Gorrick Spring Series round 4
Frith Hill: 2/04/06
Bombholes, ditches, mud and rain!
Yet another wet and sticky course made conditions tough going in places where traction was sometimes hard to find, but the challenges of the bombholes, ditches and short steep climbs gave real variety to the 4.5 mile lap.
Paul Hopkins lead out the Supermasters charging through the start straight watersplashes with the aim of building an early lead to kill off the chasers. Only Jamie Norfolk (PedalOn) could stand the pace eventually overhauling Paul on the final lap, as his thoughts turned to the all the miles he walked round the shops on Saturday with his family – perhaps not an ideal pre-race taper. The good news is that Paul leads the series with a seven point margin. Meanwhile somewhere further down the field Paul Howard was sticking to arch rival Paul Davies' (Sagem) back wheel but he couldn't respond when on the third lap Davies made a strong climb up one of the longer drags into the wind. So yet another 11th in the bag, consistent I guess, that's the third of the series.
Dean was aboard his new Santa Cruz Blur hoping for a good show in the Masters. A warm-up lap puncture didn't help his preparation and by lap two his legs had gone, "there was just nothing in them" he said. John had a similar story to tell retiring after the first lap in Veterans.
Ben chasing Michael Lancaster
[courtesy Swarbrick.com]
Ben also rolled out his new Blur and with a fight on his hands was determined to keep ahead of young Michael Lancaster (Berks On Bikes). Ben's superior skill on the downhills enabled him to freewheel to catch up Lancaster saving valuable energy for the final push and a 13 second margin to finish sixth. Lying second in Open Ben will have to score a handful of points at round 5 to keep his place and the chance of a prize.
It seems to have been the pattern of the Spring Series for the Sport racers as heavy showers came and went changing the course conditions. Warren revelled in the mud recalling his excellent '05 Plymouth NPS race in far worse weather so he just plugged away with a happy grin to an excellent sixth. Sadly Chris retired after two laps.
Round five moves to Porridgepot Hill on the 21st May. You'll definitely need the climbing legs as the ups are far steeper than any other course this series. Of course the descents are fast and great fun. Previously the course has been under 4 miles and very quick, hopefully some more tracks can be found to lengthen it. Before then we'll be at Checkendon for round one of the Southern XC and the following weekend the Gorrick/Sagem Enduro at Swinley Forest. So, who's up for the full 70 mile challenge eh?
Full results on Timelaps, series points, plus more news and rider photos on Gorrick.com
Pos Laps Time Time+ Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPERMASTER 2 4 01:32:32 01:49 PAUL HOPKINS 21:43 23:04 23:34 24:11 11 4 01:40:40 09:57 PAUL HOWARD 23:38 25:14 25:47 26:01 MASTER 35 2 00:51:12 DEAN MORGAN 24:26 26:46 - VETERAN 50 1 00:31:14 JOHN NEWPORT 31:14 - - OPEN 6 3 01:23:09 03:50 BEN THOMAS 25:26 28:32 29:11 SPORT 6 4 01:54:59 10:13 WARREN BATES 26:50 28:13 29:02 30:54 22 2 01:12:03 CHRIS WHITE 34:41 37:22 - -