Bright National Champs threw up one great weekend of racing, let’s finish our coverage of the weekend with a Pick Of The Pics. Our dedicated and hardworking photo g’s were scrambling up and down the mountain all weekend fighting dust, starvation and the background scenery to bring you the goods, enjoy!
Troy Brosnan was rocking a different kit every day #factory.Art!Epic scenery in Bright, with a mix of native vegetation and pine forests, Mic Hannah rolling on by.B-Lake! Blake Nielsen negotiating one of the chutes on the track!One foot madness for David ‘Mayhem’ McMillan.Send, send, send!Riders charged straight down the fireroad into this tight right-hander with a lot of speed.Tegan Molloy got the job done and took home the national title.Not only was the view great but the conditions were too!Andrew Crimmins is looking good for the upcoming world cup season.On the hunt! There was talk of the new 650B coming to Bright but that wasn’t the case.A new bike for Jack Moir but it didn’t slow him down.A good time for Rhys, Jackson and David from one of the strongest teams on the grid.By the end of the weekend ruts were a foot deep down some parts of the track.A good result at Bright would have capped a very successful come back for Josh Button, the result wasn’t quite what he was hoping for . It doesn’t take anything away from what he has achieved, we can’t wait to see him at Cairns.Oops!Not all the action was focused on the track!Scoping lines.No shortage of dust!Another whoopsy!This may seem like an unusual image but let us explain! The rider in the dust had come through the chutes and binned it. On the way as they rolled down the hill they clipped Jason Steven’s gear bag sending it tumbling it down the hill. As the rider stop they managed to grab the bag and stop it from rolling any further, hence the joyous arm raise from Jason!That golden light strikes again!Rhys Atkinson has been all across over the past few months building trails for us all to enjoy, cheers Rhys!He’s another rider we are looking forward to seeing racing in Cairns.Different lines for riders as they negotiated there way down the hill.Sic Mic, having changed a few major components over the off season it doesn’t seem to have slowed him down though.Doing the dance!Jared Rando was on the bike and showing everyone why he is one of Australia’s downhill legends.
Coming into one of the high speed, wide open areas of the track!Throwing a bit of style into the mix.Connor Fearon is gathering momentum for his overseas campaign.The same can be said for Tracey Hannah.
That wraps up the coverage of Bright and the Australian national championships.
Images: Jason Stevens Photography, JB Photo Media & house images.
Come Sunday, race day, the trail was feeling the brunt of the biggest National DH event of 2014. Overall the track was in excellent racing condition, but there were a few loose sections to remember…
Day 4 of the Bright National Championships and the business end of proceedings! A short practice session before racing for both the A and B categories let riders ensure they had their lines sorted but more importantly to see how much the track had deteriorated before they tried to race on it! When seasoned world cup riders are exclaiming how much they enjoy the track and that it should be a stop on the world cup calendar you know it is the real deal. A large portion of the track has a ‘natural’ feel to it with very few man made obstacles to ruin this experience, as we found out in racing though the track did get rougher and more blown out over the course of the four days….
A picture says a thousand words so we have gone all out to show you a range of shots from the weekend below.
Tracey Hannah rode fast all weekend, seeding very well on Saturday afternoon. Both Tracey and Sik Mik turned heads all weekend in their matching kit, silent bikes and sheer speed. From weekend warrior to World Cup racer, riders were having so much fun.After picking up the pace, and with a trail that would only get rougher, Connor Fearon switched to clip pedals on Saturday morning, dropping 3 clipped practice runs in over the weekend.Outside of the forest the view was picturesque. A beautiful summer alpine scene with dozens of paragliders!In the forest the chutes were steep, and the trees were tight; closing in on riders as the weekend wore on. That only meant one thing, go faster!U17’s standout Remy Morton has been dominating in 2014, showing very impressive speed and skill, under a cool and calm face off the bike. Finishing off the season with a convincing 18 second gap win is very promising for Remy’s future. Here he gets above the rough stuff and into the next corner, with seemingly minimal effort.
There’s always good racing in the B category, despite not being the premier classes. We do have to make mention of Remy Morton and his emphatic win in under 17’s with a time 18 seconds ahead of his closest competitor and good enough for 6th place in Under 19. We are going to bring you further insight into one of our sports brightest potentials soon!
Moving on to the A racing and it was the junior females who started off proceedings, it was always going to be hard to see Tegan Molloy not win. In the end she did, we can’t wait to see what she can produce overseas this year.
An emphatic and well deserved win for Tegan Molloy.
Next came the junior men, with the chance to represent your country at the world champs on the line riders were going hammer and tong. Some crashed (some multiple times), some had mechanicals and some put together the run of their lives. With Ben Hill absent there was definitely another place freed up near the pointy end of the field, in the end a quality field rounded out the podium.
Ben Dengate took 5th on his Bilt.Jackson ‘The Mexican’ Davis had to contend with a low seeding position to claim 4th.Max Warshawsky has been riding well all year and 3rd pace confirmed this.Aiden Varley put his local knowledge to good use claiming second place. He will be back here in a few weeks to try and get his hands on the VicDH race win.With a 20+ minute shuttle process, there was plenty of time to recall runs and sections, and get mentally closer or further away from riding your best. Andrew Crimmins waits patiently to blast out another run… Little did he know the next time up he would arrive to the village U19 Australian National Champion.No denying Andrew Crimmins the win, a solid gap sees him avenge his overall series loss.
Next up we moved to Elite, a solid field were there to ensure that Tracey Hannah had to earn her victory, some good riding by a few lesser fancied riders kept everyone on their toes.
5th place for Michelle Crisp.First year elite rider Danielle Beecroft claimed a solid 4th.Shelly Flood can handle a crash or two but she kept it upright in the finals and claimed 3rd.Emma McNaughton used her years of experience to take 2nd place.As predicted by the seeding times, T Hannah took the Elite Women’s National Jersey, putting the power down in the last straight to lock it in by over 30 seconds.Realistically it was Tracey’s to lose but anything can happen in racing, Tracey showed us why she is such a class act.
With the females done and dusted for the day it left only the elite men at the top of the hill. Would the Hannah family be taking home all the gold? We didn’t have long to find out!
The view from the top was grand, the para-gliders in the area clearly loving it.Holding it?Not quite….! The last corner was the story of many riders day!The bus ride up was a mission in itself with the steep sides meaning you had to trust the drivers!
Any how Elite, it was going to be a shootout and the stakes were high! First rider down the hill was Troy Brosnan, after not seeding he was at the start of the list. He went straight into the hot seat, little did he know how long he would be spending in it!
Blake Nielsen scored an injury mid run and had to DNF, he will be back stronger then ever soon!Some riders were dancing, if you can call it that?! Down the hill with varied degrees of success…Photographers talk about golden light, Bright was a clinical study in it. Here Jason Stevens captures Sam Brownlie lapping it up – awesome!David McMillan on the hunt… Looking for those seconds.Timmy Eaton is bouncing back form an injury riddled 2013 year.Unfortunately Luke Ellison had a few injuries over the course of the weekend but was looking good. Next time Booga!6th place for Mayhem Dave, he has been riding well all season and really deserved a top 5!Mic Hannah getting wild! This was the case in his race run loosing a front wheel and going down with the ship, he recovered to claim 5th, super impressive!Todd Madsen surprised a few people with a handy 4th place.A new team and bike, Jack Moir claimed third, he almost had to go chainless after snapping a hanger but one was sourced!Cool, calm and collected! Connor Fearon took care of business in second.As Connor drops into the finish arena, the crowd was amped, on edge as he battled Troy’s time to the line, securing Second place just 2.26s behind Troy’s set time.After a shuttling issue left Troy’s bike unrideable, SRAM were quick to do what was necessary to get him on track again. With a couple of practice runs under his belt, after the final U19’s rider had crossed the line, Troy blasted out of the forest and into the arena, setting an incredible (and unbeatable on the day) time of 3:42:90!Some riders didn’t quite have the runs they were looking for!Eyes on the prize!Smashing corners – yeeewww!we can’t wait to go back to Bright, the whole vibe of the place is just amazing.Good times in the pits, everyone having a laugh before the serious end of proceedings.We saw some interesting things in the pits….But it was what we saw outside the pits that really had us worried haha!That golden light!
So a good weekend of racing, with crashes definitely keeping riders on their toes the track and town of Bright was top notch and we can’t wait to go back.
We aren’t quite done with our coverage with Bright as JB Photomedia and Jason Stevens Photography have provided so many amazing shots it would be an injustice not to show you guys, more to come soon!
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Last minute practice for everyone before seeding to get lines dialled.
Day 3 here in Bright meant seeding! A short practice session immediately before seeding let riders check their lines before the first timed run of the weekend. Practice saw a few crashes, as well as some punctures but nothing major. Technical issues have stopped us from
Will Rischbieth sussing lines out.
Seeding started off with the junior females, Tegan Molloy seeded first despite a crash! Moving onto junior men and Max Warshawsky finished ahead of local rider Aiden Varley and Andrew Crimmins was third after two crashes. Elite women were next on the hill and Tracey Hannah took the number one spot by over 30 seconds! Silja Standler was second ahead of Emma McNaughton. Interesting times in elite men with Troy Brosnan not even getting a run after his bike fell of the transport trailer…. His team worked hard to get his bike ready for racing. In the end Mic Hannah was numero uno, Connnor Fearon second and the resurgent Josh Button third.
Technical issues have stopped us from showing you everything we wanted to but tune back soon.
Day 2 of practice and riders were really getting up to speed, Blake Nielsen charging.
Another day of practice here in Bright, instead of a full day free for all today was separated into open practice early and then group A and B practice later on. No major incidents to report, a few riders said hello to the ground and some lost the air pressure in their wheels but it is a fairly technical track so this is to be expected.
Troy Brosnan sorting lines out, part of the game today was watching out for other slower riders on the track.Some riders were struggling to see the wood from the trees today!It is hard to convey just how steep the track is in parts, you just have to ride it (or try and walk down it!).Mayhem Dave, say no more!The biggest team on the circuit, we are sure of it, Giant Australia were looking good all day.Braaapppp Andrew Crimmins coming into the steep chute section!Connor Fearon was jumping sections higher than anyone else, most weren’t even getting air.Tracey Hannah going sans gloves!Riders had to deal with coming from bright wide open sections straight into dark forested areas at high speed.Goggle choice was a key decision today, not just aesthetically!Wide open, flat corners are a plenty here this weekend!Dust was hanging around in the forest sections, just in case you needed more of a challenge!Only a few riders were gapping down into this chute.Steep corners are Champery-ish in an Australian kind of way.Graeme Mudd getting airborne!
Saturday will see riders seed late in the day, this will be the first real indication of who is on it and who still needs to do some work.
Well at least the view is great if nothing else but fortunately everything else is pretty good, riders are loving the track!
Day 1 and this meant an early start for the track walk followed by all day practice. If you don’t know Bright is one of the best tracks on the circuit with riders loving the steep hill which means the track is a ‘real’ track, rocky, steep, loose, these are all words that can describe it. Check out these images from day 1:
Blue skies and sunny conditions meant everyone was happy.There’s a fair chance this family could take the win in the mens and womens!No time to stop and smell the flowers, David McMillan was flying, practice winner? Quite possibly…Riders don’t get too many opportunities but the view was great!Fast and looking comfortable after day 1, Tracey Hannah is hot favorite for the win.Luke Ellison looking fast, taking a high line here coming into this chute, a tight corner at the bottom was catching a lot of riders out.Connor Fearon smashed out a few runs, we often lost him in the dust or he snuck up on us,we will get you Mr Worldwide!Close! David McMillan getting close to the bunting, pin it to win it!Up to speed and smashing out runs, we lost how many times we saw Mic Hannah today!
Check back after tomorrow’s practice for more action!
Johnny Dawe pushes through the top rock garden, making it through unscathed this time.
The first weekend in March saw us head for Mount Tarrengower, right on the doorstep of Maldon for the 5th round of the Victorian Downhill State Series. The track has consecutively played a part in the series for a handful of years now. It has a reputation for its roughness and also its dust that seems to get everywhere, specializing in places it shouldn’t bea��
Sam Brownlie shows everyone how not to do it, but stays upright and on the bike.
Upon first inspection of the track the most notable thing was the top section, changes had been made through the top rock section, with speed being washed off and a higher line chosen. Though the track still traversed the same piece of the hill, there were a few changes to lines which meant everyone had to re-think how they were going to navigate the top section. As practice begun most people stopped to inspect the new section, but a few either didn’t hear about it or where boosted in confidence just pushing into it, this caught more than a few riders off guard, with plenty of harmless mistakes, but also some more serious ones to keep the medics busy!
Max Kreuzer stomps the landing after gapping the mid section of the rock garden.Luke Ellison decides its easier to run through the rock garden.
From the top section onwards the track took a very similar course to the previous years, with some minor changes to corners with no real direct influence on the track, the large double and the creek jump were still part of the track and providing cases all weekend.
Kyle Coutts pushes hard out of the rocks and into the berms.Pinner Designs team manager, Ben Ennis tries his hand at riding with the seasons end in sight.
As time passed and riders became more confident the rock gardens became a home for havoc, with many riders trying new lines where the smallest of mistakes could end with an ambulance ride. The medics became increasingly busy as incidents became more prevalent, until the late afternoon when there were so many accidents that they were happening in front on the medics treating another patient. By the end of Saturday practice the track had claimed quite a few top names in the elite field, leaving the race wide open as Dean Lucas had a broken wrist and did not attend Saturday practice.
Mount Tarrengower always provides some amazing views, by day or night…Downhill247, all lit up!
Sunday rolled around and some of the injured riders were feeling a little less sore and a little more adventurous, jumping back on the bike for more riding, putting the injuries behind them to push for the potential podium. To everyonea��s surprise Dean Lucas showed up, with a bike, and proceeded to ride. This threw the mix all up in the air, would he race with his broken wrist? How quick can he actually go with a broken wrist? Nobody really knew, but after the first run, it looked like he could go just a quick as anyone else!
Luke Ellison shows us some more superior bike handing skills.
As riders rolled down for qualifying the track just began deteriorating under race conditions, with rocks moving under every rider through all the rocky sections, making line choice a split second decision upon arrival. Qualifying wound up with Tracey Hannah on top for the girls and Luke Ellison on top for the boys.
Oli Zwar flies through the final section of the track.
Racing began and no one really knew where to look, could Dean make up the time for first spot? with flat tyres and snapped derailleur hangers becoming almost more normal than a clean run everyone was wondering if anyone would make it down the hill in once piece with an operating bike.
Jackson Davis brought all of the loose and rocky WA knowledge to Maldon and walked away with the u/19 victory
Racing wrapped up with the following results:
Elite Men
1 Todd Madsen
2 Oliver Zwar
3 Liam Panozzo
4 Dean Lucas
5 Matt McCorkell
Elite Women
1 Tracey Hannah
2 Tegan Molloy
3 Ellie Wale
4 Hannah Beeton
5 Lucy Crundwell
Dean Lucas was out to show everyone a broken wrist wasn’t going to ruin his track record of 6 years racing VDHS without missing a round!Even the locals stopped by for a geez.Trent Piribauer punches it out of the final turns.Womens PodiumMens PodiumNathan Murphy gives this photographer a solid dusting.Fabian Bill gets land-mined.
