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The first ever Moto 1 event took place at Donington Park at the end of October. 24 riders from Road Racing, Motocross, Trials, Supermoto, Enduro and Stunt Riding competed in four disciplines to determine the overall best multi-talented rider. After two Trials events, two Motocross races, two Supermoto races and two races on the Donington Park short circuit, one rider would be the overall winner of £6,000. There was everything to play for! Sam Connor and Graham Jarvis took a win and a second each in the Trials section, with Wayne Braybrook, David Knight and Juan Knight also doing well. Motocross was the next event which was very muddy on the Saturday. With all the riders and machines covered in mud (and some of the marshals and photographers) it was difficult to tell who was who. David Knight won the race from Danny Smyth and Ady Smith. The riders then went on to the equally muddy Supermoto event. Leighton Haigh was the race victor, followed home by David Knight and Ady Smith. Knight and Smith were proving to be great all rounders. The road racers were languishing down the order, but their turn was to come with the road race event. For the Road Race the competitors were riding either Ron Haslam Race School Honda CBR 600's or Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6's. All the riders were on Dunlop road tyres except Tom Sykes and Craig Jones who were using Pirelli race tyres. Apparently the other riders did not know they had a choice! Dean Ellison set the fastest qualifying time on a Honda and he was joined on the front row by Sykes and Jones (MotoGP style grid). Sykes and Jones set off at a quick pace with Ellison hot on their heels. Unfortunately Ellison's tyres went off and he dropped back, eventually being passed by Michael Laverty for 3rd place, but he was the first Honda home in 4th place. Stunt rider Craig Jones was the best of the non road racers in 9th place. Sunday dawned beautifully sunny and a bit drier with not so much mud about. Motocrosser David Campbell won the Motocross race from David Knight, Ady Smith and Juan Knight. Leighton Haigh took a second victory in the Supermoto race with Knight and Smith 2nd and 3rd again. For the Road Race Dean Ellison had changed to a Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6, and once again he was on pole position, 3 secs faster than on the Honda. He was much happier with the Yamaha R6. From the start Sykes and Jones led from Ellison again. Ellison dropped back again but then he upped his pace to catch and pass Jones to move into 2nd place where he finished. He showed that on a good bike, even on road tyres, he was a force to be reckoned with. Once again Stunt rider Craig Jones was the "best of the rest" in 8th place David Knight
was the first winner of Moto 1, having scored points in each round of
all four events. His consistency won him £6,000. Overall
the events seemed to favour the off road racers with road racer Tom
Sykes finishing in 6th place helped by his double wins in the road race
events.
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