Profile

Born and bred in the Isle of Man, David Knight has always been a demon on two wheels, using the beautiful Manx hills to hone his bike handling skills from an early age. As a schoolboy he would often tell his friends that he would be World Champion one day, his drive and passion for the sport helped him live that dream!

Winning the 2005 World Championship marked his rise to the very top of his sport. Defending that title with a 100% record in 2006 ensured David's name a place in the Enduro hall of fame. Anyone who has seen the fantastic biking movie, ' On Any Sunday ' must see a likeness with David and the great Malcom Smith, both amazing riders in all disciplines, always with smiles on their faces, riding for the love of the sport.

Taking on the USA for 2007, David left the WEC behind in search of a new challenge. After a year of multiple trans-atlantic flights and bad luck with both injury and mechanical problems, David still battled through to win the GNCC series, the AMA Endurocross series and the FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup! As if he hadn't done enough travelling for one year, a trip to Australia in July gave him the Aussie Four Day title as well.

2008 saw Knighter retain his GNCC title, taking the championship with 2 rounds to spare.

In 2009, David made one of the biggest changes of his career. Switching to BMW and a relatively new team meant David had a lot of work ahead of him. Unfortunately the big Manxman and the BMW did not work together well. Knighters 'large' agressive style didnt suit the BMW frame and handliing. On the 19th Jun it was officially announced david would be leaving BMW.

Switching to a privately run Kawasaki for the remainder of the season, David won the British Enduro Championship, silencing his doubters and reaffirming his status as one of the World's best off road riders.

2010 brought David back to the KTM team for the World Enduro Championship. Riding again in the E3 class, David won his third World Championship for the Austrian manufacturer.

2011 for David was a year of injury and surgery. Having injured his hips in round 1 of the EWC, david went on to win the second round with the help of pain killers. Surgery, however, was always going to be needed. Two seperate operations on either hip put David out for most of the season, he came back after the summer to win the last 2 rounds of the BEC and the super-tough Weston Beach Race. More operations during the winter, this time on his recurring hernias, were made slightly easier by his meeting with the Queen, where he received a well deserved MBE for his services to sport.

For 2012, David will return to the E3 class of the World Enduro Championship where he will again rie the big KTM 530 EXC for the factory team. David will also ride as many other events as he can throughout the season, including selected BEC, BSEC and Extreme events.

Career highlights:

GNCC Champion XC-1 2007/8

GBXC Champion 2008

Mexico Fun Enduro Winner 2008

AMA Endurocross Champion 2007

FIM Indoor Enduro World Champion 2007/8

A4DE Champion 2007

3-time World Enduro Champion 2005,06,10

2nd place World Enduro Champion 2000/01/02/04

2-time Erzberg Extreme Winner

U.S. Red Bull Last Man Standing Winner 2005 and 2006

AMA Enduro Cross Champion 2005

ISDE Overall Winner 2005

8-time British Enduro Champion

2010 BSEC Champion

MBE awarded in 2011