NDH Kidland 2013 - Danny Hart...2nd!

Where in the world you are can have a massive bearing on how you view racing. In the UK, there may not be a proliferation of alpine sized mountains, but there are a lot of steep hills, and a lot of bodies willing to put in some effort. The result may not involve the longest tracks, but what they lack in height is usually made up for by their technicality and the close racing fostered by a large racing population, all with the competitive urge. Northerndownhill work spectacularly hard in the north of England to provide races like these, with steep, technical trails, all mated up with some fantastic bike safe uplift that is usually more plentiful than the average rider can cope with. Strange though it may sound, none of these things are a guarantee when it comes to racing over here!



This weekend saw round one of the 2013 Northerndownill series take place at the Northumbrian venue of Kidland. It’s virtually next door to their other venue of Alwinton, and just over the hill from the Otterburn military camp known all over the world from the Top Gear episode where they fire the Robin Reliant rocket. But while separated by less than a single kilometre, the two tracks couldn’t be more different in their feel. Both are steep, but where Alwinton tends to still be wet and greasy even on a dry day in the middle of a dry spell in a dry year (basically, you’ll be wanting spikes), Kidland is more often than not drier, crumbly, and stony, which means that you’re more likely to be hunting for your Muddy Mary’s. Both also have the virtue of great uplift, although Kidlan with its sub ten minute ride up and twenty minute round trip time certainly takes the win there. In fact, if you have the energy, it is theoretically possible to do eighteen runs on the two-ish minute track on a Saturday.



So having been dropped off, the track starts out mellow, fast and sweeping through tight trees before dropping into some awkward and niggly bus stops, the last of which drops you cleanly into the fun bit. Steep, more steep, and not to mention steep, the switchbacks are a lesson in braking, control and dealing with loose gravel while turning, braking and trying not to hit any of the trees lining the track. Easy it is not. The bottom then turns into fast sweeping turns on shale, root gaps, and catch netting. Not many UK tracks require that! It may be short at sub 1m30 for the very fastest, but the challenge is right up there, and as a weekend of having fun on your bike with a race to boot it’s hard to beat.



There may only have been one Juvenile but given how he rode all weekend, he definitely deserves mention. Corey Watson will definitely be a name to look out for in the future judging by how smoothly he tackled the track with finesse and precision all weekend. In Youth Dan Butterfield took third while with a significant margin was Bradley Swinbank in second on a 1:33, narrowly missing out on the win after James Purvis put the hammer down in the second run to take the top spot. Moving up an age group to Juniors and Chris Walters took third on a 1:56, just a few seconds back from Peter Hook on the next step of the podium, but a full twelve down on the 1:44 of winner Lewis Murphy.



Veteran may be for the over-40’s but many of them are no slouches behind the bars, and indeed many have raced at the very top level for years, at least on the domestic scene. Dave English is certainly well known, and the 1:44 he put in stood him in third while Zac Hubery took second on a 1:41. The win however, that went to Mark Weightman in his first season in the category with a time of 1:40 onboard his new Evil Undead. In Masters, Mark Gibson was third just over three seconds down on the winner Lee Kermode who comfortably took the top spot with a 1:40. Second place went to Phil Grimes, one of the guys behind a lot of the trails the NDH use, and therefore definitely worthy of the podium.


In Seniors, the top three were all separated by less than two seconds. In third was Mike Newbould on a 1:44 who, despite going faster in the second run, was unable to hold onto the lead he held after the first. Andrew Bond took second on a 1:43 while Blair Aitchison stepped up on the second runs to take the win on a 1:42. Into Experts and Steven Turnbull was third on a 1:36, just eight tenths down on Peter Waldon in second. Andrew Weeding stayed off the brakes and put in a smooth run of 1:32 to take the win.



The Elite contingent seems to get bigger every race, and this one was no exception with ten per cent of the field in the category. With Danny Hart on the list, and by default getting the #1 board, he was definitely the favourite to win. Pete Williams took third with a 1:29, while Jack Reading put in a blinding 1:27. But where did Danny slot in? Second, with a 1:28. Both runs were apparently scrappy, but to finish first, first you have to finish, and Jack took maximum advantage for a well-deserved win just one week ahead of the British Downhill Series race at Fort William.



And proof of how hard the NDH guys work to put these events on? One of the vans being used for uplift threw a pulley in the engine, taking the fanbelt out, and in doing so taking out the cambelt and bending all four pushrods. Not ideal. So at the side of the forest road, everything was stripped, hammered straight, and re-assembled. Never say die, especially to a northerner. Even with that the uplift was pretty much devoid of queues all weekend which was great to see and left you to just get on with riding and having fun. In fact, the only disappointment was the turnout. Why these events get so few entries really is a mystery, and it’s a shame for they are a great set of events. They’re cheap £50, you get more riding in than you can cope with, and the venues are all different to the usual suspects. So if you’re in the UK, and either race or want to get into it, get on it with NDH.



Thanks to all at Northerndownill who make these events happen, it's always massively appreciated that you put so much into them. For full results, check out RootsandRain. More images here.

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Racing and Events Danny Hart