Last Orders at Porc - 5th and Final Round

Photo credit Marcin Bialas

Did we just witness the last ever race at Porc?
Porc has been through a lot of changes through 2013-16, new owners , new bike shop,(Whisper Bikes which sadly closes in October) but one thing has remained constant, racing! Porc has seen some big races and big names race there, Peaty and Gee Atherton to name a few, Greg Minnaar has recently turned his wheels on the Porc mud. Mike Joseph has been doing a good job running a series for the last few years but today he held his last race at Porc. So what will now happen at Porc, with its new name Kingdom will there be Downhill racing ??? We will have to wait and see.

The iconic Porc tree house club room, finally near to completion

Banshee Legend Team bikes

Sunday Race day
Joe, Josh and Fin travelled to Porc for the last round, the track was Zig Zags and the top half of was taped wide to allow for three possible line choices. Which one would be the quickest?

Joe testing which line is quickest
Check out the super smooth Marzocchi 380 forks working overtime.

The format for Porc races is simple, early morning practice followed by three timed runs with your fastest run counting. The racing is close due to the shortness of the track and times split by the smallest second. There is a good atmosphere at Porc with riders sharing stories of near crashes, fixing each other's bikes and helping out the younger riders but it is still competitive and every rider keeps a secret sneaky line up their sleeve ready for their race run.

Riders gather to check out each other's line and to share a laugh or two

Rain overnight had dampened down the dust to present a near perfect track. The sun was shining bright as riders and spectators arrived for race day. The two key areas of the track were the tight switchbacks at the top and the open section which you entered via a ladder drop, fast into a left hand berm exiting out of a hip. Both of these needed to be done perfectly, after the open section it was pretty much down to who could keep the throttle wide open and not touch the brakes over three big jumps and the final push for home.

After some early morning practice dialling their lines, Joe, Josh and Fin were ready for race time.

Fin looking relaxed before his race run

Fin breaking the start beam

First up was Fin in Juvenile category, he set off at pace attacking the 1st of the two start straight jumps, had a good clean run to put him in 2nd place. His next run he pushed harder and went faster but was pushed back into 3rd. The final run for Fin went well and amazingly he matched his 2nd run time exactly and ended up 3rd overall with a time of 0:52:75

Fin sending the 1st table

Josh on a mission

Josh was up next in Youth Category, he would be facing his nemesis and close rival Riley Jenner. After setting off at a blistering pace he was 2nd 0:38 of a second behind Riley. After the 1st run they were even beating the elite riders. 2nd run and fully focused he went even faster but so did Riley. By this time the elite riders decided to up their game and push Josh and Riley back in the overall standings. 3rd and final run, another clean one but Josh could not better his time, he ended up 2nd with a time of 0:47:28 just 0:20 of a second behind 1st place. Overall Josh finished 4th which is a brilliant result considering the standard of riders present. In the championship, Josh finished 3rd having missed some rounds that had clashed with other events. Josh is off to Leogang this week for the IXS Downhill cup.

Josh fully committed, Photo Credit John Martin Photography

The teams Bell Full 9 they have been wearing this season

Joe focused on the switchbacks

Last down was team manager and veteran rider Joe. Feeling fit and injury free Joe was feeling good about this round, 1st run he blasted out the start over the 2nd table and almost forgot to turn sharp left, big handful of brake he made the switchbacks and pushed for the finish and ended up 4th 0:01 off 3rd place. 2nd run and Joe approached it a bit calmer, clean run and faster but pushed back into 6th place. 3rd and final run and all to play for Joe pushed hard off the line but stalled in the tricky switchbacks, he thought he had blown his run. Now relaxed he pedalled hard, left the brakes alone and crossed the line. Disappointed with his mistake he was shocked to find he had gone 3/4 second quicker and jumped into 3rd place with a time of 0:51:75 to finally be back on the podium after a year and a half.

Joe sending it into 3rd place

3rd for Fin in Juvenile

2nd for Josh in Youth

3rd for Joe in Vets

3rd overall for Josh in Downhill Freeriders Championship

After the racing up next was the Whip off contest some crazy and at times very sketchy tricks were being pulled off. There was even an appearance by #OiOi Ben "Deakinator" Deakin with his trade mark look back whip.

#OiOi Ben Deakin

Josh getting involved in the whip off

Whip off Podium

Race Organiser Mike Joseph

Mike Joseph has been the force behind the Downhill Freeriders races at Porc, he has run a slick series and managed to bring in some great prizes from loads of sponsors. His races have been grassroots racing at its best, bringing in riders of all ages and abilities to sample the sport of Downhill racing. Team Aston Hill would like to personally thank Mike for all he has done and his races will be sadly missed. It is also goodbye from Jors Man the owner of Whisper Bikes, the man who has helped many riders at Porc over the years. We wish him well with his new adventure in South Africa.

Joe coming off the hip in the middle section

Josh pushing it in the switchbacks

Joe keeping it smooth in the turn

Many thanks to all our sponsors who make it possible for the team to race and get results with the awesome kit and components they supply.

Banshee Bikes
Marzocchi UK
ION Bike
ISON -Distribution
HALO Wheels
Renthal Cycle Products
MRP Bike
ODI Grips
HT-Components
Gusset Components
Bell Bike Helmets
ZyroFisher
Mudhugger
Lovelo Cycle Works
Squirt Chain Lube
Invisiframe
Friction Media
Decade-Europe
Ride 100%
FirecrestMTB

Follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Next up for the team is the final round of the Pearce series at Hopton.

Photo Credits to Sally Ross with additional Photos from Marcin Bialas, John Martin and James Hoult.

Posted In:
Racing and Events

Author Info:

t3am2020
Member since Sep 5, 2016
13 articles

3 Comments

expat-taff (Sep 12, 2016 at 13:01)

Thanks for all the effort Mike.

mpj96 (Sep 14, 2016 at 13:30)

It's been my pleasure, love doing them....

Jakubito (Sep 15, 2016 at 4:38)

End of an era, beginning of a new one! Thanks for everything Mike Jospeh!!! You're a living legend!