Enduro21 catches five with Paul Edmondson creating “something different” for the final FIM SuperEnduro World Championship round track inside the the Utilita Arena, Newcastle on March 2.

“We’re going to go a bit old school with the track design,” Paul Edmondson tells Enduro21 as we catch up with one half of the brains behind this year’s grand finale to the SuperEnduro season.

In case you don’t know, the final GP is in GB and Billy Bolt’s hometown of Newcastle and with British riders bossing the indoor championship classes right now, it should be a fitting end to what has been a spectacular season. 

For Edmondson it is a chance to bring the world championship and its many British riders in front of a big UK audience but, he tells us, they’re also taking some inspiration from the way tracks used to be built back in the day. 

Going old school?

“Back in the day, when I was doing it in places like Barcelona, they had a different style of track and we want to bring a bit of that in to the arena in Newcastle.” Explains Edmondson who brings a tonne of experience to the table as a former world enduro champion of course but also a team manager, event and championship organiser in the UK and as a former FIM track inspector for the SuperEnduro series until recently.

Barcelona rock gardens used to look like this... 

The 2024 event in Newcastle is co-organised by Fast Eddy and Martin Craven of Fat Cat Moto Parc, a former Erzbergrodeo finisher no less but also a very experienced track owner.

“A SuperEnduro track should be challenging, and technical in places but not too hard that people are getting stuck every lap and causing snarl-ups.”  Paul adds. “A rock garden for me should be tricky but where there is only one line that’s not good. The crowds want to see riders challenged but not traffic jams.”

So how will the track be ‘something a bit different’? “There’ll obviously be a few jumps and so on for the fans, and the riders liked that last week (in Budapest, round five), but we’re also going to set up the start so it goes into a long rock garden all the way down the length of a straight on the arena floor.

“That way the field will spread out nicely we think, better than straight into a tight corner or whatever. The fast riders will get through it fine like normal but it slows down slower riders. No-one should get stuck, we want them to have multiple line choices through any rocks. But it needs to work for all classes. We’ve got it all laid out and planned already.”

Indoor Enduro World Championship Barcelona track in 2010

The UK round will feature an already over-subscribed national race alongside Prestige and Junior World Championship classes. It promises to bring out some of the best from the UK enduro scene including Jack Price, Lee Sealey, Paul Bolton and outside shot for the win, Rich Ely... all putting their names forward.

Tickets for Newcastle are almost gone but a few are still available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk, or go big as a VIP to get access the track, watch practice early, eat, drink meet the riders and more via: www.fasteddyracing.com

Photo Credit: Future7Media