Race Report - Help for Heros DH and 4X Races

This weekend saw the Help For Heros charity 4X and Downhill races held at Descend Hamsterley. The event also incorporated a whip off put on by the lads at Trail Militia Apparel. The Help For Heros charity helps injured and seriously wounded soldiers who have been fighting for us on the battlefields around the world.

The event used one of the original tracks up at Descend Hamsterley with the addition of quite a few new parts built by Joe and Craig in the weeks preceding the race. Starting from the main gate the riders rounded the first right hand berm and down over the step-down. The race track kept straight and disappeared off deeper into the top part of the forest littered with roots to catch the riders out. Coming out of the trees and into the daylight alongside the fireroad the racers were confronted with jumping onto the bottom part of the infamous "Dantes Peak" rock garden and rejoining the familiar top section of the Hamsterley main line. This part consisted of a drop immediately followed by a right hand berm with a lip on the exit sending the riders flying into the following left hander.

The riders found themselves back on the pedals for the run in to the large tabletop, the landing of which sent them straight into a rocky right hander and the sprint down to the road gap. As they passed the old cabin they were faced with a series of small jumps before plunging back into the forest for the bottom section of the track.

This is where it got a lot more tricky, roots to negotiate as the track took a quick detour off the established line then straight away back into main rock garden. Massive boulders litter this short section of the track. The smoothest line was to keep it tight to the left but as often happens, this fast line set the riders up wrong for the next section so many riders were opting take tackle the biggest of the rocks head on in order to better set themselves up for the following section. The drop into a rock garden, followed by a tight right hand berm at the end of the rocks, caught a few people out over the weekend.

Next up was a new rock and root littered left hander, which sent the riders down a steep chute and into the final series of turns. Snaking through the last switchbacks in full view of the finish area, the racers then flew down off the last drop, descending down a steep chute straight over the final table and across the line.

With a huge entry of 173 riders competition was always going to be fierce. In the Juvenile class it was Kyle Havard who set the time to beat on his first run down posting a 1.48, closely followed by Sam Brayton and Jack Tennyson. In Youth Callum Havard came down fastest ahead of Dan Farley and Graham Innes. Thomas Owens put in a 1.34.5 to secure the win in Junior followed by SPS riders Billy Mathews and Freddie Oxley.

Senior Men was by far the biggest and most hotly contested of the categories, and the honours were taken by James Ramsay with a time of 1.32.7, closely followed by Andy Kiplng and Michael Coupe. The win in the masters went to Dale Gowling with a 1.36.1 with James Risker and Phillip McLaren making up the rest of the podium. Billy Forster came down in 1.48.3 to claim the Masters class win by nearly five seconds to Conrad Slack and Michael Hill. The Ladies class was won by Molly Pearson, very closely followed Rebecca Kennedy and Gina Robertson. The event also incorporated a rippers race for the younger riders, staged on a separate track next to the top half of the main race route it was a chance for the lads to get in on the racing. Dylan Robertson took the adding to the podium his mum got in the Ladies category.

Expert was won by Dale Russell who came down in a 1.31.1, a mere half second faster than second placed Nikki Whiles, with Ben Deakin taking third. Adam Brayton took top honours in the Elite class and the fastest time of the day with a 1.26, even having time to pull a tear off from his goggles over the road gap. Emyr Davis took second and Jack Reading got third.

The 4X race used the well established track starting from the top carpark down to the old cabin. It provided some good racing on the saturday afternoon with pro's and locals alike vying for space in the final gate and on the podium. The line up for the four man final included 4X and BMX racing legend Martin Ogden, Dale Russel, Daniel Bateson and Mike Newbould. Rounding the final turn it was Martin in the lead followed by Dale and Daniel with Mike close behind.

The Whip Off took place over the table top on the top section of the DH track with a around 20 riders taking part. The aim was simple, get the biggest and most stylish whip to impress the sizeable crowd gathered and, more importantly, the judges. As the whips got bigger new tricks were being thrown, from suicides to naks, and finally to Mike Newbould attempting to 360 the table on his DH bike. Lots of bangers where thrown and in the end Liam McDermott came away with the title of best whip. Two riders who will remain unnamed (COUGH Conor Lee) decided to interpret the term "whip it out" differently, and descended on the jump wearing only skimpy underwear.

The event was a massive success and helped raise awareness and money for a very worthy charity. Thanks to the organisers, the lads up at Descend, everyone who turned out to support the event, Tom Hardie for additional photo's, Robbie Giles for the videos, and most importantly, thanks to all the brave servicemen and women who put their lives on the line every day in order to serve our country.

For more information or to donate to please visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Words by: Richard Easton
Video by: Robbie Giles
Photos by: Richard Easton & TH Photo