Bikestyle 2009 Downhill Series - Round 5

Ballaugh 2 23/08/2009

Ok,so sunday at Ballaugh was the final round of the 2009 series. The weather was sh**e,but i know that most of the riders had such a good days riding,the track was slippy as slippiness it was getting pretty churned up towards the end,but it was so much fun!!

Typically,saturday was really nice & fairly dry,but sunday was far from it. A good number of riders turned up to brave the elements & a few marshalls even braver sitting around in the wind & rain! Most riders managed to get a few practice runs in,but i dont think it made much difference how many runs you got in,as the track had different lines & ruts in it each time you went down!

The seeding run saw some good riding & some good crashes,especially at the final rock/step down section, which was still very quick even in the conditions & total commitment was needed! In the juniors,as usual Mark Turner took full seeding points,followed by young Cai Illingworth.

In the seniors it was the same story,Skilly taking maximum points again,from Gaz,followed by Russ. So to the race run,which in the seniors would decide the destination of the 2009 series winner. With the rain still falling,the track was a complete mess in some places,but it was still a lotta fun.

No suprises as Mark took the junior win & the title with a blistering sub 3 minute run,beating a few of the seniors in the process. Cai didnt have the best race run,but racing in these conditions anything can happen & a 2nd place on the day gave him 2nd overall for the series.

The seniors saw plenty more thrills & spills. Ryan Rhodes took 12th place,behind Niall Shimmin in 11th,making his race debut behind fellow debutant Dan Corkish who took 10th place. Mark Tuson took 9th behind Ben Hardy, Andrew Winstanley & Peter Kermeen in 8th,7th & 6th respectively who were all only seperated by 2.5seconds. Chris Sharpe took 5th which gave him 3rd overall for the series. Russell Sansom finished 4th which wasn't enough to give him enough points to take the overall, but a 2nd place for the series. The ride of the day went to Lee Corlett who took his 1st podium finish of the series with a fine 3rd place. Gareth Fargher took 2nd place on the day,which gave him enough points to be crowned the 2009 series downhill champion!!!! Tom Skillicorn just pipped Gareth to the top of the podium with the win & an impressive end to the series for him.

We'd like to thank the following people for making the race possible...Manx first Aid,Manx Timing Solutions, Andy Marchment for commissaring,DAFF,Brian Perrin for the radios. Thanks to Aaron for the uplifts & Mike for the couple of runs he did. Finally a special thankyou to those marshalls who sat around in pretty awfull conditions on sunday,thanks!

Hope you guys who raced enjoyed the series & there is a whisper going round about a mini winter series,but its only a rumour?!?!?

Russ Samson