WA State Downhill RD 2 - Goat Farm

More than 110 competitors enjoyed perfect conditions for the second state race at the Goat Farm on May 31. PDMBC club members Jordan Prochyra and Carl Pickersgill put a new and exciting track together, featuring lots of natural sections and finishing with the epic Knuckle Plunge to Rock Drop. Strength, fitness and great handling were the skills rewarded on this track.

Live timing on the screen gave everyone the chance to see their results as they raced past the finish line. The Top 30 fastest riders also had a chance to show off in a bonus run, much to the enjoyment of the huge number of spectators – the rock garden crowd was crazy!

As usual, there were plenty of thrills and spills in the Elite Male runs, but with larger than expected time differences through the field. It seems Jordan Prochyra (Giant) and Carl Pickersgill chose a track awarding their strengths, as they finished 1st and 2nd respectively, in both the final and qualifying runs. Jordan took out first place in both runs, pushing hard for 1:47.062 in finals, and 1:48.440 in qualifying. Carl was hot on Jordan’s trail (pardon the pun), finishing just 1.235 seconds behind the lead in finals (1:48.297) and a miniscule 0.120 seconds behind in qualifying (1:48.560). Rounding off the top 3 was Sam Payet (Morewood/Pushie Enterprises), who managed an excellent 1:52.521 to finish 3rd. Returning from a hiatus, former State Champion Luke Ball (Carine Cycles/Ti-Springs) blazed the trail in style, but could only manage 7th place in his final run (1:53.498). Ryan Litterick had better luck in this race, after striking out with a flat tyre at Golden Grove. Not phased, he was firing on all cylinders in this race, claiming a solid 1:53.006 for 4th place in the final run. He went slightly faster in the qualifiers, finishing in 3rd place with a time of 1:51.821. No flat tyres to be seen, just crazy fast racing! Young gun Jake Marshall showed the older boys that age doesn’t necessarily make you faster, claiming a podium spot in 5th place. Pretty solid effort for a 17-year-old racing elite, watch this space! It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Kose Michielsen (Carine Cycles) and Travis Pollard, with both of them having issues in their race runs. Kose finished in 12th place (2:03.893), while Travis finished last in 13th place (2:10.236). Better luck next time! Overall, the Elite Male riders bought the usual thrills and excitement to the Goat Farm, giving the spectators some epic entertainment.

The Elite Women category saw a large field with some close results. Katarina McDowell took out the fastest time in the final run with a time of 2:28.256. It’s an impressive feat to take out 1st place, but the victory was made sweeter by the fact she smashed her qualifying run by 13 seconds. Katarina claimed 5th place in qualifying with a time of 2:41.531, nearly 11 seconds off qualifying run leader Christa Capel (2:30.541). Christa had another epic run in the finals, showing some flair to narrowly finish in 2nd place with a time of 2:31.126. Penny Holmberg took out 3rd place in the final run (2:31.384), less than half a second behind Christa. Personal achievements were set, with Abi Paterson heard cheering after clearing the last rock drop for the first time – progression! Abi topped it off by finishing 5th in the final run, with a respectable time of 2:39.270. A time of 2:36.888 popped up on the live timer as Alexandra Kirkby sped past the finish line, finishing in 4th place and earning a solid improvement over her qualifying time (2:42.364). Speed racer Louise Wallace posted a respectable time of 2:40.922 to finish in 6th place, while Kyra Eddy finished in 3:09.175 to claim 7th place. Finally, last and most definitely not least, Vilma Fitzgerald had a good run to post 3:23.397 in the final.

Juniors were out in force at the race, with a large field of competitors ready to show us all why the future is bright for downhill racing. Brock Kiewiet chased down a narrow victory in the Under 19 final (2:00.979), beating Nathan Male (2:01.705) by less than a second. The Under 17 final saw Samuel Buchanan take out a big win, finishing the track in 2:00.697. Esperance’s own Charlie Howard is starting to look like a future star, securing a big win in the Under 15 final (2:06.430). Last but certainly not least, Gus Kyme took the top spot on the podium for Under 13, after going the fastest in the run. He finished with an epic time of 2:17.768

The Master Male category was competitive as usual, with Paul Fage (Albany Urban DH) just sneaking in with the fastest time (2:09.399). Tim Ledger was the best of the Expert Male category, fanging it to the finish line in just 1:55.923. Crazy fast time! The Single Crown crown was worn by Thomas Anticich, who claimed the top spot with a time of 1:57.951. Once again, popular Hanson risk manager and all-round top bloke Sam Russell (Kenny Racing) assessed the risks and implemented controls to claim 1st place in Veteran Male. He cemented a concrete victory with a time of 2:00.133, less than a second in front of Clint Barker (2:00.822). Sport Male was dominated by Andrew McRoberts (BB Cycles), who went fast and furious to finish with 2:01.839 on the timer. As always, there was plenty of action in every category with some big wins and close finishes – there was something for everyone!

For a bit of fun, and an added bonus to the riders and spectators, the Top 30 run gave the fastest racers a chance to show off and smash some excellent times. Jordan Prochyra was a human rocket, finishing the run with the day’s best time of 1:46.847. Once again, Carl Pickersgill was hot on his heels, placing the Top 30’s second fastest time (1:48.072). The top three was rounded out by Ryan Litterick, who entered beast mode to finish in 1:51.938. The Under 17’s saw some representation, with Samuel Buchanan placing 11th (2:00.957), while Nathan Male took the Under 19 category to 15th, with a time of 2:04.066. Once again, the round was a bit of fun and a chance for the riders to show off and earn some bragging rights.

As always, huge kudos to everyone who bought the event to life. It could not have happened without all the supporters of the event and the Peel Districts Mountain Bike Club. Special thanks to all the amazing volunteers on the day – especially Sally, who had a huge day running the canteen. Also a big thanks to the Club Committee for their tireless work. Sponsors also deserve a huge round of gratitude, many thanks to Hanson Construction Materials, Spank Industries, EMR Suspension Servicing, Morewood Bikes, Mountain Biking Adventures, Rock ’n’ Roll Mountain Biking, Carine Cycles, Malaga Cycles, and WAMBA.

The first two races have kicked off the 2015 season in style! The next DH State Race 3 will be happening at Welli Mills in June. The course has a lot of exciting new sections following rebuilding after logging – we are caliing this The Revival! Riders will have a chance to practice the track on June 20, before getting down to business at the race day on June 21. It’s guaranteed to be an epic weekend for everyone involved and the club will be putting on enough shuttles to ensure fast turnarounds. For more information, remember to visit pdmbc.com.

Happy riding!

Words: Louis Zambotto Photos: PDMBC