YOUNG SAM IS THE STAR MAN A BALLASPIT FARM

Isle of Man DH Round 3 Ballaspit Farm 30/05/2010

Fantastic weather ensured all the riders enjoyed one of the best tracks ever at Ballaspit Farm.

The attraction of this race is the steep hillsides & with no trees to hit,its always taken as fast as possible. As usual,the riders first had to negotiate the steep side of the fields,zig zagging through the gorse bushes, then crossing the fields there are several big jumps of old stone walls giving the many photographers plenty to aim at. Then it is a scary blast down the slate chute before a few pedal strokes & another slate descent & a sprint to the finish line.

Young Sam Cotlett had a fantastic days racing on sunday,taking the runners up spot in the junior category.

Corlett showed his skill & guided his bike down the notorious steep slopes,hitting all the jumps, conquering the notorious slate chute & still managing the sprint to the finish line all on is race debut. A great result appreciated by all the riders.

Mark Turner again took the junior win,with Cai Illingworth having another good result in third position. Mathew Clague & Callum Purves both had great runs to finish well under the 3 minute mark. Illiam Quane making his downhill debut had a good afternoons racing to take 6th spot & showing great courage after crashing on the chute to still make the sprint to the finish.

In the masters,Gareth Fargher took another win to maintain his lead at the top of the masters overall & was always hot on the heels of Tom Skillicorn all afternoon. Russell Sansom took second place & Lee Marshal riding quick again to take another third place ahead of Richie Cryer in 4th improving with every race in his 1st downhill series. Slavek Marchewka had another good result in 5th place to keep his consistent series going.

The seniors again showed no suprises,with Tom Skillicorn taking the win. Lee Corlett,the older brother of Sam took second showing great form for 2010 & moving into 1st overall position for the series. Pete Kermeen who's having a fantastic series took third spot,but was hot on the heels of Corlett all afternoon. Sean Kelly,Daniel Corkish,Richrd Killip,James Richmond,Magnus Lockwood,Sam Gordon & Chris Burns completed the top 10,but were only seperated by 10 seconds showing that the remainder of the 2010 series is going to be hotly contested.

A big well done to all the riders on a great afternoon!!

The club would like to say a big thankyou to Miss Corrin for letting them use her fields again & we look forward to the next event held there.

Also,a mention must go to Manx Timing Soluions,Stu Brew & Pete Faragher for there help with starting the race,Manx First Aid,Pheonix Communications,the marshalls,the commissaire & the many spectators.

Pictures and video below:

Sarah's Photographs

IoM DH Series - Rnd 3>>

Russ Samson