|
|
Descent-Gear/MSC Bikes NPS Round 5 - Rheola
by cloverleaf
Posted: Oct 3, 2009
So with the season now in it's last ebb and many regionals having already had their final rounds, this past weekend saw the conclusion of the 2009 British NPS in the Rheola forest made famous by the World Rally Championship stage of Resolven.
Read on for the report:
Read on for the report:
Words: Alasdair MacLennan, Pics: Jacob Gibbins
Amazingly, well amazing for South Wales anyway we had dust, dust and more dust. Granted there were parts of the track which displayed less than dusty tendencies but the general feeling was of a warm and dry event. This came as a shock to many who still had the memories of the 2007 National Championship event etched in their head where things were wet, wet wet, and we aren't talking dubious 80's pop bands here either!
Unfortunately, since 2007, several situations have hit the South Wales downhill scene, both interrelated, and both which have hurt Downhilling in South Wales. The first was Jason Carpenter pulling out at the end of last year from the running of what must be one of Britain's most successful race series; the Dragons. This was because of the second issue, manic health and safety providing too many hoops to jump through just to run a race with uplift. Still Si & Steve, Steve in his final NPS event as organiser, pulled out the stops alongside the WDMBA to have Rheola approved after the unfortunate issues at Carlton Bank, the proposed final round of 2009, caused that track to become a no-go. Transport wasn't perfect, and long queues for many marred an otherwise great event, but to race on a track which is frequently viewed as being on a par with Fort William & Bala kept many riders happy, especially as once out of the trucks at the top it was a roll down to the start.
Video from the weekend:
For this race, several new sections were added to spice it up a little, the old track having not changed much over the years. With a slightly lower start than previously, the top section was no less fast and rough, with numerous sharp edged rocks standing proud of the track, laying in wait to wreak havoc with punctures and dented rims throughout the weekend. Fast, flowing and seriously good fun, this top section wound down the hill, getting tighter and tighter, until you entered the still greasy woods and, once at the first fire road crossing, the first of the new lines. Whereas previously the track had carried on down a rough and fast hard pack trail to the legendary yet unforgiving Star Wars, the newly built route instead stayed higher and carried a soft, loamy and rooty off camber traverse with drops, (folding) wooden bridges, all meaning that plenty of skill was required to get through cleanly and with any speed.
Dropping to the outside of Star Wars, you crossed the last road and were soon hitting the jumps and roots before diving left and over the banking to enter the other new (and final) stage of the hill. Steep and rooty, this saw some last minute alterations occur first thing on Saturday morning as the BC commissar (who was incidentally booked to turn up on 3pm Friday rather than 8.30am Saturday) took a disliking to the final chute and requested some tweaks be made. This didn't stop some spectacular crashes (and saves) over the course of the weekend as riders got it wrong at the top and proceeded, very quickly, straight to the scene of the accident. The grease and dry tyres certainly weren't proving to be an ideal combination here as you had to jink high over roots whilst letting the bike slide round the tight right-left-right sequence of corners.
The finish also proved slightly removed from the usual sprint into a field, ending as it did in the surroundings of concrete buildings and old rail lines which gave hint to the history of both the venue and local area as miners and exporters of coal to the industrial world. The track actually passed over the entrance to the old tunnel into the hill, now blocked, the tell tale steel lines there to tell the story. There is no escaping the industrial past of the area and it is this, along with the rough appearance of the local towns and the frequent (for races at least) bad weather, which seems to put many northerners off racing at Rheola and its neighbours. Yes, you have to be careful to guard your kit and yes it's frequently wet but the racing is always good, the transport usually solid, and decent sized hills with good quality tracks are features sorely lacking in some other parts of the country. That a fair proportion of the field also happens to live nearby is perhaps the reason we'll be back for the first round of the newly named 2010 British National Championships come April. About time too in the eyes of many, given the unreservedly Scottish bias of the past few seasons.
So the final race and all to play for, with the best four rounds counting from five towards the overall series win. The pressure was on for many! In Juveniles, Sam Herd took third spot for Perth City Cycles having posted a 3:35 with George Gannicott in second on his 3:29 for iCycles. Taking the win, also for iCycles, was Stuart Wilcox having stormed through to a 3:26. This meant that George took the series win, leaving Sam Herd in second and Phil Atwill in third for IXS.
Into Youth next and the times begin to tumble. Joe Connell took third for Alpine Bikes with a 3:16 whilst, very tightly spaced, were Empire’s Lewis Buchanan in second and All Terrain Cycles’ Mark Scott in the hot seat with times of 3:10.523 & ’10.040 respectively. This allowed Mark Scott to take third in the series, just behind his All Terrain Cycles’ team mate Fraser McGlone in second. Wrapping things up after a closely fought season with the win was Lewis, adding yet another trophy to an already well padded shelf.
Juniors has over the past few years seen tight and fast racing and Rheola proved no exception. Arran Gannicott took third with 3:10 for Alpine Bikes and along with it, second place in the series overalls whilst DMR/Last/Resurgence rider Harry Molloy put in a 3:09 to stand on the next step up and take third overall in the series. Gareth Brewin has been on it all year and his 3:04 showed that nothing has changed there as he placed 6th overall on the day and took the series win with a convincing margin of seventeen points.
In Seniors, Tom Skillicorn took third with 3:19 for the Manx MTB Club with Oliver Burton on the same second for Superstar/Axo and less than seven tenths ahead. This left Tom Attlee sitting pretty with his time of 3:18, less than 1.5s ahead of third, good enough for top spot on the day. Looking at the overall results, this saw James McKnight in third for K9 Industries with Attlee in second and Oliver at the top with a forty point lead.
Masters show no signs of slowing down given their times in the Welsh Valleys. Andy Titley has always been a fast one, right back to his MBUK/Nike days and this year, for Kona/Sombrio he has had some great results. Third here with a 3:25 was just edged by the 3:22 of Sion Jones in second place for MTB Direct. However, with a time of 3:19 was All Terrain’s Chris Whitfield taking the win. Chris Coates took third overall with Titley in second and Joe Bishop the Series win.
Rich Simpson rode to third in Veterans by the skin of his teeth with a 3:38 for BikeActive.com. Just one misplaced stone could have left him in fourth so tight was the riding. In second was Gary Burns with a 3:37 for Team Spode whilst John Cobb took the win for MBR Over35 on a 3:33. Jerry Twigg resultantly took third for Cycleworld in the overall title stakes with local hero Jason Carpenter in second, having failed to perform at his best on the day, with Rich taking a well deserved series win.
Helmet Cam by mappythe4th.pinkbike.com:
The womens category this year has been very much a one horse race as Manon, daughter or Jason Carpenter, has won virtually everything that came her way, on many occasions beating the Elite women too. This weekend proved no different as she pulled out a huge margin with her 3:39 beating every other girl on the hill. Angela Coates took second in the non-Elite category for Fox Racing with a 4:30 with Angela Proctor in third for Kustom Bikes/Juice Lubes with a 4:33. In the series, the points worked out with Angela Coates in third with Bex Reilly sat in second for Uplift Scotland with the aforementioned Manon Carpenter sitting at the top of the tables despite missing the Caersws round.
In Expert, the gaps were slightly more spread than in many categories. Alex Bond took third for MSC Bikes with a 3:09 with Scott Mears sitting in second on a 3:07 for 4Mountains. On the top step, and in his first race back from Canada, was Jack Reading for Ellsworth/O’Neal with a 3:02, just three seconds off fastest time of the day. So, despite a nightmare at Llangollen and a missed round, Jack Reading was still able to salvage third place in the series overall with Scott Laughland in second for Castle Melamine. This left Scott Mears to take home the gold ware for the title having put in some consistent results over the year.
In the Elite womens field, Emma Wareham took third for Leisure Lakes, having just scraped under the four minute mark with a 3:59. Helen Gaskell took second with a 3:56, leaving Jess Stone to take the win for 2Stage/Extreme Medics with a 3:45. In the overall standings, this meant Emma took third, with Aimee Dix in second for Mojo/Orange and Helen Gaskell the win.
Lastly we have Elite. Dan Stanbridge, otherwise known as Stanny or Prince William pulled a 3:02 out the bag to take third for Mojo/Orange. In second was Matt Simmonds for CRC Intense with a 3:01 but, with the only sub three-minute time of the weekend was MTBCut.tv’s Ben Cathro with a 2:59. This meant that Stanny took third in the overall’s, just one point down on Llangollen winner, Ancilotti’s Rich Thomas, in second place. Taking the win with a significant margin was Tom Deacon, having proven himself for 2Stage/Extreme Medics this year with a string of consistent results.
So how has this year been for racing at a National level in Britain? Has it been indeed as bleak as some keyboard warriors would have you believe, and a complete waste of time? Or, has it been the best season in years as some would say? It would appear to fall somewhere in the middle. Moving away from predominantly Scottish tracks for a bit more Welsh flavour has definitely gone down well although as always, it's still the same guys at the top. Ae Forest, despite being disliked by many, actually turned out a classic track after last years additions saw the ravages of winter weather to clean it down to the underlying rocks. That, along with some fast yet off camber turns to the finish provided a fresh feel and rejuvenated many riders although the heavy downfall on Saturday during Elite practice did it's best to turn things on head. From there we moved onto Fort William which managed the difficult feat of being dry, dusty & very, very warm. The track at the Nevis Range needs no introduction but after two races there already, the track was brutal and rock hard, leaving no room for error and biting hard into any rider who took liberties.
Llangollen was up next and this was always going to be like Vegemite. Steep, tight and not particularly fast, the track picked it's way down one of the steepest hills that line the English/Welsh border. Sold as a mini Champery it perhaps didn't quite provide the same speed but it did provide similar thrills as many riders really struggled to get to grips with the nature of the course and many pulled out before racing even started as a result of injuries or a lack of concrete intake. Downside was a lack of practice (many managed only four runs on Saturday) which was partly caused by a slow uplift route but also long queues at the top as riders waited for numerous red flags at the first few marshal points. However, thankfully, given the heat and sun, the time was well spent sunbathing. Would it have been a different story if it had rained? Some almost seemed disappointed it didn't turn to carnage. Perhaps not the most professional of attitudes to have and perhaps an indicator as to why race coverage in the UK over the last few years has been negative at best? After a long transatlantic flight, Brendan Fairclough turned up and whipped it big for the crowds, taking the win by a convincing margin and in doing so becoming one of the few top Pro's to make the effort to turn up to a home event this year. Round four at Caersws was short but ever so sweet, with average times falling well inside the 1:50 mark, this wasn't so technical but did deliver on speed and balls out riding, even if the wind made for an interesting final few turns in the field. Unfortunately, partly thanks to split parking, the atmosphere lacked vibrancy for much of the weekend although it did pick up by the time racing started. Will Longden's Twitter updates also kept some amused while Mikrotime tried to make something of (or up) for the Juvenile seeding results. Transport is always the saving grace of Caersws and the empty trailers sat waiting to whisk you to the top for yet another run was a very welcome sight for most of the event.
So some new events and some altered, largely pretty successful, and luckily graced with reasonable weather, the series was generally well received. Yes, we would all like more riding and to pay less but in the grand scheme, the year can definitely be notched up as one of the better ones. What does 2010 hold? Well, Steve moves onto pastures new and maybe, just maybe, will actually get to race his bike again, and Si carries on with the running of the NPS (sorry, BNC) albeit with a new team around him. The venues look promising, and with more experience of both Rheola and Llangollen after the races held this year, more riding should be had by most thanks to hopefully slicker running of the events.
See you all in 2010.
www.descent-gear.com
www.mscbikes.com
www.wdmba.co.uk
www.JacobGibbins.co.uk – Many thanks to James for stepping in at the last minute to provide pictures.
Amazingly, well amazing for South Wales anyway we had dust, dust and more dust. Granted there were parts of the track which displayed less than dusty tendencies but the general feeling was of a warm and dry event. This came as a shock to many who still had the memories of the 2007 National Championship event etched in their head where things were wet, wet wet, and we aren't talking dubious 80's pop bands here either!
 |
| View to the valleys |
Unfortunately, since 2007, several situations have hit the South Wales downhill scene, both interrelated, and both which have hurt Downhilling in South Wales. The first was Jason Carpenter pulling out at the end of last year from the running of what must be one of Britain's most successful race series; the Dragons. This was because of the second issue, manic health and safety providing too many hoops to jump through just to run a race with uplift. Still Si & Steve, Steve in his final NPS event as organiser, pulled out the stops alongside the WDMBA to have Rheola approved after the unfortunate issues at Carlton Bank, the proposed final round of 2009, caused that track to become a no-go. Transport wasn't perfect, and long queues for many marred an otherwise great event, but to race on a track which is frequently viewed as being on a par with Fort William & Bala kept many riders happy, especially as once out of the trucks at the top it was a roll down to the start.
 |
| Martin Young |
For this race, several new sections were added to spice it up a little, the old track having not changed much over the years. With a slightly lower start than previously, the top section was no less fast and rough, with numerous sharp edged rocks standing proud of the track, laying in wait to wreak havoc with punctures and dented rims throughout the weekend. Fast, flowing and seriously good fun, this top section wound down the hill, getting tighter and tighter, until you entered the still greasy woods and, once at the first fire road crossing, the first of the new lines. Whereas previously the track had carried on down a rough and fast hard pack trail to the legendary yet unforgiving Star Wars, the newly built route instead stayed higher and carried a soft, loamy and rooty off camber traverse with drops, (folding) wooden bridges, all meaning that plenty of skill was required to get through cleanly and with any speed.
 |
| Tom Knight |
Dropping to the outside of Star Wars, you crossed the last road and were soon hitting the jumps and roots before diving left and over the banking to enter the other new (and final) stage of the hill. Steep and rooty, this saw some last minute alterations occur first thing on Saturday morning as the BC commissar (who was incidentally booked to turn up on 3pm Friday rather than 8.30am Saturday) took a disliking to the final chute and requested some tweaks be made. This didn't stop some spectacular crashes (and saves) over the course of the weekend as riders got it wrong at the top and proceeded, very quickly, straight to the scene of the accident. The grease and dry tyres certainly weren't proving to be an ideal combination here as you had to jink high over roots whilst letting the bike slide round the tight right-left-right sequence of corners.
The finish also proved slightly removed from the usual sprint into a field, ending as it did in the surroundings of concrete buildings and old rail lines which gave hint to the history of both the venue and local area as miners and exporters of coal to the industrial world. The track actually passed over the entrance to the old tunnel into the hill, now blocked, the tell tale steel lines there to tell the story. There is no escaping the industrial past of the area and it is this, along with the rough appearance of the local towns and the frequent (for races at least) bad weather, which seems to put many northerners off racing at Rheola and its neighbours. Yes, you have to be careful to guard your kit and yes it's frequently wet but the racing is always good, the transport usually solid, and decent sized hills with good quality tracks are features sorely lacking in some other parts of the country. That a fair proportion of the field also happens to live nearby is perhaps the reason we'll be back for the first round of the newly named 2010 British National Championships come April. About time too in the eyes of many, given the unreservedly Scottish bias of the past few seasons.
 |
| Damon Smith |
So the final race and all to play for, with the best four rounds counting from five towards the overall series win. The pressure was on for many! In Juveniles, Sam Herd took third spot for Perth City Cycles having posted a 3:35 with George Gannicott in second on his 3:29 for iCycles. Taking the win, also for iCycles, was Stuart Wilcox having stormed through to a 3:26. This meant that George took the series win, leaving Sam Herd in second and Phil Atwill in third for IXS.
 |
| Getting loose and airbourne up top |
Into Youth next and the times begin to tumble. Joe Connell took third for Alpine Bikes with a 3:16 whilst, very tightly spaced, were Empire’s Lewis Buchanan in second and All Terrain Cycles’ Mark Scott in the hot seat with times of 3:10.523 & ’10.040 respectively. This allowed Mark Scott to take third in the series, just behind his All Terrain Cycles’ team mate Fraser McGlone in second. Wrapping things up after a closely fought season with the win was Lewis, adding yet another trophy to an already well padded shelf.
 |
| Elliot Machin |
Juniors has over the past few years seen tight and fast racing and Rheola proved no exception. Arran Gannicott took third with 3:10 for Alpine Bikes and along with it, second place in the series overalls whilst DMR/Last/Resurgence rider Harry Molloy put in a 3:09 to stand on the next step up and take third overall in the series. Gareth Brewin has been on it all year and his 3:04 showed that nothing has changed there as he placed 6th overall on the day and took the series win with a convincing margin of seventeen points.
 |
| Rhys Evans |
In Seniors, Tom Skillicorn took third with 3:19 for the Manx MTB Club with Oliver Burton on the same second for Superstar/Axo and less than seven tenths ahead. This left Tom Attlee sitting pretty with his time of 3:18, less than 1.5s ahead of third, good enough for top spot on the day. Looking at the overall results, this saw James McKnight in third for K9 Industries with Attlee in second and Oliver at the top with a forty point lead.
 |
| Rob Young |
Masters show no signs of slowing down given their times in the Welsh Valleys. Andy Titley has always been a fast one, right back to his MBUK/Nike days and this year, for Kona/Sombrio he has had some great results. Third here with a 3:25 was just edged by the 3:22 of Sion Jones in second place for MTB Direct. However, with a time of 3:19 was All Terrain’s Chris Whitfield taking the win. Chris Coates took third overall with Titley in second and Joe Bishop the Series win.
 |
| Harry Molloy |
Rich Simpson rode to third in Veterans by the skin of his teeth with a 3:38 for BikeActive.com. Just one misplaced stone could have left him in fourth so tight was the riding. In second was Gary Burns with a 3:37 for Team Spode whilst John Cobb took the win for MBR Over35 on a 3:33. Jerry Twigg resultantly took third for Cycleworld in the overall title stakes with local hero Jason Carpenter in second, having failed to perform at his best on the day, with Rich taking a well deserved series win.
 |
| Scott Beaumont |
The womens category this year has been very much a one horse race as Manon, daughter or Jason Carpenter, has won virtually everything that came her way, on many occasions beating the Elite women too. This weekend proved no different as she pulled out a huge margin with her 3:39 beating every other girl on the hill. Angela Coates took second in the non-Elite category for Fox Racing with a 4:30 with Angela Proctor in third for Kustom Bikes/Juice Lubes with a 4:33. In the series, the points worked out with Angela Coates in third with Bex Reilly sat in second for Uplift Scotland with the aforementioned Manon Carpenter sitting at the top of the tables despite missing the Caersws round.
 |
| Ben Humphries |
In Expert, the gaps were slightly more spread than in many categories. Alex Bond took third for MSC Bikes with a 3:09 with Scott Mears sitting in second on a 3:07 for 4Mountains. On the top step, and in his first race back from Canada, was Jack Reading for Ellsworth/O’Neal with a 3:02, just three seconds off fastest time of the day. So, despite a nightmare at Llangollen and a missed round, Jack Reading was still able to salvage third place in the series overall with Scott Laughland in second for Castle Melamine. This left Scott Mears to take home the gold ware for the title having put in some consistent results over the year.
 |
| Dave Valler |
In the Elite womens field, Emma Wareham took third for Leisure Lakes, having just scraped under the four minute mark with a 3:59. Helen Gaskell took second with a 3:56, leaving Jess Stone to take the win for 2Stage/Extreme Medics with a 3:45. In the overall standings, this meant Emma took third, with Aimee Dix in second for Mojo/Orange and Helen Gaskell the win.
 |
| Lewis Buchanan |
Lastly we have Elite. Dan Stanbridge, otherwise known as Stanny or Prince William pulled a 3:02 out the bag to take third for Mojo/Orange. In second was Matt Simmonds for CRC Intense with a 3:01 but, with the only sub three-minute time of the weekend was MTBCut.tv’s Ben Cathro with a 2:59. This meant that Stanny took third in the overall’s, just one point down on Llangollen winner, Ancilotti’s Rich Thomas, in second place. Taking the win with a significant margin was Tom Deacon, having proven himself for 2Stage/Extreme Medics this year with a string of consistent results.
 |
| Tom Knight |
So how has this year been for racing at a National level in Britain? Has it been indeed as bleak as some keyboard warriors would have you believe, and a complete waste of time? Or, has it been the best season in years as some would say? It would appear to fall somewhere in the middle. Moving away from predominantly Scottish tracks for a bit more Welsh flavour has definitely gone down well although as always, it's still the same guys at the top. Ae Forest, despite being disliked by many, actually turned out a classic track after last years additions saw the ravages of winter weather to clean it down to the underlying rocks. That, along with some fast yet off camber turns to the finish provided a fresh feel and rejuvenated many riders although the heavy downfall on Saturday during Elite practice did it's best to turn things on head. From there we moved onto Fort William which managed the difficult feat of being dry, dusty & very, very warm. The track at the Nevis Range needs no introduction but after two races there already, the track was brutal and rock hard, leaving no room for error and biting hard into any rider who took liberties.
 |
| Billy Matthews |
Llangollen was up next and this was always going to be like Vegemite. Steep, tight and not particularly fast, the track picked it's way down one of the steepest hills that line the English/Welsh border. Sold as a mini Champery it perhaps didn't quite provide the same speed but it did provide similar thrills as many riders really struggled to get to grips with the nature of the course and many pulled out before racing even started as a result of injuries or a lack of concrete intake. Downside was a lack of practice (many managed only four runs on Saturday) which was partly caused by a slow uplift route but also long queues at the top as riders waited for numerous red flags at the first few marshal points. However, thankfully, given the heat and sun, the time was well spent sunbathing. Would it have been a different story if it had rained? Some almost seemed disappointed it didn't turn to carnage. Perhaps not the most professional of attitudes to have and perhaps an indicator as to why race coverage in the UK over the last few years has been negative at best? After a long transatlantic flight, Brendan Fairclough turned up and whipped it big for the crowds, taking the win by a convincing margin and in doing so becoming one of the few top Pro's to make the effort to turn up to a home event this year. Round four at Caersws was short but ever so sweet, with average times falling well inside the 1:50 mark, this wasn't so technical but did deliver on speed and balls out riding, even if the wind made for an interesting final few turns in the field. Unfortunately, partly thanks to split parking, the atmosphere lacked vibrancy for much of the weekend although it did pick up by the time racing started. Will Longden's Twitter updates also kept some amused while Mikrotime tried to make something of (or up) for the Juvenile seeding results. Transport is always the saving grace of Caersws and the empty trailers sat waiting to whisk you to the top for yet another run was a very welcome sight for most of the event.
 |
| Willem Herd |
So some new events and some altered, largely pretty successful, and luckily graced with reasonable weather, the series was generally well received. Yes, we would all like more riding and to pay less but in the grand scheme, the year can definitely be notched up as one of the better ones. What does 2010 hold? Well, Steve moves onto pastures new and maybe, just maybe, will actually get to race his bike again, and Si carries on with the running of the NPS (sorry, BNC) albeit with a new team around him. The venues look promising, and with more experience of both Rheola and Llangollen after the races held this year, more riding should be had by most thanks to hopefully slicker running of the events.
See you all in 2010.
www.descent-gear.com
www.mscbikes.com
www.wdmba.co.uk
www.JacobGibbins.co.uk – Many thanks to James for stepping in at the last minute to provide pictures.
17 Comments
- + 0
Maksimbike
(Oct 4, 2009 at 20:55)
Keep on flyin guys!
Goow work Ali, Jacob and Boon.
2010 dates are in so start planning your 2010 road trips now!
Dates and venues:
Rd 1 - 24th and 25th of April at Rheola Wales
Rd 2 - 8th and 9th of May at Fort William Scotland
Rd 3 - 26th and 27th of June at Llangollen Wales
Rd 4 - 7th and 8th of August at Moelfre - NPS 4x Saturday Night! Wales
Rd 5 - 25th and 26th of September Caersws Wales
If your racing World Cups and want to race the above then drop me a line: si@descent-gear.com
Cheers.
Si..
2010 dates are in so start planning your 2010 road trips now!
Dates and venues:
Rd 1 - 24th and 25th of April at Rheola Wales
Rd 2 - 8th and 9th of May at Fort William Scotland
Rd 3 - 26th and 27th of June at Llangollen Wales
Rd 4 - 7th and 8th of August at Moelfre - NPS 4x Saturday Night! Wales
Rd 5 - 25th and 26th of September Caersws Wales
If your racing World Cups and want to race the above then drop me a line: si@descent-gear.com
Cheers.
Si..
i know the article said the tracks were mostly in scotland, but only 1 next year? surely two or one in england to balance it out
We've had two years (2007 & 200
where four of five rounds were in Scotland. This year, only two were in Scotland and next year one, with four in Wales. North Wales is pretty much central to the majority of racers (the majority of NPS racers certainly aren't Scottish even when there is a major scottish weighting to the series) and thus it is only fair that things are spread about. If there are good tracks in England then they will be used but remember Carlton Bank? That's why we were at Rheola, the permission was pulled. Look at the pearce rounds and they have limited scope for holding further races anyway. There aren't an infinite number of tracks evenly spread around the country. Even if there were there would still be complaints!
where four of five rounds were in Scotland. This year, only two were in Scotland and next year one, with four in Wales. North Wales is pretty much central to the majority of racers (the majority of NPS racers certainly aren't Scottish even when there is a major scottish weighting to the series) and thus it is only fair that things are spread about. If there are good tracks in England then they will be used but remember Carlton Bank? That's why we were at Rheola, the permission was pulled. Look at the pearce rounds and they have limited scope for holding further races anyway. There aren't an infinite number of tracks evenly spread around the country. Even if there were there would still be complaints!
Scratchmere scar northern England? Three technical tracks serviced by uplifts and a finishing field with enough space for camping, parking, pits etc, all 2 miles off Junction 41 of the M6. Ya welcome to come up and have a look.
[Reply]
the marshals blow whistles when a rider is coming so that spectators know when a rider is coming, so they can move out the way if there on the course, for example if their crossing the course.
Post A New Comment
Why was a comment deleted?
1. add additional on topic info to the article that other users will find useful
2. add props and support/encouragement for the video/photo/article/product/story
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story
1. add additional on topic info to the article that other users will find useful
2. add props and support/encouragement for the video/photo/article/product/story
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story
RSS
