Danny McCanney found the speed and consistency to put himself on the podium again this weekend at the Spanish GP of the 2012 Enduro World Championship. Placing sixth on day one then a fighting third on day two, McCanney, riding a Gas Gas EC300 Racing, now lies in third position in the 2012 EWC Junior standings.
On a course that was more typical of French enduro than Spanish – rolling grassy hillsides and clay-based pine forests of the Basque country near Bilbao – McCanney had struggled on day one, feeling rusty after an enforced lay-off from riding (to allow the ribs he injured at the last Sprint Enduro to fully heal). But on day two McCanney was back to his best, posting second-fastest times and challenging for the win.
Danny McCanney: “That was a great event. I enjoyed all the tests, we had a bit of everything. It got really technical on day two as overnight rain and so many laps meant the course was very rutted out. The enduro test was long and very tough with ruts and berms like you see on a motocross course, but made slippery by the water that seemed to sit everywhere on the course. I struggled on the Saturday; having been off the bike for a while I felt uncomfortable and to push harder would have been risky. I was much happier on Sunday, more familiar, and I changed the way I rode, using the EC300s ability to pull higher gears which works brilliantly in wet conditions. Iʼm very happy to be back on the podium, to be challenging the leader again. Iʼm really looking forward to Portugal now!”
Steve Plain, Gas Gas UK team manager: “This was a tough enduro for a rider returning from injury. The Spanish organisers had put together an excellent – and tough – 70 kilometre course (repeated three times) that kept the riders working hard for the full seven hours of each day. The enduro test was impressive as well, very long with a good variation in terrain through a tricky clay-based forest. Danny was understandably below his best for day one, but it acted as a good tune up and he was his usual battling self on Sunday – he took third, but significantly he was setting top-three, even top-two times. Heʼs bang on form again.”
McCanneyʼs next race is round four of the 2012 Enduro World Championship in Portugal this weekend (May 12-13).
