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Ollie Moyce Report - Italy European Championship Rnd 4 (3 days)
Kurt and I set off in the van and made the 15 hour journey to Castiglion Fiorentino in Italy for the final round of the European Enduro Championship. The start was situated in the middle of the town on top of a hill with amazing views all around. Upon arrival the weather was unsettled but by the look of the ground it had not rained seriously for quite a while.
The British contingency was all parked together and there was a great atmosphere with so many riders making the journey. By Thursday morning we had all been to the test track and the bikes were prepared.
There were 2 tests a lap, an Enduro test which consisted of a very rocky, technical riverbed and long fast straights and an MX test which weaved in and out of the final motocross track with soft powdery berms.
DAY 1,
We woke up to sunshine to everyone’s delight and it just got hotter all day. The Enduro test was untimed on the first lap but seemed to ride easier than first anticipated. Then there was a long check out to the first fuel stop. The next check made its way back through the mountains to the MX test at the end of the lap. This was meant to be timed but unfortunately for me the timing did not stop causing me to have the slowest time in class. Then it was back to see my old friend Kurt at the check who could also not understand having watched the test how I seemed to be 30 seconds slower than anyone!
After starting the next lap we came to the Enduro test again which was timed. I made a small mistake in the test and still felt like I was learning about my new FE390. The rest of the day was steady but I was slowly getting my confidence back. By that night my first MX test had been rectified but it seemed as if they had almost guessed a time for me.
I finished the day in 9th position, 16 seconds down on 8th.
Day 2,
I knew I was capable of going faster so I decided to leave my brain at the van in the morning. After the start of day 2 we went straight to the Enduro test again. My fastest day 1 Enduro time was 7 min 41 seconds so my aim was to get to the mid thirties. After coming through the end of the test, I looked at my time which said 7 min 24 seconds. From then on my times were considerably faster and my confidence grew all day.
I finished the day 6th in class (5 seconds from being 4th in class) and 7th overall after 2 days of racing.
Day 3, (motocross)
The motocross track was on the same dry, dusty field as the MX test had been. The women and vets were the first to race and it worked backwards to the juniors who were last. By the time I had my sighting lap there were areas of the course that were difficult to see past the front wheel. Woodsy (Ash Wood) and I lined up on the start gate together and waited for it to drop. I had a good jump out of the gate but didn’t quite get to the corner where I needed to be. After a lot of argy bargy the 8 lap race pretty much finished in the order you made it around the first corner due to the severity of the dust.
I finished in 8th position.
Thanks to all the support crews who helped out especially Deb Harvey who kept me, James Jackman and Julian Crimp in order.
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