Knight finishes fifth

Manxman David Knight finished in fifth position at the third round of the American Grand National Cross Country series.

Knighter took an early lead at the Steele Creek GNCC before running into problems when his fuel tank vent hose on his Red Bull KTM became blocked.

Competing on a 450cc four-stroke for the first time this season, after racing a 250cc two-stroke at the first two races, Knighter went from leading the race to second behind Shane Watts.

He then returned to the lead only to then drop outside of the top 10 as the blocked fuel tank breather hose caused his bike to stop.

After fixing the problem, Knighter’s bike then ran out of fuel due to the earlier problem, which cost him a further five minutes. Following a late race charge Knight eventually claimed a hard fought fifth place finish.

Although disappointed with his result Knight was pleased with his speed, his decision to revert to a four-stroke paid off and he’s now up to eighth in the XC1 Pro class championship standings.

He said:  “Considering everything that happened I’m pretty pleased with the way things went. I don’t know what I’ve done to keep having bad luck, I just hope I’m over it now.

“Getting back on a four-stroke was great, I was able to ride feet up most of the time and felt really comfortable on the bike. I didn’t feel too settled from the start so I decided to follow Wattsy while I loosened up a bit.

“Right when I wanted to make a break my bike started running rich, which we later figured out was a blocked fuel breather pipe. I lost a load of time with my bike running badly and then when it stopped twice.

“When it stopped the second time I knew that any chance I had of a podium finish was pretty much over. I rode the last few laps like they were a special test and my speed was really good, which I’m pleased with.

“I crashed with Charlie Mullins near the end of the race, which left me with a sore ankle, but it was a racing accident. Despite the problem with the breather I was really pleased with my bike, the way I rode, and with my hand that didn’t give me any problems.”

The race was won by Yamaha’s Barry Hawk.

Knighter’s next event will be round four of the US GNCC series, The Big Buck GNCC in South Carolina, April 15, 2007.