Gas Gas UK’s Ashley Wood has finished second in the Under 23’s E2 Class of the British Enduro Sprint Championship. The final two rounds of the BESC were held at Saints Well near Rhayader over the final weekend of May where Ashley placed fourth in class on Saturday and second on Sunday. With his house only a few miles away Wood was on home turf for rounds five and six and felt in familiar surroundings when the heavens opened on Friday night turning the fast flowing grass test into an ice rink. Saturday proved to be a tough day as the course cut up with the bad weather and Ashley engaged in a dog fight with KTM’s Mark Roberts, eventually finishing only six seconds behind in fourth place. Sunday was a different story; with the course now being ridden in reverse direction from the previous day Ashley found new speed demoting Roberts to third whilst setting some stunning test times. Finishing second on day two only a minute behind Husaberg’s Ollie Moyce Ashley was overall very happy with his performance and has his Gas Gas set up perfectly for next week’s round of the British Enduro Championship.

Ashley Wood: “I’ve had a really positive weekend; the slick grass was great practice for the Hafren next weekend which was good and I always enjoy riding Welsh grass so the rain didn’t really bother me. The course cut up pretty rough toward the end of the first day which made it a bit harder going but all in all I was happy with how I rode and how the bike performed. After Saturday I went home knowing I could go quicker if the weather dried out which thankfully it did. I started the day pushing harder than Saturday and I set some good times and closed the gap of some of the other lads. The track got faster and faster as the day went on and it came down to who had the biggest balls at the end of the day so I’m pleased with second and how I have my bike set up. There’s no question in my mind that there is a direct link between my result at the European round in France and these Sprints. I’m able to push harder for longer in a test which is great. Thanks to Shirty, Talon and Steve Plain.”

Results Under 23 ES2 class: Round 5: 1: Joe Jones (KTM); 2: Ollie Moyce (Husaberg); 3: Mark Roberts (KTM); 4: Ashley Wood (Gas Gas); 5: Gavin Houson (KTM)

Round 6: 1: Ollie Moyce (Husaberg); 2: Ashley Wood (Gas Gas); 3: Mark Roberts (KTM); 4: Jonny Walker (KTM); 5: Gavin Houson (KTM)