Knight leaving BMW !!!

[darren]

On the TT web site i found out that David Knight has stopped riding for BMW.
From an English mans point of view its a shame.
I watched the national Enduro in Thetford forest with Knight on the BMW and he looked awsome. How he said that the bike does not suit his riding style is unbelievable.
Where will he go now? GG??? I dont think so. Back to the orange Brigade i rekon.

[SpeedyManiac]

I heard he may switch to a Honda. Doubt he'll go back to KTM. I think he burned that bridge. If only GasGas had the money to get Knighter...

[gasgasman]

Did Knight think the BMW was going to be competitive right out of the box?
You can look at it and tell its not a race bike.

He would be a great "shot in the arm" for Gas Gas.

[eff]

I for one am happpy how well Nambotin is rinding for GasGas. He is poised to move into second place in the E3 standings.

[Skidad]

Knight will be on a Kawasaki. PG Graphics will have a bike for him at the Snowshoe GNCC next weekend?

That from Off Road Champions web site.

If he wins this GNCC apparantly he could collect over 20K in winnings. Kawi contingency and 10K pot for winning the race and something else.

[reiterrider]

Knight and BMW part company by mutual consent!
Two‐time World Enduro Champion and double winner of the US Grand National Cross Country Series David Knight has ended his working relationship with the BMW Motorrad Motorsport enduro team. With immediate effect, and by mutual consent, Knight has been released from his contractual obligations with BMW and will take no further part in the ’09 WEC series for the team, starting with this weekend’s GP of Slovakia.

Joining the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team at the start of ’09 Knight had high hopes of delivering continued successes for BMW in the Enduro 3 class on his return to the World Enduro Championship. Following disappointing results during the first half of the ’09 WEC season, having failed to gel with his race bike, David requested that he be released from his contract.

A further announcement will be made in the coming weeks regarding David’s plans to return to racing.

David Knight: “Leaving a team that’s worked hard to give me the bike I wanted wasn’t easy, but I felt that it was the only decision for me to take. It’s not been an easy decision but things simply weren’t working out the way I, or BMW, hoped they would, which wasn’t good for anyone. I’d like to thank the team for their continued support, especially during the last few months where we tried really hard to work things out.

“I simply felt that I couldn’t move forward with the bike. My performances weren’t what I, or the team, hoped they’d be, which I think everyone could see. The bike simply didn’t suit my way of riding, it’s as simple as that. Like I said the team worked hard to give me what I wanted but in the end I felt it was best that I walked away. I’d like to wish BMW all the very best for the rest of this season.
“Returning to the WEC was something that I was really excited about during last winter. After two successful years in the US I was 100 per cent focused on winning a third world title in ‘09. Despite disappointing results and performances during the first half of the championship I’ve enjoyed my time with the team, as well as competing in the WEC again, and I’m grateful that we were able to end our working relationship in a good way.”

[skid jackson]

I wonder if bmw will replace him or just go with juha for the rest of the season.

[eff]

Originally Posted by eff

I for one am happpy how well Nambotin is rinding for GasGas. He is poised to move into second place in the E3 standings.

As i was saying!:

http://www.gofasters.com/index.php?m...ub=news&id=328

[Berkyboy]

Just some thoughts....

Due to what appears to be an amicable seperation between Knight and BMW I would suspect that there may not be any WEC comeback for Knight this year as I doubt BMW would release Knight without demanding a non-compete clause so Knight couldn't upstage any of their remaining WEC riders at least for the rest of the year.

That being said I suspect that the Kawasaki deal will be short lived as well, perhaps just a few races here and there where the contigency and pro purse is inviting enough until Knight can land a deal on a bike he feels comfortable on from a manufacturer who is willing to support him in Europe.

The one thing that bothered me from the start of the Juha / Knight BMW deal was that to me the real competiton was between which rider would take the new BMW to the podium first as I really didn't think BMW would win a world championship there first year out.

Knight is an exceptional talent and will be making the podium again but most likely with a bike he has complete confidence in and for a team that he has top billing on.

...like I said, just some thoughts.

[mariogt]

Im very disappointing about DK, why Juha CAN take the BMW to the podiums in the first year and DK not ?, for me is more than talent, here, juha IS the gifted man of enduro but also his personality and calm/cold mind take him to the podiums (with any bike), DK has a bad temper and a very bad attitude about being surpassed for any rider.