The clock change always signals the start of the full-on enduro racing season and Team Reme got it off to a cracker with an 11km Hare and Hounds course based over 4 hours.
The weather was excellent with temperatures in the mid to late teens, sun shining and a little early morning shower set the ground to be virtually perfect.
A lot of work had gone in to preparing the area; with a spectator friendly man-made extreme area to complete the lap for those brave enough, or a gentler but substantially longer 'chicken' route meandering through the woodland.
With a full entry, and bikes sufficiently warmed up, the expert group were to be first underway, to include Stan Watt from Front Row GB onboard the Edmondson Racing KTM350 XC. As a one-off, Dave Sawtell was onboard an Edmondson Racing KTM250 XC in the clubman class just to see if the bike fitted him as a long term prospect.
A different start was set up with riders stood behind the bikes on a dead engine, where they would have to move to the bike, get started and get underway.
The flag dropped and the KTM350 fired immediately into life before Stan stalled it on the line, allowing all but one of the first group to get away up the 400m start straight. Finally getting going, the 350XC was able to push past a couple of riders by the first corner and then Stan tried to settle into an instant rhythm and make his way through the front riders.
The course was constructed well and marked perfectly allowing Stan to push on and by midway through the first lap, he was in 2nd place behind Danny Hall. Not realising he was near the front, Stan settled into following Danny for most of the first lap, allowing him to make the mistakes before making a clean pass as the pair came back towards the extreme section.
Although, Danny maintained a trials style on the extreme area, Stan opted-for the 'brute force and ignorance' style, which proved to be faster allowing him to make some ground on lap one.
The pair circulated 3-4 laps together before a slight mishap allowed Stan to pull away keeping a good pace until the last 50 minutes, when he eased off slightly for two laps incase he needed a last lap dash for the win.
Stan took a convincing overall victory with only him and Danny Hall completing 12 laps on a course that was wonderful to ride for the full 4 hours.
A big well done to the organisers for putting in all the effort and a big thanks to;
Edmondson Racing
Voltcom Group
Talon Engineering
Adventure Spec
Arai
www.precious-memories-photography.co.uk
For its 4th South American edition, the Dakar's route will be experiencing a change of scenery in 2012, with, instead of the previous years' loops, a journey that will take the competitors from Mar del Plata, in Argentina, to Lima, the capital of Peru, via Chile and the dunes of the Atacama Desert.
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