Hot on the heels of Danny McCanney signing a factory contract with Gas Gas comes the news that David Knight is to also ride the re-launched Spanish machines in 2018.

In truth, Gas Gas is one of the few mainstream names that David has never ridden for as a professional. He has been with Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, BMW and had two or three terms with KTM.

He did ride a 270 Gas Gas to the British Expert Trials Championship title back as a teenager in 1995, and two or three years later he rode a TM-engined Gasser in one of his first major enduros in the UK.

Shortly after that he took over the vacant Yamaha ride vacated by his brother Juan under the eye of Welshman Geraint Jones.

Six months short of his 40th birthday, Knighter will not be riding the Enduro World Championship next year, but may, ironically, tackle some of the events in a rival series being organised by the huge KTM-Husqvarna conglomerate.

Disillusioned with the Enduro GP concept, they have pulled their teams from the EWC series - hence McCanney losing his ride with Husqvarna.

Knight has received one of the new GP300 Gas Gas EC models from British Gas Gas importer John Shirt and has been busy prepping that machine alongside some training with Daniel for the new year.

He will in essence ride the big one-off events across Europe that McCanney and the other Gas Gas factory riders will miss to concentrate on the world championship.

’This suits me perfectly as I will be riding what I want to,’ said David yesterday. ’I’ve been invited to an event in Italy early in the new year. It’s likely to be in the snow and I think Neil Hodgson is also going to that, but my first big race will be the Tough One at the end of January.

’I have been talking to Giovanni Sala, the new team boss at Gas Gas, but they don’t have much budget left as they are fielding Frenchmen Antoine Basset and Christophe Nambotin in the EWC alongside Danny.

’Sala is happy for me to do the big one-offs over three or four hours, with six or seven hundred riders in, to hopefully get the Gas Gas name up there on the podium. He’s keen for me to ride an event in Spain early in February.’

David will continue with his popular off-road schools and has already been approached by the Gas Gas importer in USA to go over to the States later in the year to do some promotions for him, with another possible tie-up in Canada.

’I’ve been talking to Shirty [John Shirt] for a couple of months now, and he is happy with whatever I do in the UK. And of course my brother Juan is the local Gas Gas agent, so it all links in well to be honest.

’I’m thinking of riding with Juan in the Boxing Day Enduro at Kimmeragh as it will be our last chance to ride as an over-and-under 40 pairing.’