It’s been a fairly last minute decision, but it has been confirmed that motorcycle legends David Knight MBE and Guy Martin will team up to compete in the two-man quad class in addition to the solo category at the HydroGarden Weston Beach Race, which takes place next weekend (October 13-15).
Knighter is a six-time winner at the Weston-Super-Mare event and while known for his enduro expertise aboard two wheels, the KTM racer has previously enjoyed victory aboard a quad around the monstrous dune course. The Manxman has been in touch with Martin and has convinced the Lincolnshire-based motorcycle-turned-television star to have a laugh in the quad class as a two-man team for the three-hour event, which should make for fantastic viewing and give Martin a glimpse of what he’s in for in Sunday’s solo race.
Knighter is a four-time World Enduro Champion, and four-time AMA champion, including being the outright International Six Days Enduro winner back in 2005. Known for his toughness on-track, and outspoken, honest nature off the track, the off-road star has either won or DNF’d in the two-wheeled solo race, and did the double with a solo and quad race victory back in 2002, while his brother Juan has also enjoyed the laurels in the quad category. While both Knight and Martin have declared their entry as a ‘bit of fun’ we’re sure the racer in them will come out once they’re on the start line!
When asked about racing the quads, Knighter responded: “I don’t know I’m stupid aren’t I. While you’redown there you might as well have a crack on both days. It warms you up, but it can also tire you out. Lasttime I was leading until the last lap on the quad and ran out of fuel. I still ended up third or fourth becausewe were on another lap, but I was racing some good guys. I had no idea whether I would have won it asone of the top quad guys was catching me, but it was a lot of fun. That’s when I ride my best; when I’vegot a clear head, things at home are organised, there’s no stress and I’m having fun. It’s going to be agood laugh with Guy, we’ve been chatting a bit in the last few weeks and we’re just going out there tohave some fun.”
Martin is now a well-known face in Britain’s living rooms, as the 16-time Isle of Man TT podium finisher, who has taken on some of the most difficult challenges on two-wheels, has starred in numerous engineering, speed and history television programmes. Martin is also a multi-time Guinness World Record holder for some of the most difficult speed related challenges, and he raced the Tour Divide – the world’s toughest mountain bike race, which took him 18 days to complete over 2,712 miles. He’s no stranger to a challenge, and is looking forward to competing at this weekend’s HydroGarden Weston Beach Race.