PHIL Smithson signed off his 1999 World Enduro Championship season in style by fulfilling his aim of a place in the top 10.

The Clitheroe rider finished his four-month campaign - which packs in rounds in Spain, Wales, France, Italy, Finland and Sweden - by finishing 14th overall in Czechoslovakia.

And that put Smithson, who rides a Swedish Husaberg 500, into an excellent 10th place in the final rankings.

"It's been my ambition to get into the top ten at World Championship level, and now I've achieved it, " said Smithson, who works as an engineer for Michelin in Burnley.

"When I started out 10 years ago, I just wanted to race against the best. Then I wanted to score points.

"The next target was getting into the top 15, then up into the top 10.

"With factory riders filling the first six places, the 500cc is a tough class to compete in, but it makes you even more determined to fulfil your aspirations."

The final World Enduro round took place at Dvur Kralove, on the Czech-Polish border- a 29-hour round trip for Smithson and his support team.

After suffering a blown engine on the preceding Finnish round, they were forced to travel to Eastern Europe with the bike in bits, building the machine up just 24 hours before the start of the race. Explained Smithson: "Repairs to the machine took much longer than expected, and there wasn't enough time to put it all together before we set off.

"Although we put the engine back in without any problems, as soon as the race started on the first day, it began overheating again.

"It was losing water so fast that I had to stop in between sections to cadge water from the spectators, we even put lemonade in at one point!

"In the end, in was just a case of nursing it to the finish of the first day and trying to effect a repair in order to score points on the second leg.

"We tried using Radweld, which seals the engine block, and that did the trick. The engine held together and we managed 14th, enough to clinch 10th place in the championship."

With his World Enduro campaign over for 1999, Smithson is looking to extend his lead in the British series - starting with this weekend's Torridge.

Back-to-back wins on the first two rounds, the Breckland and ISCA, has established the highly-rated rider as the man to beat in the 500cc class.

With close rival Brian Deacon out of contention due to injury, another win could put the British title firmly within his grasp.

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