Pearce Cycles Downhill Series - Round 2
Also the Midland Championships on Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of May 2009. HOPTON CASTLE, Near. Craven Arms, Shropshire. Another full house at what is seen as the slickest run regional race series in the U.K.
Did I say slick? You should have seen the weather, it rained cats and dogs!Saturday 18:30 I left Fort William in Scotland after a days riding and attending the SDA race. Hitting the road in the trusty Sprinter we covered 420 miles back to Superfly Central as the sole driver. Sh1t, shower, shave and bed by 03:00. A quick cat nap and up at 05:30 at the crack of Dawn, whose Dawn I hear you ask? Landed at Hopton just before 08:00. A thousand miles covered and almost 20 hours in the hot seat. Living on Marks and Spencers sandwiches, sea salt and balsamic vinegar Kettle crisps and Cherry Coke is the life I lead!
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A greasy course lay ahead, so off came the High Rollers and on went the WetScreams. Next wet affair I'll be throwing on a pair of Continental Rain Kings. I was testing their dry tyre, the Kaiser up at the Fort so keep it tuned here for more info. Did you also know the Athertons have signed a three year deal with Continental? TRUE.
![photo]()
The course was one of the newer tracks at Hopton, starting off on the small table tops and straight into some real nice doubles. Roots? You bet, U.K racing wouldn't be racing without dirty, nasty exposed roots and you were not let down here. Across the fore road and a few new twists and turns into the dark woods, thank God for anti-fog yellow light enhancing lenses and tear-offs. Axle deep ruts galore, hidden stumps, poor visibility, rain, mist.. who said racing wasn't fun. In fact I even raced in my waterproofs I was that over getting cold and wet! Still every cloud has it's silver lining, the big step down next into the World's worst breaking bumps? Traverse down the bank and a quick finish over the table, skid on the grass and crash into the barrier.
![photo]()
With practice all day Saturday and Sunday morning meant everyone got loads of practice in. Racing started at 11:00 sharp and with everyone getting in two timed runs, fastest one counts! Which usually means come second runs you are a bit swifter by an average 2-3seconds. This time with more rain chucking down, it meant the mud was less sloppy and more runny. Poorer visibility yes but quicker, by how much, on average 5-10 seconds.
![photo]()
Racing did get delayed slightly due to the amount of mud that flicked up and somehow fouled the timing laser beams. In all it was and always will be a great event that Pearce put on. The next round is at Bala which could possibly be the best track and venue in the U.K? Already full, still see if you can get on the reserve list and cross your fingers.
Boon Productions is on it again!
Many thanks to Pearce for putting on an awesome race in the toughest conditions. If you're after an IronHorse, Specialized or 2Stage bike then these are the guys to speak to.
Pearce Cycles
Fishmore Road
Ludlow
Shropshire
SY8 3DP
Phone: 01584 879288 (shop)
Phone: 01584 876016 (workshop)
Email: shop@pearcecycles.co.uk
![photo]()
![photo]()
![photo]()
Hardtail
GATISS-WILD Jon 3:17.789
PRIESTNER William Fenwicks 3:31.165
Juvenile
ATWILL Philip 2:56.138
GILL Elliott 3:06.312
BALLARD Edward 3:08.412
Youth
KYNASTON David 2:44.204
WAKEFIELD Sam 2:44.814
SHAW James W Homer Cycles 2:45.080
Junior
DEW Callum MSC Bikes/Descent-Gear 2:40.419
MATHER Brad Empire Cycles 2:40.589
GARDENER Perry Pearce Cycles Race Team 3:34.367
Veteran
COBB John 2:56.614
HARVEY Trevor Harveyboysracing.com 2:57.787
SIMPSON Jono Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:58.659
Master
LIST David Stourport Specialist Cycles 2:44.666
BAGGOTT Simon Derry Air Cycles 2:46.246
WILLIAMS Colin Solid Bikes 2:48.031
Juvenile Women
HUGHES Charlotte 4:30.603
Veteran Women
DAVIES Lynda Ticket2ridebc.com/Descent-Gear.com 3:35.377
BELTON Nicky H2OMUDnSNOW 3:38.140
Master Women
RADNOR Sarah Bike Junkies 3:42.334
HUMPHREYS Lisa High Peak Cycles 4:00.516
JENKINS Sarah 5:04.862
Senior Women
BARTLEMAN Lianne 3:31.599
WRIGGLESWORTH Kerry Solid Bikes 3:33.583
WILLS Aimee 3:41.591
Elite Women
WAREHAM Emma LeisureLakesBikes.com 3:24.442
Senior
JONES William PS Cycles 2:41.258
EVANS Rhys 2:41.334
ATTLEE Tom Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:41.781
Expert
READING Jack Ellsworth Bikes 2:29.972
WHITECROSS Sion Team Skene 2:36.006
WOODVINE Andy Leisure Lakes Race Team 2:36.541
Elite
BRAIN Jon Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:33.270
FLORIAN Alex Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:36.243
LONGDEN Will Lapierre 2:38.119
![photo]()
![photo]()
Don't clip in.
Si Paton
Descent-Gear.com
Always Free UK Delivery.
www.NPSDH.com
Did I say slick? You should have seen the weather, it rained cats and dogs!Saturday 18:30 I left Fort William in Scotland after a days riding and attending the SDA race. Hitting the road in the trusty Sprinter we covered 420 miles back to Superfly Central as the sole driver. Sh1t, shower, shave and bed by 03:00. A quick cat nap and up at 05:30 at the crack of Dawn, whose Dawn I hear you ask? Landed at Hopton just before 08:00. A thousand miles covered and almost 20 hours in the hot seat. Living on Marks and Spencers sandwiches, sea salt and balsamic vinegar Kettle crisps and Cherry Coke is the life I lead!
Gloveless, you kids..
A greasy course lay ahead, so off came the High Rollers and on went the WetScreams. Next wet affair I'll be throwing on a pair of Continental Rain Kings. I was testing their dry tyre, the Kaiser up at the Fort so keep it tuned here for more info. Did you also know the Athertons have signed a three year deal with Continental? TRUE.
Lean her in, good lad
The course was one of the newer tracks at Hopton, starting off on the small table tops and straight into some real nice doubles. Roots? You bet, U.K racing wouldn't be racing without dirty, nasty exposed roots and you were not let down here. Across the fore road and a few new twists and turns into the dark woods, thank God for anti-fog yellow light enhancing lenses and tear-offs. Axle deep ruts galore, hidden stumps, poor visibility, rain, mist.. who said racing wasn't fun. In fact I even raced in my waterproofs I was that over getting cold and wet! Still every cloud has it's silver lining, the big step down next into the World's worst breaking bumps? Traverse down the bank and a quick finish over the table, skid on the grass and crash into the barrier.
Check them breaking bumps out
With practice all day Saturday and Sunday morning meant everyone got loads of practice in. Racing started at 11:00 sharp and with everyone getting in two timed runs, fastest one counts! Which usually means come second runs you are a bit swifter by an average 2-3seconds. This time with more rain chucking down, it meant the mud was less sloppy and more runny. Poorer visibility yes but quicker, by how much, on average 5-10 seconds.
Mark Millward
Racing did get delayed slightly due to the amount of mud that flicked up and somehow fouled the timing laser beams. In all it was and always will be a great event that Pearce put on. The next round is at Bala which could possibly be the best track and venue in the U.K? Already full, still see if you can get on the reserve list and cross your fingers.
Many thanks to Pearce for putting on an awesome race in the toughest conditions. If you're after an IronHorse, Specialized or 2Stage bike then these are the guys to speak to.
Pearce Cycles
Fishmore Road
Ludlow
Shropshire
SY8 3DP
Phone: 01584 879288 (shop)
Phone: 01584 876016 (workshop)
Email: shop@pearcecycles.co.uk
Conditions were grim
Ben Worrall
Man up for the step down
Hardtail
GATISS-WILD Jon 3:17.789
PRIESTNER William Fenwicks 3:31.165
Juvenile
ATWILL Philip 2:56.138
GILL Elliott 3:06.312
BALLARD Edward 3:08.412
Youth
KYNASTON David 2:44.204
WAKEFIELD Sam 2:44.814
SHAW James W Homer Cycles 2:45.080
Junior
DEW Callum MSC Bikes/Descent-Gear 2:40.419
MATHER Brad Empire Cycles 2:40.589
GARDENER Perry Pearce Cycles Race Team 3:34.367
Veteran
COBB John 2:56.614
HARVEY Trevor Harveyboysracing.com 2:57.787
SIMPSON Jono Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:58.659
Master
LIST David Stourport Specialist Cycles 2:44.666
BAGGOTT Simon Derry Air Cycles 2:46.246
WILLIAMS Colin Solid Bikes 2:48.031
Juvenile Women
HUGHES Charlotte 4:30.603
Veteran Women
DAVIES Lynda Ticket2ridebc.com/Descent-Gear.com 3:35.377
BELTON Nicky H2OMUDnSNOW 3:38.140
Master Women
RADNOR Sarah Bike Junkies 3:42.334
HUMPHREYS Lisa High Peak Cycles 4:00.516
JENKINS Sarah 5:04.862
Senior Women
BARTLEMAN Lianne 3:31.599
WRIGGLESWORTH Kerry Solid Bikes 3:33.583
WILLS Aimee 3:41.591
Elite Women
WAREHAM Emma LeisureLakesBikes.com 3:24.442
Senior
JONES William PS Cycles 2:41.258
EVANS Rhys 2:41.334
ATTLEE Tom Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:41.781
Expert
READING Jack Ellsworth Bikes 2:29.972
WHITECROSS Sion Team Skene 2:36.006
WOODVINE Andy Leisure Lakes Race Team 2:36.541
Elite
BRAIN Jon Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:33.270
FLORIAN Alex Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:36.243
LONGDEN Will Lapierre 2:38.119
Paul Roscoe
Home time..
Don't clip in.
Si Paton
Descent-Gear.com
Always Free UK Delivery.
www.NPSDH.com
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love mud riding.
nice track but what was that starting gate???
awesome report other wise, only wish i had got my entry in quicker!!!