Dirty Halfpipe

Make or Break...

by Joe Bowman   

Sunday, 23 March 2008

Brindgewood round 1: Like usual, fresh kit and even fresher rides emerged in their dozens, out of the back of Britain's finest vans, up and down the Shropshire hillside. 

 

  First race back for many is a chance for testing and observing. It’s a chance to see who’s fought the days of early darkness and those who didn’t. It’s a time, when it’s all over you can take a step back and work out what you need to do to achieve those goals you set this year.

 

Maybe push for that top 10 or even just to beat that gimp who’s always at your local talking crap, whatever your reason, the first race back is the start of a new season, meaning more bikes, more uplifts, more fun.

  This year me and Sam have pulled our fingers out (a little) and are trying to think up new ways to get YOU, the reader, onto the site. It’s not been easy, but we’ve decided race photography is a great way to do this. The amount of fuss people kick up on forums about finding pics of themselves after races could start a war, so we thought we’d fuel this fire and try and provide you with an easy search and (hopefully) some quality images for you to use at your disposal.  Don’t worry there’s no copyright strips in sight, on any of the images.

  Steady away down the m8 south, meant a whole load of gear, in not a lot of space. With our gas plus the stuff coming out of your exhaust can’t be good for the environment. Speaking of the environment we’ve got an article coming up about it…..Keep em peeled.

  I’ll be honest, pulling into the finishing field, seeing all the trade stands and Janets jackets go up, makes my stomach churn. Getting all your gear on, checking tyre pressures, seeing what tread people are running…. It all seems to much! Shit was he running spikes? Hmm…

 

  Now… I’ve noticed that the prices in races have gone up this year, this could be down to many things, that I’m sure I’ll never know or understand, but as long as im getting my moneys worth it’s definitely all worth it. So with Pearce cycles running the helm you know your moneys safe even before things kick off. Shropshire’s finest  J. Deeres loaded with bikes and bodies, headed up at eleven sharpish, dropping you at the bottom of the mound.

  Uplift damage is now a thing of the past, all those freshly powdered frames now stay fresh thanks to Dave Pearce’s welding skills.

 

  The original and the best, bombhole track was being used this time round, with a lot of work gone in from the trail fairys over the winter, it’s now a whole new course. Deep, loamy berms, mixed with widely taped open sections covered in roots, gave you room to get creative with your line choice. The lower woods were still the same,  with huge compressions and rollers, that lead you out towards the infamous tabletop, which saw some scary spills over the weekend. Nevertheless, some riders were eyeing up the ‘Red Rock’ contest, where the rider with best style over the weekend, won a jacket. Good to see some outside companies getting involved with the sport.

  Looking back at the racing, these are some of the tightest results I’ve seen in a while. The top ten in each category seemed to be only split by a few seconds at most. Apart from Dirt-Mags, Ralph Jones who blew the rest of the elites out of the water with a 2:21:04, without even practicing on Saturday. Looks like he’s on for a good season.

  Spectator numbers were up this year, this added pressure and electric atmosphere at the finish made for some good results……

 

 

 

 

Hardtail:

1 1400 WILLERTON John Ticket2ridebc.com/Descent-Gear.com 3 3:01.095

2 1411 PETFORD Lee Pearce Cycles Race Team  3:13.019

3 1406 SWINDEN William No Cycling.com 3:16.163  

Juvenille:

1 1311 DOWNES Matthew Dave Rayner Cycles  2:59.029

2 1304 EMMETT Zac Tudors Building Supplies  2:59.196

3 1307 GLASS Alex 3:06.876

Youth:

1 1103 MALLER Jamie Knox 22:29.427

2 1101 HODGETTS Josh Bad Ass Bikes/Ram Bikes 2:35.981

3 1104 MATHER Brad 2:36.438

 

Junior:

1 942 DALE Sam Cannondale Factory Racing  2:25.026

2 917 BREWIN Gareth Descent World 2:28.134  

3 903 MALLER Ashley Knox 2:28.162

Masters:

1 633 WILLIAMS Colin Solid Bikes 2:35.147

2 602 DERRY Chris Derry Air Cycles/Morewood  2:35.596

3 612 LEWIS Alun AW Cycles.co.uk 2:37.065  

Women:

1 1501 HORRIDGE Emily Yeti/Sombrio 2:49.780

2 1550 STONE Jessica High Peak Cycles 3:03.317

3 1511 MAHONY Sue Psyclewerx 3:04.424

 

Veterans:

 

 

1 802 CROCKETT Martin MSC Bikes UK/Descent-Gear 2:37.838

2 803 HARVEY Trevor Harveyboysracing.com  2:42.332

3 804 KING Richard Primary Water 2:45.631

Seniors:

1 244 CONERON James NORCO 2:28.996

2 227 WOODVINE Andy Leisure Lake Cycles  2:32.792

3 215 CHALLINOR Richard 2:33.130

 

Experts:

1 115 MORGAN Ben Pearce Cycles Race Team  2:27.889

2 107 HORTON Joe Pearce Cycles Race Team  2:29.787

3 104 SINDEN Chris Phil Corley Cycles 2:30.885

 

Elites:

1 5 JONES Ralph Dirt Magazine 2:21.861

2 4 SMITH Robert Syncros/Electric 2:24.795

3 3 BRAITHWAITE Tom Factory Orange 2:26.730

Rounds two and three are allready full, so if you were lazy, gutted. Entries for four, five and six are out on  May 1^st, so get your cheques ready. With so many races going on this year, time and money are a virtue, so make the most of them and get yourself entered into a Pearce event.

 

 Downhill racing has never been healthier.

 

 DHP

 

 

 

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