8:37am Monday 7th July 2008
By Ky Capel
SIMON Wakely showed great resilience to finish 11th overall at the fourth round of the World Enduro Championship in Poland after crashing out on day one.
With no rain in northern Poland for more than a month, extremely dry conditions resulted in what many riders considered the toughest race of the campaign so far.
And in the Enduro Junior class, Dorchester rider Wakely had mixed fortunes aboard his 450 machine.
Having shown good speed in both the extreme and cross-country tests, Wakely was unlucky to damage his gear selector shaft in a crash, meaning he had to retire.
His fortunes rose a little on day two as he eventually finished 11th in Kwidzyn.
Wakely, of MPS Racing Husqvarna, said: "Day one was really disappointing because I damaged my gear selector when I crashed into a tree. There wasn't a lot I could do after that so it was just a case of getting the bike ready for the second day once that happened.
"Day two was hard because the tests were so rutted and bumpy. It was strange because I was riding well on the extreme test, which I don't normally, but not really getting to grips with the motocross test, which I normally enjoy and ride well on.
"The enduro test was really hard work because it was just one long rut.
"Hopefully things will go better at the next round in Wales."
The fifth round of the series is on July 19-20 at Llanidloes, Wales.
Meanwhile, Wakely has been named in the Optoma Mortgages GB/ACU team for the 83rd ISDE to be held in Serres, Greece during the first week of September.
The county town man, reigning European Enduro champion, is in the Trophy Team alongside Tom Sagar, Edward Jones, Jason Thomas, Dylan Jones and MPS Racing Husqvarna team-mate Daryl Bolter.
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