Archive 05/06
Aston Hill Downhill 2006 – Round 2
The final race at Aston Hill to be organised by Ian Warby and Firecrest Mountainbiking took place today on the DH3 course
Photos from the the racing are now online.
BMCRC/MRO Championship 2006 – Round Three
The third round of the 2006 BMCRC/MRO Championship took place at Lydden Hill in Kent over the weekend of the 8/9th April. The race action included Aprilia 125s, 250s, Clubman 400s, Minitwins, Forza Extreme, Powerbikes and 600s. The slightly chilly conditions probably made life difficult for the riders but made sure of some great action for the spectators.
Photos from the racing on Sunday are now online
Aston Hill Downhill Series 2006 – Round One
The first of two downhill races at Aston Hill for 2006 took place on the popular and challenging Black Run. Despite it being early in the season the track was dry with some fast times set in all categories.
Photos from the racing are now online
Southern Region Winter Series – Round 4
The fourth round of the Souther Region Winter Series of BMX races took place on Sunday 12th February at Barking and Dagenham BMX Club. The track was built from the ground up with all weather riding in mind and it certainly paid off! Despite rain which didn’t really stop all day there was a good turnout of over 100 riders and some very close racing.
The photos from the racing are now online
BADBMX – First Race Meeting
The Barking and Dagenham BMX Club (BADBMX) have a superb new national standard track that has only recently been opened. After a couple of false starts because of the weather their first race meeting took place on Saturday 21st Jan. For a Saturday afternoon in the middle of winter there was a respectable turnout of riders with some good close racing.
The photos from the racing and the dirt jumping comp are now online.
Aston Hill DH05 – Rounds 5 & 6
The popular Aston Hill downhill series finished up with races on the Ultimate Pursuits and DH3 tracks. The Ultimate Pursuits track saw some minor changes from last year which made the track flow much better. The midweek downpour made the conditions a little slick in places but that didn’t seem to hold people back. Practice for Sunday’s race on DH3 saw a small amount of drizzle but that soon vanished and the track was running as fast as ever.
The photos from the racing on the Ultimate Pursuits track, the final race on DH3 and the series podiums are now online
Mountain Bike World Cup Final – Fort William
Finally Steve Peat picked up the home victory that had eluded him. A huge partisan crowd saw Steve beat Greg Minnaar by just over 2 seconds, Steve had been fastest in all timed sessions over the weekend and kept it up when it counted most. The crowd also had a one two finish in the womens race to cheer on with Tracy Mosley taking the win from Rachel Atherton. The racing had started well on the
Saturday with Gee Atherton picking up a 3rd place in the 4X having been the fastest qualifier. The Fort William race had been moved from it’s June spot as a trial run for the World Championships in 2007, with this being the final round Greg Minnaar and Sabrina Jonnier were crowned World Cup Champions for 2005.
A selection of photos from downhill practice on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 4X practice and racing and downhill semis and finals are now online
BARC Club Car Championships – Snetterton
The Snetterton circuit in Norfolk was the venue for the August BARC Club Car meeting. The UK Endurance Championship, BARC Formula Renault, Clio Cup cars from Holland, BARC SE Track Saloon cars and MG owners club races provided a race programme packed with action. Despite the overcast conditions the track remained dry all day allowing some close racing in the tin top classes.
Photos from UK Endurance Championship, BARC Saloons, Formula Renault, Clio Cup and MG races are now online
Riders4Riders – Race 3
The first Sunday in August saw the running of the third race in the Riders4Riders series. The track took yet another different route down the hill at Penshurst, showing you don’t need the biggest hill in the world to make interesting tracks. Despite some pretty unsettled weather in the run up to the race a sunny weekend left the track dry and running fast even in the trees. Even with a few unfortunate glitches with the timing system the riders still got their 3 runs in.
Photos from the practice and 1st of 3 race runs are here.
British Supermoto Championship 2005 – Round 3
The 3rd round of the Vivaldi sponsored British Supermoto Championship took place on the 31st July 2005. The racing took place on a temporary circuit at Rockingham Motor Speedway. Using temporary circuits is something quite common in Europe but more unusual on the British scene. Unfortunately, the track was rather more dirt than tarmac although this didn’t stop the riders from using the tarmac available to create some spectacular racing.
A selection of photos from Saturday practice and the race on Sunday featuring SM1, SM2 & SM4 are here.
Sprite Urban Games 2005
London’s annual extreme sports event the Sprite Urban Games took place over the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of July at Clapham Common. The Urban Games offers a bit of everything with FMX, BMX, Skateboarding and B-Boy events over the three days. The only thing missing was a bit of sunshine to help things along. With grey skies the photos aren’t as stunning as I would want despite the action being first class.
A selection of photos from Saturday featuring street skateboarding, vert skateboarding, BMX vert and BMX dirt are here.
Aston Hill DH05 – Round 3
The weekend of the 9th July saw rounds 3 and 4 of the popular Aston Hill series of downhill races take place. Saturday say the racing take place on the 4X track into the bottom section of DH3. This was the first time this combination had been used for racing and I’m sure the
majority of riders would like to see it used again. The only hitch was the weather which was very unseasonal with heavy fog for a large part of the day. The Southern Championship race on Sunday took place on the classic Black Run course. Conditions on Sunday reverted to something like summer with the track drying nicely as the day went on.
Photos from the race on the 4X into DH3 course are here. Photos from the Southern Championship on the Black Run are here.
Riders4Riders – Race 2
The second race in the Riders4Riders summer series took place at Penshurst on Sunday 26th June. The new track used the steepest part of the hill and just to make it more difficult the track was very dusty.
A gallery of photos from the racing action are here.
Goodwood Festival of Speed 2005
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a unique event on the motorsport calendar. It’s the best chance the public have to get close to some of the greatest racing cars of all time and see them in action. Where else could you see the current Le Mans winner (still covered in dirt) a whole host of F1 cars and the famous number 722 Mercedes-Benz driven by Sir Sterling Moss? This year with the addition of a forest rally stage and a host of group ‘B’ rally cars the event got even better. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an event every motorsport fan should attend at least once.
A selection of photos from the practice day on Friday are
here.
Grass Track, Ugley Hall – 19th June 2005
Grass track is probably one of the simplest forms of motorcycle racing you can get, take a bunch of bikes and race them around a grass oval. Think speedway on grass and you have got the right idea. The track at Ugley Hall Farm is in a natural bowl with the track lowest at the apex of the corners. The Dunmow Motorcycle Club put on a full program of 42 races including solos and sidecars.
A selection of photos from the race action are here.
Arena Essex – 30th May 2005
Arena Essex is one of the premiere short oval tracks in the South East. It hosts a number of different classes of racing from the all out destructive action of banger racing to the out and out racing of hot rods. Bank Holiday Monday had typically unpreditable weather which made the track very slick at times and made the racing even more interesting.
Photos from the racing are here.
SEMX May MX – Canada Heights
The Canada Heights track in Kent was the venue for the May round of South Eastern Centre Motocross Championship. Apart from a few spots of rain in the afternoon the weather was pretty kind. The sandy track was mostly dry, dusty and running fast.
Photos from the racing are here.
Riders 4 Riders Summer Series – Race 1
After a successful set of races over the winter the Riders 4 Riders have organised a series of three races over the summer. Yet again they produced a brilliant course given the small size of the hill at Penshurst. With a couple of big stepdowns in it the course wasn’t for riders with a nervous disposition.
Photos from the racing are here.
NPS 2005 Round 2 – Cwmcarn
The second round of this years British Cycling NPS Downhill series took place on the new course at Cwmcarn, South Wales. The course was rumoured to be of world standard so how did it measure up? Unfortunately constant rain and problems ruined Saturday and lead to seeding runs being cancelled. Luckily the sun shone and the course dried up during Sunday, the lower part of the course was certainly spectacular and kept the crowd happy.
Photos from the racing are here.
British Supermoto Championship 2005 – Round 1
The first round of the Vivaldi British Supermoto Championship took place on Sunday 17th April at Lydd International Raceway in Kent. The new organisational team from the ACU and AMCA put on a slick event with everything running smoothly. The action on the track was excellent with Christian Iddon, Fred Fiorentino and Matt Winstanley having a three way scrap for honours in SM1. The SM2 class was also closely fought with Matt Winstanley having to fend off Fred Fiorentino.
Photos from the SM1 class here. Photos from the SM2 class here.
Bike Show 2005
The Bike Show 2005 took place on 1st, 2nd and 3rd of April at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry. Two halls of bike makers and retailers plus 4x, dirt jumping, BMX vert, street and flatland sounds like quite a show. From what I saw the BMX street and vert competitions certainly lived up to expectations.
Photo gallerys are here.
Aston Hill Downhill 2005
The Aston Hill series of downhill races is back for 2005, the first race weekend took place and on the DH3 and Red Run courses. Despite some distinctly nasty looking weather in the run up to the weekend the courses where running very well for the first race of the season. It was business as usual, friendly atmosphere, close racing and slick organisation what more can you ask for?
Saturday’s race on DH3 is here.
Sunday’s race on the Red Run is here.