After a 16-year absence, the Enduro GP will return to Wales. Rhayader Motor Club has teamed up with Saintswell Events to pull off what will surely be an amazing event. Our test rider, Craig Chamberlain, got the opportunity to visit the venue and even ride around some of the unbelievable terrain that they have to offer.
Words by Craig Chamberlain – Images by Vision Off-Road Media
So, after a breakfast meeting, which included nine-time enduro world champion Steve Holcombe and British hopeful Charlie Chater, we headed over to Cwmythig Hill.
This hill is well known for the great Wednesday evening motocross events, which attract a great crowd and the likes of Conrad Mewse, Tommy Searle, and even extreme enduro man Billy Bolt to take on the fantastic hillside circuit.
You can see the amount of work that has gone into the venue already, with parking areas, special test areas and a new building for press and medics. This hasn’t come cheap for the clubs at all, with the infrastructure cost of over £150,000 and an additional £95,000 to host the event, so as you can imagine, they need all our support to get enough people through the gates to make this viable. They have a multi-year deal for the event, so it will be a great addition to the off-road calendar in the UK.
It was fantastic to be able to ride the tests. Two of the tests are great fast-flowing motocross tracks, which was obviously a favourite of mine, equally though some of the routes through the middle of the event are insane with some great hill climbs and some great bogs to get lost in
During a chat with the event director, Adam Rees, he talked us through the upcoming event itinerary.
THURSDAY.
Gates open for spectators and camping from 3pm. Then, in the evening, the historic market town of Rhayader will host a parade lap of the riders and a stage area where you will be able to hear interviews from the World Championship contenders.
FRIDAY.
The riders will get a shakedown on Welsh soil, then go straight to technical control and parc ferme for the bikes. Later that afternoon, you will be treated to the first super test of the weekend, and all the bars will be open to make it a cracking start to the whole event.
SATURDAY.
An AM start for all the riders where they will take on the Welsh terrain for the day of high-intensity racing on what can only be described as unbelievable hills, bogs and road work along the way. Then, the podiums autograph sessions and demos on Saturday evening. They will also have many trade stands for you to look around and grab a memento of this great event.
SUNDAY
The final day of racing will again kick off in the AM where the world’s best will battle it out to be crowned enduro GP of Wales Champion, followed by a great podium presentation and hopefully a British winner!
A comprehensive schedule will be available to view closer to the event and for all ticket info go to https;//www.endurogp.wales/timetable/
Let’s get behind this event as we have such a pool of talented British riders taking on the World’s best in, let’s be honest, probably our most successful side of our 2 wheel sport in the UK right now.
