30 minutes in Poland
ADMITTEDLY DRIVING FROM NORFOLK to Krakow and back, 1100 miles and roughly 17 hours each way, for 30 minutes riding probably sounds idiotic. But riding Superenduro indoors in front of a 12,000-strong crowd was intense, not idiotic and well worth the trouble. It’s serious hard work too, but I enjoy the technical challenge of racing a tight track of logs, tyres and rocks alongside the world’s best. My two-stroke KTM 250 TPI was rare as more riders opt for a torquey 4T bike indoors these days. But it worked: fiery or docile depending on what power I needed around the technical track – in truth the rider matters more than the bike. I almost couldn’t start when the shakey-headed FIM scrutineers didn’t like my new plastics from Polisport. An enduro bike must, it seems, have its little tail/number plate fin. Hack-saw butchery produced a ridiculous little plate but it worked and I got to race. Rules are rules... Qualifying and then finishing fourth in race one was adequate but I hoped things would turn around for race two, despite a reverse grid order start. A first corner pile-up put paid to that fantasy and I ended up seventh, for fifth overall. Bilbao beckons for European Cup round two in March.
Jonathan Pearson Off Road Editor To Krakow, Poland and back to the UK for 30 minutes racing indoor enduro sounds a bit daft. In actual fact it’s bonkers…