Race Report: NDH Rd 3 Scratchmere Scar

The third round of the 2011 Northern Downhill series was held at the Cumbrian track Scratchmere Scar, located just outside Penrith. The track shared some similarities with the previous rounds at Alwinton and Kidland, especially the steep technical nature of the top half. Perhaps the main difference was the beautiful weather over the weekend which helped tame the potentially slippery roots and rocks. The nice weather did however make the course fairly loose in places, which certainly caught out a few riders over the weekend. The sprint from the start was fairly flat allowing the riders to put a few hard cranks in before they passed the first marshal point and hit the first rocky section. There was much discussion on Sunday morning about whether it was quicker to stay slightly left and go around the sizeable rocks, or hit it straight and jump the lot. At marshal point two, when the track started to head downhill, the riders were confronted with a chute and a series of steep turns as the track threaded its way down the hill. A fast berm led into a small jump, followed by a sharp 180 degree turn, sending the track back across the hill. The next 180 degree corner dropped the riders onto a loose shelf, putting a few racers on the floor. Just over halfway down the track there was a steep chute with a large rock at the top of it, ideally placed as a kicker to launch the riders down the hill (or in a lot of cases, into a massive crash). This section saw more than its fair share of crashes over the weekend, the most notable being a rider who fell onto the fire road below and had the air ambulance called as a precaution. Luckily he didn't sustain any injuries in the accident but he was a bit sore the next morning. After the rock the riders plummeted down the chute and were confronted by a rather short step down jump off the road. With all the speed from the previous section a lot of riders were opting to go around the jump and pump down into the landing rather than risk landing flat. The track got flatter at this point so the challenge was to try and carry the speed through the rocks and berms before entering the final rocky part of the track. From the top of this last section the racers could see the finishing field at the bottom but between them and it was a rock drop straight into a rock jump with no margin for under jumping it. WIth 93 riders dong timed runs there was plenty of competition in most of the classes. In the Juvenile class James Purvis took the win by just over 5 seconds, beating Jack Hodgkinson and Bradley Swinbank. In Youth it was pretty close, with only 2.2 seconds separating the top three finishers, but it was Dan Farley who was fastest, followed by Ryan Potter and Rory Mcritchie. Moving on to Junior it was Andy Farley who took the win followed by Aden Warren and Chris Tyler who only did one race run. In Senior SPS rider Michael Vickers came top with a 1.12.8 beating Philip Ashbridge by only 0.3 of a second with Chris Ashworth in 3rd. Masters was won by Russ Harland with a 1.12.74 followed by Russ Clarke and Jason Cavill. The Veteran class honours was taken by Daren Howarth by 3 seconds, over second place Gerald Hodgkinson and third place Craig Butler. Grand Vet was won by Alan Turnbull with a 1.30.84. Expert men was won by Liam Little by nearly 2 seconds over Peter Walton and Steven Turnbull. Only a couple of women entered, so both were winners of their classes; Emma Whitaker in Youth with a time of 2.23.1 and Gina Robertson in Masters with a time of 2.24.2. RESULTS Juvenile James Purvis - 1.22.65 Jack Hodgkinson - 1.28.149 Bradley Swinbank - 1.30.427 Youth Dan Farley - 1.15.749 Ryan Potter -1.17.28 Rory Mcritchie - 1.17.969 Junior Andy Farley - 1.16.279 Aden Warren - 1.20.940 Chris Tyler - 1.21.594 Senior Michael Vickers - 1.12.810 Philip Ashbridge - 1.13.143 Chris Ashworth - 1.16.024 Masters Russ Harland - 1.12.744 Russ Clark - 1.14.548 Jason Cavill - 1.16.066 Vet Daren Howarth - 1.15.846 Gerald Hodgkinson - 1.18.922 Craig Butler - 1.20.301 Grand Vet Alan Turnbull - 1.30.846 Expert Liam Little - 1.09.877 Peter Walton - 1.11.832 Steven Turnbull - 1.12.703 Elite Peter Williams -1.07.624 Brad Illingworth - 1.15.254 Woman Emma Whitaker - 2.23.147 Gina Robertson - 2.24.232 Words & Photos: Richard Easton or www.photo-moto.co.uk