- David Knight (motorcyclist)
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Knight at the 2010 WEC GP of Turkey.
David "Knighter" Knight (born 31 May 1978) is a three-time world champion enduro rider from the Isle of Man.
After competing in the Enduro FIM Junior Cup, Knight debuted in the World Enduro Championship riding for Yamaha. He finished runner-up in the 250 cc class to Juha Salminen in 2001 and to Samuli Aro in 2002. In 2003, he moved to the biggest 500 cc class and placed fourth.
For the 2004 season, Knight moved to the KTM team and finished second to his team-mate Aro in the Enduro 3 class. In 2005, continuing in the E3 class, he took his first world title and also won the ISDE outright. In 2006, he posted a "perfect" season, winning all 14 rounds of the E3 WEC season, also winning almost every special test at each event.
For 2007, Knight moved to the United States to take on the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series against the best in the US. He replaced Salminen, who in turn moved back to the world championship from the KTM USA team. Despite some mechanical difficulties and an injury, Knight still managed to take the GNCC title. After defending his title in the following season, he moved back to the World Enduro Championship. He won his third world title in 2010.[1]
Knight also competes in a wide range of "extreme" enduro events, such as the Hells Gate extreme enduro in Italy, the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria,[2] the AMA Endurocross in Las Vegas, Nevada and the "Tough One" in the UK (he has won all of these, even beating Salminen), and won (leading every lap of) the first and second annual Red Bull Last Man Standing events in Texas.
Knight is an accomplished all rounder, having won the British Expert trials championship, as well as competing with success in various motocross and beach racing events. His all rounder status was confirmed by his winning of the "Moto 1" event in the UK, which got riders from several disciplines of motorcycle sport to compete against each other in several disciplines (including road racing, MX, enduro, trials, etc.).
Knight received an MBE, June 2011, in the Queens Birthday Honours list
Career summary
Season Series Class Team Wins Final placing 1998 Enduro FIM Junior Cup 250 cc Yamaha 2 12th 1999 Enduro FIM Junior Cup 250 cc Yamaha 1 10th 2000 Enduro FIM Junior Cup 250 cc Yamaha 5 2nd 2001 World Enduro Championship 250 cc Yamaha 0 2nd 2002 World Enduro Championship 250 cc Yamaha 2 2nd 2003 World Enduro Championship 500 cc Yamaha 0 4th 2004 World Enduro Championship E3 KTM 2 2nd 2005 World Enduro Championship E3 KTM 17 1st 2006 World Enduro Championship E3 KTM 14 1st 2007 Grand National Cross Country Bikes KTM 8 1st 2008 Grand National Cross Country Bikes KTM 7 1st 2009 World Enduro Championship E3 BMW 0 14th 2010 World Enduro Championship E3 KTM 8 1st 2011 World Enduro Championship E3 KTM 1 18th References
- ^ "David Knight wins World Enduro title in Turkey". BBC. 6 September 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/8972523.stm. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
- ^ Erzberg website
External links
Categories:- 1978 births
- Living people
- Enduro riders
- Manx motorcycle racers
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