Outdoor Motocross series during the same time of the year, altemating weekends. Shan Moore