British Downhill Series - 25th/26th August 2012
Brad Mather (our sponsored rider) on the fly at the British Downhill Series at Bringewood, Shropshire. Narrowly missing out on a podium spot after achieving 6th place.
Event: British Downhill Series - Round 5
Date: 25th & 26th August 2012
Place: Bringewood, Shropshire
Riding: Empire Cycles AP-1
Saturday - Practice.
We arrived at the 5th round of the British Downhill Series at Bringewood, Shropshire. Before practice started I did a brief track walk just to see some changes made for this race, I had raced here earlier in the year so I knew what to expect. Practice started at 9.00 am on the dot and riders were keen to get some early runs in, I started around 10.30 to let the track become a bit clear of the mud, first run I coasted down the track to check it out, the rain overnight had made the ground into ice, dry tyres and wet clay do not mix with plenty of front wheel drift action going on. The track had been widened to open up the opportunity for new lines to give riders some sort of option. I found main line to be quickest and held well all through practice. The track started to dry out and became fast and tacky, Then around 1 o’clock it smashed it down, I had just got back to the van before the rain had started, the track was ruined, axle deep ruts and thicker mud developed in less than 10 minutes, so I decided to call it a day with 6 runs in the bag.
Sunday – Race day.
Sunday morning was race day, I was keen to get morning practice underway and to do 2 runs, first practice run was to check out the course to see what had happened to the track from Saturday. Luckily the guys from the race had done some well needed track repairing with axle deep rut now dug out and berms rebuilt. The morning went well with 2 practice runs completed and everything running well. Practice finished at 10.30 am and qualifying was underway, I headed up for my run at 1 o’clock and was 2nd to last down in expert category, the run did not go how I had planned.
I couldn’t get myself into a rhythm and was trying too hard and tiring myself out, as I headed into the second woods I slipped a pedal and cut my shin open. The run didn't end well and I crossed the finish line in a slack position of 20th. I sat down and regained my energy for my race run. I was at the start line for final race runs, the track had dried out and a change of tyres put me on dry’s for this run. I started off closer to the front of the pack as I qualified a poor position. I set off determined to put an good run together, dry tyres were a good choice and were working well, I had more energy and fell a lot smoother, the run was going well, a couple of mistakes on the open section were I missed a few pedals, but the run was good, sprinting to the finish line I took first place and was in the hot seat for a while. I waited eagerly and was knocked off and in the end got took down to 6th position, I was gutted just missing a podium.
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