2024 ACU British Extreme Enduro Championship

Round 3, Parkwood Off Road, Tong, Sunday 11th February

Our supported Pro Enduro Beta rider; Jonny Walker, competed again this weekend in the third round of the British Extreme Enduro Champs. He is currently mixing FIM SuperEnduro events with the ACU Extreme Enduro events. Another renowned Pro rider; Germany's Mani Lettenbichler, was also present again, after competing and winning the second round on his KTM 300 EXC a couple of weeks ago. They were both competing in the 'Championship Class'. Click here to see a video of their bikes in the paddock before the event.

Jonny Walker's Beta 300 RR in the paddock before the race, with the #27 Beta 300 RR of Dean Johnson behind it.

Tong has the reputation as being one of the wettest and muddiest courses on the calendar, plus the round is one of the most popular with spectators. It is safe to say, it lived up to its reputation. Course conditions were severely wet, boggy and muddy, the course mixing flowing enduro sections with natural waterfalls, slick rock sections and tricky climbs with wooden steps in there!

One of the slick rocky hill sections at Tong.

Straight off the start in the Championship and Expert Class, there was a slippy log to negotiate, heading directly into a very wet, muddy and rocky descent, which caught out the headlining Pros - Lettenbichler went down, having to pick himself and his KTM up, with Jonny Walker getting caught on a rock and losing his rhythm. Click here to see a video of the chaotic start. The starter for the event was the infamous Billy Bolt; the Husqvarna man concentrating on his World SuperEnduro Championship defence, therefore sitting out the Extreme events, whilst he carries a leg injury.

Beta's Jonny Walker (L) and KTM's Mani Lettenbichler (R) checking out the tricky end to the start section before descending into the slick rocks and mud.

Even though the two headline Pro riders in Lettenbichler and Walker had a bit of a chaotic start, they both set to work riding the 2.5 hours, multi-lap course format. It was obvious the two were head and shoulders above the others in the field in terms of Extreme Enduro ability, choosing different, faster lines and feathering the clutch and throttle perfectly compared to the other riders. Click here to see Jonny Walker negotiating a rocky hill section with precision. KTM's Lettenbichler did pull away in the end, proving why he is the current number 1 Hard Enduro rider in the World. His lap times seemed to get quicker and quicker, completing 9 laps in total, over 2nd placed Walker's 8 laps. 

A Beta rider negotiating a steep hill climb with log jump into very thick, wet mud. 

The only other rider to complete 8 laps in the 2.5 hours was 3rd placed Sherco rider; Jack Price. Price has a big background in Trials riding and is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with in Hard and Extreme Enduro.

Congrats to Jonny Walker on another 2nd placed finish in 2024 - our Supported Beta rider is making a habit of coming 2nd this season. Click here to see a video of Walker at the finish of Wild Willy's Extreme Enduro. We look forward to seeing him next in the penultimate round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Wild Willy's Expert & Clubman Class

Harry Conner; one of our Amateur Supported Enduro riders, managed to come 21st in the Expert Class on his GasGas EC 300. Congrats to Harry, especially after a "bad first lap" by his standards. 

It was good to see another one of our Amateur Supported Riders; Chris Brown, back in action after 8 months off from racing. After a bad start in Tong and crashing straight away in the rocks, the Beta 300 RR man jammed his clutch, resulting in him having to sort it and then continue the race from running dead last. His perseverance paid off and he managed to pick his way back through the field to finish 19th in the Clubman Class. Well done Chris!

Other Supported Rider News

It was Round 1 of the Edge Off Road 2024 National Cross Country Championships at Leighton Hall yesterday. Our Supported Junior Enduro rider; Jacob Bragg, took part and claimed 1st place in the Youth B Class on his GasGas MC 85 Big Wheel. Congrats to Jacob!

Another of our Supported Junior riders; Jay Codling, was also competing at the event in the 125 class on his Beta 125 RR. He had a decent start but thereafter, in his own words, "went to pot and ended up right at the back". Well done Jay, on to the next one!

Protection Parts for KTM, Honda, Suzuki and Husqvarna Adventure Bikes

KTM 890 Adventure 2023 Parts

This week we have added new protection parts to our website for the 2023 KTM 890 Adventure, which include, an aluminium skid plate complete with removable exhaust manifold grill, lower crash bars in our textured matt black finish, front brake caliper guards and a rear brake reservoir guard that also fits many more KTM models including the 890 Duke and the 890 SM-T.

Honda XL 750 Transalp 2023 Parts

We now also have a small range of protection parts for the all new Honda XL 750 Transalp. These include crash bars and skid plate, a rear luggage rack that holds up to 4kg and a front radiator grill. We also have a chain guard and matching chain guard fin that are manufactured from a combination of stainless steel and aluminium to offer maximum protection and upgraded styling from the OEM parts. The parts will also fit the 2020-2023 Honda CRF 1100 L Africa Twin.

Suzuki DE 800 V-Strom 2023-2024 Parts

The Suzuki DE 800 V-Strom was another new adventure bike launched in 2023 and we now have a selection of protection parts available for the 2023 and 2024 model including, rear brake master cylinder guards that come as a pair and protect both sides of the bike. An aluminium skid plate and crash bars. Plus a side stand base extension which is designed to keep the bike more stable when parked on soft and uneven ground.

Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition 2023 Parts

The final bike that we have new protection parts for, is the 2023 Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition. The new parts include a set of upper and lower crash bars in a textured matt black finish, a skid plate similar to the KTM 890 Adventure with a built in exhaust manifold guard, a front radiator guard to help prevent damage from stones and other debris when riding off-road and a set of front brake caliper guards to protect the Brembo brake calipers.

Over the next few weeks, we will be adding yet more new parts to our website as the riding season starts to get underway. Be sure to check out our future weekly round ups for regular updates and subscribe to our email newsletter for deals and promotions.