With another season done it was time for the State Champs, for the last few years it has been at Eagle, this year it was Willunga that held the race.
The final Inside Line race for South Australia in 2013 was the State Champs held over the October long weekend to the south of Adelaide at Willunga. Here everyone was vying to take home the state champion jersey, a cool prize and one that everyone liked.
The track had seen a visit from the trail fairies, they brought their bulldozer to make a few changes which was good of them!
The trail was different from the State race earlier in the year held here but onA�one ridge over, the top section was made up of technical features, such as rock gardens, g-outs and big jumps while the bottom section was flat turns before the finishing chute.
There were a lot of flats over the weekend, one rider apparently even copping 5 in a row! The reason, little ninja rocks hiding everywhere!Different styles were displayed all weekend long!Overall the track was fast and riders just blurred past.Transport ran well over the weekend, the ride up can sometimes be as crazy as the ride down due to the access road!
The weather was good, the wind did cause a few crashes on some of the jumps as riders got thrown around, best recovery thoughts to all that crashed!
Ouch! He walked away though, literally crashing a few metres from the finish beam.
The big draw cards for the racing were Troy Brosnan and Connor Fearon, unfortunately could only do one run, a sore ankle meant he didn’t want to risk hurting it more and spectated over the weekend instead.
Elbows up! Troy Brosnan brings his international speed back home.There were all sorts of random things spotted over the weekend, large numbers of the police force, people mowing the lawn in their pit areas… All sorts!Nice view! Not that the riders would notice as they sent the kicker.
Racing saw tension levels higher than just a state round for obvious reasons, the Under 19 race was possibly the most dramatic as Matt Taylor, Conor Clancy and James Chambers battling it out all year, in the end Conor prevailed by 2 seconds. Full results are on the Inside Line club site (or should be soon!). Elite was always going to be Troy Brosnans race to win and he did just that taking the race ahead of Will Rischbieth.
Winner winner! Troy Brosnan adds the State Champs to his impressive list of achievements for 2013.Angus Maddern has had a good season all year including heading over to race his first World Cup, he shows us the middle line through the bottom chute.Henry Blake, another rider who had a good year, including heading over to Whistler earlier in the season takes the outside line.There is talk of doing a 20 year anniversary race here to mark 20 years of Inside Line next year, this bike would fit in perfectly.A good crowd witnessed a fitting final race for 2013!
That is a wrap for 2013! We can’t wait for next years series, thanks to Inside Line, the volunteers and everyone that has supported the site this year.
The views from the top of the course were sublime…!
Let’s wrap up our coverage of the SA State Series race at Willunga with a few more photos from the event. The new top section of the track really changed the feel of the rest of the track, even though it was basically identical to how it has been for many years.
The Trak Cycles downhill247.com team had a mixed weekend results wise!Off camber grass, a classic test of skill!Brraaappp!Elite winner Troy Brosnan charging towards the finish!Getting this jump right was critical as there was a right hander literally in the landing.Get your lean on, elbows out!
The next round is at Eagle Mountain Bike Park on the 15th and 16th of June, see you there!
Round 2 of SA State Series was held on what can only be described as perfect conditions, even more so because we were racing at Willunga. A track notorious for being exposed to the elements!
On the weekend of the 18th and 19th of May, Willunga Hill held the second round of the SRAM South Australian Downhill State Series. Arguably one of the favourite tracks and locations for the series line-up, Willunga Kite Track saw all riders, both young and old coming out for a ride; many of which decided to pick up a bike after a long time, simply to ride the tracks they grew up racing!
Willunga has been on the race calendar for years, even holding a national race many moons ago! Everyone was really enjoying themselves out on the hill.
Weather conditions on practice and race day were absolutely perfect. Beautiful weather was a blessing for riders and spectators, despite that many riders were forecasting a nice, wet track for racing. Someone must have done something right in the lead up to the weekend, because track and weather conditions could not have been better. Sunny, bright, warm, dry and rocky were a few words commonly used to describe the track over the weekend. a�?Windya�� Willunga was anything but.
Have we mentioned the weather was really good?! If you have ever had to stand in Willunga when the wind is whipping off the ocean and the rain is coming in horizontal you will understand why we are banging on about how good it was!
The actual track is positioned on a paddock, and the owner of the land, Paul Giles, was kind enough to allow everyone to race on a wicked track once more. Thanks Paul, you are a star. The paddock features reasonably large hills, with steep gradients either side. The grassed terrain had many riders re-considering riding positions and styles, because for many younger riders, this was their first experience riding something other than dirt. However, as riding went on, the grass quickly disappeared and dirt appeared, becoming dustier and looser with each rider.
Off camber grass, classic Willunga and it had everyone trying to get a grip with the track, literally!
As for the a�?Kitea�� track itself, it consists of a short off-camber section which made riding difficult for many, followed by a steep, bumpy section into a left-hand corner. After a short off-camber pedal, the riders were faced with several corners and jumps to make things interesting. It was important to keep speed through these sections as a flat, rock-garden rapidly approached and required significant line choice, or the consequences of a flat-tyre were realised by many. The rocks continued down the track, and riders were again faced with a challenging rocky left-hander. Lacking any form of berm or corner assist, riders had to make a quick, hard turn to the left to stay on track, as many ruts were forming down the bottom. Once this section was completed, a few more drops were in order, as well as several more corners.
Some jumps on the course caught a few riders by surprise, here Ian Jones and Cam Ryan tackle them as a team!
Willunga hadna��t finished yet though, as riders had to push themselves to their limit in the slalom section. Wide, open and fast encapsulated the remainder of the track, and the difference between winning and losing lay in the techniques used. Riders had to endure a long section of flat ground, putting in constant pedals to maintain speed and beat each other. Nearing the end of the track, a medium-sized step-down is featured, of which claimed many riders, followed by a small open straight to left-hand corner and a relatively large step-down, and finally, a sprint to the finish line.
Everyone we spoke to seemed to really be enjoying the course!The final part of the course featured a few step downs, nothing huge but after a full race run they took their toll.
Usual suspects were looking quick all weekend, and it was interesting to see how the track would separate riders. All riders were seen to be picking and choosing lines, and quite diverse line choices were seen. Time could be lost or gained in these sections, and these debates filled the pits. As extra lines began to present themselves, and full-runs were being ridden by riders, practice came to a close, and race day started.
Rocks, rocks, rocks meant lines, lines, lines!What appeared to be a simple course presented some what more of a challenge, as usual!
Conditions on race day were identical to the previous, which made riding much easier for many. In previous series, riders had been subject to the rapidly changing South Australian weather, and would have to change and adapt their runs to the conditions. Everyone appeared to be super stoked for the racing and numerous riders were punching out runs before racing started. After all the formalities were completed, the transport trailers were loaded, and so were the 4WDa��s, full of excited (and many nervous) riders.
Typical Australian downhilling, in to the back of a Troopie!
In the Female field, the one and only rider, Laura Kelly, obviously won a�� Yew! In the Elite Womena��s category, Phillipa Rostan (1), blitzed the field with a time of 2:50, closely followed by Molly Payne (2) with a 3:05 and Moira Love (3). In the mena��s categories, the U19a��s field was anyonea��s guess who would take the top step. It was difficult, as usual, to set these few apart in practice and no name was definite for the win. Names such as Matthew Taylor, James Chambers, Curtis Dowdell, Conor Clancy and Bryce Wing littered the field, all of which could be seen putting in 110% to raise their chances of achieving first place. In 1st place was Conor Clancy (1) with an amazing 2:27.29, just off second was James Chambers (2) with a 2:29.33 and Matthew Taylor (3) with 2:29.39.
Qualifying was the first indication of who was really on it this weekend.
Last but not least was the Elite mena��s field. Consisting of past, present and future World Cup racers, National racers and weekend warriors, seeing this field race was truly amazing. So much raw talent has been grown in this state, and ita��s great to see favourites such as Troy Brosnan, Angus Maddern, Craig Yates, Steve Gebert, Ngari Jenkins and Will Rischbieth throwing style for the crowd and putting the pedals down for the win. In fifth place was Cycleworxa��s Ngari Jenkins (5) with a time of 2:22.77, in fourth place was Specializeda��s Angus Maddern (4) with 2:22.47, in third place was AIR DHa��s Steve Gebert (3) with a 2:22.460, in second was Gianta��s Will Rischbieth (2) with 2:22.06 and in first place, with a time that blazed the category by more than 5 seconds was Monster Energy/Specializeda��s Troy Brosnan, with a time of 2:15.74!
Racing was a blur! With so many people to watch out for and times getting faster and faster!Yes this was at a downhill race, no we have no idea what was going on!The number one plate of Steve Marsh is what everyone was chasing!Nice, very nice!Cam Ryan straight out the gate!World Cup speed getting it done, you can’t argue with that!Smiles all around for the winner of round 2!
The race held at Willunga, was safe to say, one of the most enjoyable that has been held in a while. Everybody was super excited about the weekend, spectators and rider numbers were massive and racing was amazing to watch. A huge thank you to all the organisers, without them there is no opportunity for the riders to race and everyone are very appreciative. The spectators/hecklers were all very lively; a few of them having a bit too much fun, but the races wouldna��t be the way they are without these people! The rest of the South Australian series is something to look out for!
Stay tuned as we will have a part 2 from the weekend with more photos!
Willunga is an old favourite on the South Australian racing calendar and held a national round many years ago! Photo: Matt Bird Photography
This year the sixth and final race of the SRAM South Australian state series were held at Willunga.A� A venue that is a permanent fixture on the calendar, Willunga is known for being the fastest most open track of the year. Top speeds reach around 50km/h, the complete absence of trees to shield riders from the wind and the abundance of rocks hiding in the grass makes this track tough on riders and bikes alike.A� Much to riders surprise and delight a track that was raced in the late 90a��s was resurrected, and tuned to suit modern DH standards, was used.
The track used was an old track but albeit retuned for the race, some riders chose to really send this kicker, it was up to each rider. Photo: Matt Bird Photography
Going into this race the Elite men’s series was wide open with the top two contenders, Steve Gebert and Ngari Jenkins separated by 2 points (subjectively as it is a drop-a-round series).A� No surprise both riders were going for it, even in qualifications, where Steve qualified 1st and netted 15 points and Ngari flatted taking home 0 points and a large section of bunting.
Being the last race of the series meant there were riders thinking of the overall series rankings… Photo: Matt Bird Photography
In under 17a��s Callum Morrison completed a clean sweep of the series with his 6th race win from 6 rounds, he was reportedly disappointed with his run (that would have qualified him 3rd in Elites) and later that day went on to make amends in his un-official u 19a��s run setting overall the second quickest time of the day.A� He was followed by Cody Barker in 2nd and Hayden Vanderwolff in 3rd.
The u 19a��s series had already been decided before this round but that didna��t slow any of the riders down, series winner James Chambers came 2nd, Jake Adams 3rd with top honours going to Matt Taylor.
Overall Under 19’s Men winner James Chambers setting up for a turn. Photo: Matt Bird
Elite women was a shootout between Molly Payne and Jolene Knight, both of which having problems in their race run.A� Jolene flatted half way down the course and managed to ride it out, Molly had a bad crash in a rock garden but got back up to finish her run, unfortunately not fast enough and Jolene took the win and the series.
A return to racing for Angus Maddern after a lay off due to surgery
Elite Mena��s was a tough race with most riders going a lot faster in their final run, 5th place went to Angus Maddern, it was great to have Angus back as this was his first race back from shoulder surgery and he showed that he hasna��t lost any of his pace or style.A� In 4th place Steve Gebert, not a win but a good run.A� Bronze and silver went to Giant riders Craig Yates and Cameron Ryan respectively, the younger displaying supreme confidence gapping into the final chute where most other riders were on the brakes.A� But fastest time of the day, ultimate bragging rights and a gold medal went to Steve Marsh, this capping off a successful return to racing for the club legend. Steve walks away with the overall series too, this made Steve one happy camper and a deserving winner, Steve was consistent all season long.
With the State Series finished there is still one more South Australian race this year, the State Championships
The amazing weather also played a part in making it a successful and enjoyable weekend for all, and an excellent prelude to state titles which will be held 13th and 14th of October at Fox Creek.A� With 6 different winners from 6 rounds ita��s any ones guess who will be crowned state champion in 2012.
