Holcombe on good form at the Abbey

2013-08-23 15:30
Crescent KTM’s rising Enduro star Steve Holcombe again had another strong weekend’s performance which saw him hot-on-the-heels of more experienced campaigners.

The Mid Wales Dirt Track MCC was the host for the seventh and eighth rounds of the ACU British Enduro Championship at Saints Well near Rhayader in Wales. The ‘Abbey Enduro’ organisers had designed a complex course through the Welsh countryside that made the most of the land. It featured valley areas, a moto-cross track, a cross country test and the recent tree felling in the forest gave rise to plenty of wood-based obstacles.

Holcombe performed well through all of the first day’s tests, despite the heavy overnight rain making conditions tough. In his class he won nine of the eleven tests to take victory by over a minute and his strong showing was good enough to give him fourth in the overall classification, beating many more prolific riders. The youngster on his Crescent KTM 250EXC-F then began day two in a similar fashion by taking victory in the first two tests, but several mistakes cost him dearly and caused Holcombe to crash a couple of times, before again taking victory in the penultimate test of the day. His record of three wins from nine tests wasn’t good enough for victory and he had to settle for second in his class behind Jack Rowland and a seventh place in the overall standings.

Team-mate Daryl Bolter missed the latest round of the BEC due to the injuries he sustained in July. He is recovering well and hopes to be fit to race his Crescent KTM 350EXC-F in the very near future and get back to race-fitness in time for the International Six Days of Enduro in Sardinia later next month.

The next rounds of the ACU British Enduro Championship will be over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of September, as the duo head to the ‘Team REME Crescent KTM Natterjack Enduro’ at Weavers Down near Longmoor in Hampshire for the team’s home race.

Steve Holcombe:

“Saturday started great with some well placed test times against some world class competition. Showers of rain kept me on my toes as each test was hugely different each time, but I managed to come to terms with the conditions and I was very happy to take first in my class, but even more pleased with the fourth overall. Sunday started with one of the hardest tests I have ever ridden and my lack of strength and fitness after six-months off the bike showed from the word go. A few crashes put a damper on my morale, which made it even tougher. Going forward I have learnt where I need to improve, so I will knuckle down and work on that. This weekend was the first time I have raced with the WP cone valve forks and they were amazing. Overall I am happy with my result and I am now looking forward to my favourite BEC round, The Natterjack. "

Source: Crescent Motorcycle

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