WP (Western Province) Downhill round 3 - Paarl, South Africa

It was back to Paarl for the third round of the WP Downhill Series last weekend. A mixed bag of weather greeted the riders over the two days, with a fair amount of rain on Saturday morning and bright, sunny conditions on Sunday, race day. This resulted in practice runs on slippery, spongy mud and an ever-changing track as things dried out.





Contrasting the last race held at Zevenwacht, the Paarl track throws plenty of turns at the riders testing their cornering abilities and quickly sorting the men from the boys. The 65 strong field contributed to some nice ruts along the way but overall the track kept its shape and didn't influence the outcome of the race too much. Marshals, medics and race organisers worked together flawlessly to deliver an excellent day of racing with one broken collar bone being the only incident worth mentioning.





With Johan Potgieter still overseas, busy with World Cup duties, and Stefan Garlicki injured, the no.1 spot was again claimed by Adi van der Merwe in a time of 1.45.33. A mere .61 seconds behind him was Jonty Neethling followed by Luke Davis with a time of 1.51.65.


Top ten overall:
1. Adi van der Merwe - 1.45.33
2. Jonty Neethling - 1.45.94
3. Luke Davis - 1.51.65
4. Theo Erlangsen - 1.51.69
5. Duran van Eeden - 1.52.53
6. Adriaan Smit - 1.53.33
7. Dane Olsen - 1.53.36
8. Robert Starke - 1.54.48
9. Devon Katzen - 1.54.67
10. Chris Nixon - 1.54.70


A big thank you to Redbull SA for providing beats and wings, and to Csixx, Flexfit, The Bike Shed and Action Cycles for sponsoring rider prizes. Other thanks go out to Unit, Ribs (cap embroidery), Reeds for providing the shuttle service and KFM Ground Patrol for their support.