Manx Downhill National

Course Progress

On Sunday 7th September Tholt-Y-Will plantation plays host to the biggest Downhill race of the 2008 season. After some successfull meetings with the DAFF, the club has received permission to build a brand new track for the event. Two weeks in with another week or so of intense building and the organisers hope the end result will be possibly the best downhill track seen on the island! As Tholt-Y-Will is one of the steepest and most accessable plantations the Island has to offer you can imagine that parts of the track will certainly be 'quick' to say the least.

Ok,the track itself. It starts fairly tame, with a few small jumps and berms, not too steep just a nice fast flow through the trees with the odd off camber section included just to get you warmed up. Oh yeah, there's also a 'little' gap jump thrown in for good measure for those of you feeling brave enough!
After this its where the fun begins......

The next section of track is certainly not tame and will test even the most experienced of riders. It starts with a big rock drop into a beautifully crafted berm which carries you round into a rooty, off camber, steep multi lined descent into another mint piece of track. Riding litterally straight down the side of the plantation, there's a couple of log drops to negotiate before heading straight into another huge catch berm (safety nets included!) which carries you over a rocky section and down over a wooden bridge (hopefully) and onto something not quite so extreme.

The next 40 seconds or so will give you chance to get your breath back, its no white knucked ride, just a nice fast flowing section. But with hip jumps and the usual berms, roots, rocks and off camber sections it will most certainly catch you out if you snooze...
Now nearing the end, if you've successfully got through that lot, its a quick blast down the fire road, through the river (or possibly over it...) straight up a sweet step-up and back into the plantation for the final sprint to the finish! With more multiple lines and some big rock drops to choose from, gap jumps, big berms all of it will be fast,fast,fast......
Anyone concerned about not getting through certain parts of the track, there will be alternative easier routes available to keep your run going!

Lets hope for the best turn out of the year, as we will be racing on the best track of the year! Keep an eye on the forum, as there'll be news on the the race, build weekend of 30/31 August and news about refreshments for the marshals!

See you all on the 7th!!!

Russ Sansom