After another week of torrential rain the final round of this winters series was once again blessed with a bright clear day and great riding conditions. Tunnel Hill is renown for its flowing singletrack and the Gorrick team produced another splendid course.
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| Ollie Fenton (in blue) |
Again we had another good turn-out in all categories with exceptional rides from Will Taylor(5th) and Ollie Fenton(7th) in the 2hr Junior race where Ollie came 3rd overall in the series.
In only her second event Olive O'Leary with her raspberry jacket flapping in the wind completed 2 laps finishing 13th the Ladies 2hr race. Fellow Celt Peter Wilsdon came in 94th in the Male 2hrs.
Damian Redmond came 41st in the very competitive 2hr Male Vet race just missing out on the points for an overall series ranking. Where do all these extra people come from for the last event?
Also it was great to see our enduro vet Andy Goodyer back on the start line, kick starting his training for some 6hr events this year finishing 51st and Wills dad Martin 52nd.
Having his first bash at a Gorrick event was Glynn Edwards(Team Juan Lap) he did just that, he had a smile on his face at the finish, I think?
Ben Connor(left) had an impressive 16th in the 4hr Male managing 6 laps in 4hrs 35min 31 secs.
Ian Petherbridge who was looking to round off the series with a top 10 position to consolidate his 5th position in the overall standings, but had the misfortune of a mechanical that put paid to his race.
John Davies just scraped home in 36th to score some points to leave him 12th in the overall.
Just behind him in 41st was John Reay, Kevin Moore 55th and Andy Jarman 57th.
Another great series with some excellent courses and surprisingly good weather, can we be that lucky next year? Lets hope so!
Another race another quagmire!
Swamp racing seems to be the theme for so many races in 2012. I have already
had the mud syringed from my eyes by the St-Johns ambulance after one event
this “summer” and I don’t think anyone who was there will ever forget the
conditions at Black Park, where riders were being pulled from their bikes with
hypothermia. So in hindsight maybe the XT MTB Enduro at Hawley lake near
Farnborough wasn’t that bad! At least the sun was shining! However, there were
long stretches of deep standing water to be navigated and sections where
progress through the gloop was almost impossible. Rear tyres slipped, gears
skipped and chains sucked!
A frenzied fireroad dash got us
underway, riders weaving from side to side as they hunted for grip. On the
first climb my chain tied itself in a knot, coiling itself away tightly under
the chainstay. It took an eternity to unravel, by which time I had lost touch
with the lead group. I plunged on through the slop, brakes were worthless
anyway but my brake pads had dissolved away before the 2nd lap. As the laps progressed a
racing line began to form, snaking between the worst of the puddles. Although
churned by the passing of 100’s of tyres other sections became impassable. The
section I named ‘comedy’ corner was the worst: as you approached steering had
little impact on the bikes direction and once you were pointing the right way,
the rear tyre spun and fish tailed hopelessly however carefully you turned the
pedals.
