Knight family 1-2-3 for the first time in sprintcard enduro

In what was the first family 1-2-3, David Knight led home his brother Juan and the latter’s son Tom in Southern MCC’s Sprintcard Enduro on Sunday.

In one of the best-supported single-day enduros for a long time, the event also included a stubblefield test open to motocross machines on land at Cordeman, St Mark’s owned by former Isle of Man Centre motocross champion Dave Hyslop.

Under a split format, the motocross and women’s classes remained on-site for the stubblefield tests, while the main enduro classes completed a timecard event with a second test at Cringle plantation. The general going included Corlea and Stoney Mountain plantations.

Riding a 450cc Ducati, David Knight was nine seconds clear of Norrey on the opening Cringle test, with Juan Knight just keeping son Tom at bay.

Norrey was quickest overall on the first stubble test, after which DK took control and topped all the remaining tests with the exception of the very last at Cordeman where his older sibling bettered him by six 100ths of a second on a 2021 300cc KTM that used to belong to David.

Overall, David won by 32s, with young Tom at a further 1m 04s on his father’s old 300cc Beta, holding off Norrey by four-tenths of a second for third.

But fourth place was sufficient enough for Norrey to retain the domestic enduro title as it put him all-square on points with Jordan Corkill (sixth on the day behind Ash Kelly). The tie-break went to Norrey on count back as he won a round of the series.

Stanley Cubbon (Beta) won the clubman class, finishing 51s clear of Alex Bottomley (KTM), with road racer Marcus Simpson third. It completed a full-house of wins in all five rounds for the southside teenager.

Triumph-mounted Bobby Moyer took the motocross class, but it was very close for second with Luke Saunders (Kawasaki) edging out Travis Meechan (250 Honda) by 0.83 of a second.

Sidecar TT lap record holder Callum Crowe took top spot in the sportsman class on his Stark Varg EX (battery-operated) machine, finishing 26s ahead of Adam Rutter (KTM), with Sam Wheeler (Sherco) third.

The women’s class saw the closest battle of the day, with Charlie Dickinson's CR250 needing a plug swap to clear a misfire after losing more than one minute in time.

Sophie Alton-Heath (KTM) managed to capitalise and took victory by 4.4 seconds over the eight tests at Cordeman.

Eric Herdman (Gas Gas) took the veteran class win ahead of Ian Braley (KTM).

Lewis Cooke and Matthew Sexton fell victim to the LED headlight issue and received no times.

Thanks to JD Landscapes for sponsoring the event, Hogg Medical Services, DEFA for the plantation, Manx Grass & Sand Racing Club for the wooden posts plus all the individual helpers.

Expert (8 tests) 1, David Knight total time 41min 50min 32sec; 2, Juan Knight 42:23.1; 3, Tom Knight 43:27.2; 4, Craig Norrey 43:27.6; 5, Ashley Kelly 43:57.6; 6, Jordan Corkill 44:18.6; 7, Jack Collins 44:43.6; 8, Peter Beaumont 47:29.3. Clubman (7 tests) 1, Stanley Cubbon 39:19.6; 2, Alex Bottomley 40:11.2; 3, Marcus Simpson 41:21.4; 4, Will Duggan 41:47.8; 5, Harry Kampz 42:32.4; 6, Alan Heath 42:54.2; 7, Kieran Ackers 43:01.4; 8, Carl Wynne-Smythe 44:05.6; 9, Simon Bottomley 44:06.5; 10, Steven Teare 45:13.2; 11, Billy Cubbon 45:19.7; 12, Mathew Asbridge 45:22.4; 13, Joe Cannan 45:27.2; 14, Ian Bailey 45:32.6; 15, Paul Goldie 46:05.9; 16, Jack Christian 48:40.9; 17, Michael Keeling 49:37.9; 18, Terry Gaines 50:11.7. Veteran (5 tests) 1, Eric Herdman 33:56.8; 2, Ian Braley 41:14.4. Sportsman (5 tests): 1, Callum Crowe 30:58.8; 2, Adam Rutter 31:25.7; 3, Sam Wheeler 32:10.7; 4, Philip Gunnell 32:43.5; 5, Wayne Avis 32:43.5; 6, Si Fulton 34:05.3; 7, David Watling 34:29.7; 8, Andrew Livesy 35:43.8; 9, Richard Lowes 36:06.0; 10, Richard Smith 37:14.26; 11, Louis Gilbert 38:21.38; 12, Paul Craine 39:43.81; 13, Cameron Dunnigan 42:35.4; 14, Alex Pressly 47:09.39; 15, Shantelle Thorpe 47:21.1. Motocross (8 tests) 1, Bobby Moyer 39:39.3; 2, Luke Saunders 40:03.19; 3, Travis Meechan 40:04.1; 4, Chris Moore 40:33.57; 5, Jack Asbridge 41:17.5; 6, Niall McCanney 41:26.5; 7, 31 Louis Piggin 42:15.3; 8, Al Heginbotham 42:20.42; 9, Tim Dedman 42:22.9; 10, Jacob McCanney 42:32.4; 11, Travelling Marshal 44:00.6; 12, David Asbridge 44:21.1; 13, Sean Harrison 47:22.5; 14, Tony Stevens 55:10.7. Women (8 tests) 1, Sophie Alton-Heath 47:09.1; 2, Charlie Dickinson 47:13.5; 3, Annabel Ratcliffe 55:54.1; 4, Katie Errock 58:23.8; 5, Suzy Manton 1:05:14.8.

Centre championship (final positions, based on best four rides out of five): Expert - 1, C. Norrey 57 points (best finish first); 2, J. Corkill 57 (best finish second); 3, A. Kelly 55; 4, Orry Millward 41; 5, D. Knight 40; 6, Jack Keenan 30; 7, J. Collins 24; 8, P. Beaumont 21; 9, Max Ingham 20; 10=, Jed Etchells and J. Knight 17; 12, Daniel McCanney 15; 13, Tom Knight 15; 15, Gav Hunt 10. Non-expert: 1, S. Cubbon 80; 2, H. Kampz 56; 3, A. Bottomley 47; 4, K. Ackers 43; 5, Craig Wyers 41; 6, Ryan McDermott 28; 7, C. Wynne-Smythe 26; 8, T. Gaines 23; 9, Niall McCanney 17; 10, Ryan Davis 17; 11, S. Teare 17. SMCC club championship - Sportsman: 1, S. Wheeler 60 (best finish first); 2, S. Fulton 60 (best finish second); 3, W. Avis 56. Veteran: 1, Nigel Beaumont 40; 2=, E. Hardman and J. Knight 20.