Burts eyes a podium finish in Round 1 of the World Extreme Enduro Championship

Last weekend was the 1st round of the World Extreme Enduro Championship which saw leading Enduro riders head to south Wales for a thrilling weekend of competition.

The Walters Arena originally started life just after WW2 as a massive 4,000 acre opencast coal surface mine and is now a major international motorsport complex. Unmatched for its variety of terrains, ranging from fire breaks and natural broad leaved woodland, to mature pine and larch plantations, the site is criss-crossed by a bewildering array of gravel roads and trails.

Triple D team rider Burts Crayston was joined by David Clark from South Africa and Jared Lamb all the way from America, with Burts poised for a podium finish. But what would this iconic venue throw at the riders?

The event kicked off on the Friday with a super enduro special test. Burts came out of the blocks like a scalded cat shocking EVERYBODY watching! He held the lead all the way to the finish line holding off Red Bull athletes and the Pro’s only to be pipped by world rider Wade Young on the final few obstacles.

In his second heat he finished just outside the cut for the final and monies, but this result was enough to give him a good starting slot for Saturdays racing. Once again, Burts set off like a man possessed and put himself in a truly brilliant position of 6th overall. By the time the second afternoon race had finished, he'd slipped to 10th overall and that was to be his starting position for the main race on Sunday which the team was chuffed about.

Sunday morning saw perfect weather and away they went. Burts had a bumpy start and struggled to find his rhythm for the first 2 laps. Into lap 3 and things started to click into place! He went from an average 20th spot, picking his way through the Championship class one by one to finish a brilliant 12th overall and 3rd in the Junior class.

It was a true grit ride giving him a fantastic start to the season ahead of the next event at the mighty Iron Giant in Austria in 2 weeks time. Erzberg, we're coming for ya!

Follow Burts on Instagram to stay to follow his progress through the season!