The Motul British Enduro Championship 2006
Final Round John Banks Enduro ( Diss MCC)
The Motul British Enduro Championship took place at a very frosty Thetford Forest in Norfolk on Sunday and two East Lothian riders put up excellent performances. Nearly 300 riders from all over the country took part in this last round of the Championship. Chris Hay 24 from North Berwick, who has recently come back from a number of injuries, pushed three times World Champion Paul Edmonson right up to the final special test after six twenty mile laps around the frozen forest tracks. Chris led the event after the second lap following a mistake by the 2005 British Champion elect. The final test came at the end of the sixth lap when the Championship riders had to race against the clock through the three mile special test to determine the overall winner. Paul Edmonson had to dig deep into his experience to produce a time 9 seconds quicker to knock Chris back to second place. ' I thought I had him' said Chris afterwards 'Paul must have pulled out all of his vast experience to produce a time that quick'. Following this result Chris is off to America to train for next year and this result will boost his confidence for 2006.
Paul Chatham 18 finished
second in the Clubman Class confirming his second place in the Championship in his first
full season. There were 150 riders in the Clubman class, unfortunately there was one
rider, Ashley Wood, who has been quicker than Paul all year. Paul won the first round
of the Championship overall and led the class until the midpoint of the season were
he narrowly avoided a serious eye injury. This was the turning point were he dropped a
number of points to second place in the Championship. Although Paul finished second
he is the only rider in the top group of the E1 class riders to be classified as
a finisher at every round of the Championship including the Welsh event were he
bravely soldiered on to finish in the points despite his sore eye.
Paul will compete in the Expert Class next year and he is planning to raise his game with some fitness training over the winter.
 | There are sponsorship opportunities for Chris Hay and Paul Chatham in 2006, anyone interested should contact Charlie Mackenzie, Chairman of the SACU Scottish Enduro Committee. Charles@scottishenduros.co.uk |
Chris Hay Race Report - Banks BEC (British Enduro Championship)
Chris is runner up after close battle!
Bikesport KTM UK rider Chris Hay, 2003 125cc British Enduro Champion had a close battle with former World Enduro Champion and 2006 BEC British Champion Paul Edmondson for the Banks BEC Trophy.
Chris's return to form at the BEC placed him 2 seconds behind Paul after the 1st special test, then Chris took 4 seconds back from Paul in the 2nd test which gave him a 2 second lead heading into the final special test.
Chris's final lap didn't go to plan as he hit a tree stump at high speed and it sent him over the handlebars, badly winded, with bruised ribs and grazed back Chris had to dig deep as he knew he was leading and managed to still make the very tight final lap on time. On the final special test Chris was riding 'detuned' but still managed a very good time that took him to his best ever BEC result as runner up in 2nd place.
Chris Hay : "I'm very pleased with my result, its the best I've rode in a long time at a BEC. I feel that my riding is coming good after being injured for the most part of the year. It felt really good leading the event overall for the most of the day in front of Paul Edmondson who I have looked upto since I was a young lad. I learned a lot today and now know that the changes I have made are making a difference and my speed is coming back. I would like to thank all my sponsors and helpers for sticking by me through what has been a very tough year."