When David Knight signed up to defend his Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship you could have staked a 50 pence bet on him making it a successful defence. After dominating rounds one, three and four, that bet seemed safe but during the opening rounds of the Enduro World Championship, his season fell apart with injury stopping him in his tracks. However, in true Knighter fashion of grit and determination he bounced back the following weekend in Portugal to win and once again it seemed the world was right. Then only days later he announced the injury was too bad to continue and he would have to concede defeat but not before once again putting on a masterclass at the BSEC in Dorset. With his recovery well underway, Enduro.ie caught up with David to find out how he’s feeling and maybe ask for that 50 pence back…
David Knight (KTM Images)
Firstly David what is the extent of your injury?
David: Basically what’s happened is that the ball and socket joint on my hip has become badly worn. Where the ball joint is usually round mine is now oval, almost camshaft like that has a sort of hi-spot on it. If I move it too far it then hits on that spot pulling and damaging the muscles and ligaments as it almost tries to dislocate itself! What my specialists found is that the left hip was the most damaged, the right hip was ok but would need fixing further down the line. We decided to do both now otherwise if I didn’t get it fixed I would have been looking at getting a set of plastic hips in a couple of years time!
What is the procedure for repair and how long do you expect to be out of action?
It’s not possible to do both hips during one operation and since the left hip had the most damage that was the one that was operated on first. I was lucky the damage was not as severe as originally expected which allowed the surgeon to do a less complex procedure. This meant recovery time between both operations was shorter and now I’ve been able to get the right hip operated on sooner than expected. Normal healing time is up to four months but hopefully with a lot of physio and a lot more time spent in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber I can reduce this to three months. I aiming to be ready to race the EWC GP of Andorra in early September but I’ll definitely be ready for the final round in France.
Did the injury occur at the GP of Spain or is it something you’ve been nursing since the final round of the EWC in France last year?
The knock I took in France had actually sparked all this off but by the time I had seen the right specialists, got scans and found out what exactly was the cause of it all it was too late to get it properly sorted out. I’d hoped that with enough physio and training I would be able to ride around it but in Spain I realised I couldn’t. It’s something thats developed over time, years of being very active, running as a kid, cycle-trials, everything really has pounded it hard.
Even though you had to pull out of the GP of Spain you bounced back the following weekend to win in Portugal. Was it a difficult decision to stop even though you were still competitive?
That’s the hardest thing to deal with this injury. Sometimes it wouldn’t bother me at all but when you catch your leg in a rut or dab a foot every time you loose the front end the pain in unbearable. In Portugal, I just wanted to show that I could win. I felt I needed to win to give back to everyone who’s stood by me, but to race an entire season in pain wouldn’t have been possible. I realised I’d only make things worse. Now having got everything sorted I can focus on coming back stronger for next year.
Throughout your career you’ve been lucky with injury as this is the only thing to have stopped you!
Yeah, I have been lucky. Over the years I’ve had small injuries but I’ve always been able to ride through it. In that sense things are not too bad. On the plus side the time off will give me a chance to do things that I normally can’t. It was good to spend two full weeks at home during the TT road races, watch some of my close friends compete and soak up the atmosphere. I’ll still be at the BSEC to watch and help out Jamie McCanney and give support where I can. I’d get bored if I sat at home!
Your final race was at the BSEC where you won every test, did that performance surprise you?
It was nice to go there and ride like that when I knew I was going to have to stop riding afterwards. Everything went smoothly, the course was physical and technical which really suited me so in a way I expected to be that far ahead. I’d also got a new engine to try out, which again made things easier. I put in my fastest time of the weekend on the final test even though the course was now at it’s roughest. That showed my fitness was good and my line choice was spot on – it was a perfect weekend to be honest!
Now that the championship is reaching the final showdown, who do you see capable of taking your crown?
A successful defence Isn't on the cards for '11
It’s difficult to say, but I think it is now Tom Sagar’s too lose. If he get’s his head in gear he’s the most natural rider there is out there. But Greg Evans can still do it and he showed that by coming back at the last round in Adstone to win by just one second. Greg knows he’s got to go for it and win, that type of pressure can bring out the best in a rider. They’ve both got good teams behind them with the best of support so it’ll be down to who can come out best on the day. Who know’s though, maybe if I turn with a farm quad to pull me round I could still have a shot at it too!
The Husqvarna ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship concludes this weekend at Brewyn Leisure Park, near Oswestry, Wales. Visit www.enduro-sprint.com for more details.
Words: Robert Lynn Photos: Edmunds J. KTM Images