With Dalby being just under a mile long and dropping around 70 meters, Streetluge speeds are in the excess of 60mph and stand-up at about 40mph. With such high speeds it is very important to keep a tight tuck and drafting skills are key to winning this race. This is the first 5 th time Dalby has been on the UKGSA race tour and with many veterans of this track attending this event competition was tight.
The day started off with the riders meeting lead by Joel King, highlighting the dampness and slippery pine needles across the sweeping right hand bend. The morning was for practicing and riders tuning their equipment, Graeme's GPS was just touching the 60mph mark, even in the damp. Qualifying was before lunch, times were about 4-5 seconds slower than normal due to the damp, but with the races coming up then we were in for some close and tight head to head racing.
Streetluge heats saw Len Stoker pitched against Graeme Smith, Ben "BOS" Bewley Vs Joel King and Jason Absalom Vs William Stephenson. The speeds in the heat were even faster, with Joel King, Len Stoker and Will Stephenson getting though to the final. However, during Len's heat against Graeme, coming out of the final corner at a very high speed, Len cut the turn too tight, hooked his wheels on the edge of the road. He spun out and got thrown off his Luge into the bales on the outside of the corner breaking his hand and chipping his elbow. Despite this he crossed the line and won the heat, though his injuries prevented him from racing in the final. In the Final Will lead Joel all the way down the course until the final corner. As they entered the corner Joel managed to draft Will and take the racing line, passing Will on the inside. Distracted by this maneuver Will spun out, hitting the bank, digging a hole in the soft mud with is Luge. He was ok though and got back on his board to finish the race and congratulate Joel on his victory.
Buttboard heats saw Joel, Will and Graeme in heat one and Len and Ben qualify for heat two. With Len out due to his broken hand, and the heats already decided, Ben got a by though to the final. With the three man heat under way and withy Joel, yet again using drafting, over took Graeme and Will to win the round with Will coming in second. This left Ben, Joel and Will in the Final. In the final Will lead off the line with Ben then Joel in close pursuit. Joel managed to draft Ben and used his extra speed to soar past Will and take yet another first place.
The Stand-Up riders were apprehensive about the road conditions, but slowly built up confidence as they realised there was far more grip that expected. Andy Wright attended his first ever Downhill event at the IGSA World Championships this summer, but struggled with braking for the tight corners. He came to Dalby prepared with a new, aluminium, board with a hand operated "Z-Brake" that he had designed and made himself, in the damp conditions it was surpassingly effective. Heats were spilt with Andy, Pete Connolly and Liam Fourie in heat one, with Pete and Liam making it through to the finals. Jason "Muzzo" Muscat, who had spent all morning Marshalling, raced Luke "Casper" Wetherell in heat two. Jason managed to win this heat and proceed to the final. The final for Stand-Up was the closest yet with Liam and Pete in full tuck and only inches apart as they rounded the final corner and crossed the line. Pete managed to take first place with Liam in second and Muzzo in Third.
The Scottish Gravity Bikers had been plagued all day with problems and technical difficulties, everything from back wheels falling off to front brakes not working. Andy Croft was there with his University dissertation project. The bike had a steel front frame with a complicated linkage rear suspension system that had been hand and CNC machined. Andy was reluctant to ride during the morning as the bike was untested at speed, but watching John and Steve rocket down the course put him in the mood and the bike performed well. Yet again was fascinating to watch them fly down the course. With only three competitors the final was between John Richards, Andy Croft and Steve Lambie. John clenched another victory, Steve came in second and Andy Croft was third.
The day was ended with a podium and spraying of bubbly for the winners. After repeated soakings at the hands of John Richards, Steve Lambie came prepared and donned a large waterproof coat. Joel was thrilled to bits with his double win, as was Will with his first ever Streetluge podium. The UKGSA would like to thank the riders, the marshals and everyone else who helped to make this a fantastic and well run event. |
