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Bucking the trend of recent washouts, flooding and general grey dampness we were greeted with a perfect weekend at the beautiful location that is Moelfre. Bringing the sun up with us through the one lane nightmare on the M6 we arrived at what could well be the most scenic of all the UK racing spots. It’s the one to take your girlfriend, boyfriend, mother, kids or at the very least - your camera to. Maybe not your dog though! Fearing rain many dabbled in spikes and swampies but the only moisture that occurred was overnight on Saturday night, dampening down the dust of the day and testing the waterproofing of tents, vans and campers alike. The usual field was less crowded than last years 3-in-one spectacular, but all the faces in attendance were smiling and the pit area represented the best of our sport.
 The Buzzing NPS Moelfre Scene - The Farmer Wants a Wife
The track saw some minor tweaks from previous year’s routings, notably a new tighter first left hander, giving a better line into the drop and a new section before the quarry with a new entry to the right of the quarry gap. A hip at the end of the switchbacks before the road crossing had both whip and round to the right options and the long “straight” after the road crossing was punctuated with a strategic bus stop. The section just before the rock slab was also different and getting pretty “whooped out”. All in all the course was mint, the alterations well thought out and the conditions ideal albeit gusty at the top on occasions.The uplifts and marshalling were sorted. Many thanks to all involved - there would be no racing without these characters. There was some controversy about an incident with flagging and some race day course tape leaving negotiations, but we like a bit of Commissionaire/marshal/rider banter. Some might say that there were faces missing from every category, but it’s always about the people who are there, not the ones who aren’t. If you happened to be sunning yourself in St. Tropez or riding Slayer or A-Line fair play, but you won’t be picking up a Moelfre trophy or the memories from one of the best events this year for your troubles.
 Representation For the Nation - Southerndownhill's Mr D Podium in Vets
Practice kicked off promptly on Saturday morning with the only big uplift queues of the weekend as everyone was keen to get at it as soon as possible. You can’t really blame them. Practice, practice, drink and practice. A perfect flow of uplift meant a fantastic turn-around on runs. Seeding runs next and some pretty serious action. Dan Atherton fastest and looking mega smooth. Nice to see. Seeding over and time to relax with onsite catering, course walking, fireside banter, weather speculation, beers, The Simpsons movie… you know the usual shizzle.
Sunday dawning, early morning and to the task in hand. Three minutes or less of high speed piloting of treeless mountain. The rain had if anything improved the switchbacks and dustier sections but had made the grassy sections more slippery. Those who went spike/swamp thing seemed to hold their choice even as conditions dried out. It seemed pretty much swings and roundabouts. Practice makes perfect. And perfection makes you quicker. The day progressed through the different categories allotted times of practice to the inevitable. Race time. And some rapid performances. I watched, I had my run and watched some more. There are so many great vantage points at this location and I saw: Danny Hart way fast, whipped and styled - he’s gotta be world champ one day. So many fast juveniles, juniors and youth - the standard seems so high these days, these guys are the future. Aimee Dix looking pinned. Rachel Atherton back to speed and killing it. Some great seniors, fast masters and all those elites , the fastest of which on this good day was Ben Baker, looking proper rapid. Ah and the elites, not that they’re better than us, just a little faster. All looking polished highlights for me included Ben Reid hoping out of the braking bumps to smoother lines, Will Longden hanging it out, Gee’s bigtime air, Dan’s smoothness and Marc Beaumont’s composure.
 Ben Reid - Ironhorse - Sam Hill style hopping out of the blown out sections Starting off with the young guns, the Juvenile Category was won by Mark Scott riding for Ecosse DH Racing with a time of 2:43.63 and with a two second cushion from the Asterix/Decent- Gear rider Sam Flockhart, Lewis Buchanan and George Belk Finished up the podium spots. Only one round away and the Junior category beckons for Danny Hart another victory here in the Youth Category as he warms up for innevitable World Cup scene next season. He took the win with over four seconds to spare from the second Decent-Gear podium with Gareth Brewin to score a time of 2:33.02 and placed him firmly inside the top 20 overall. Ryan Martin and Harry Malloy took filled the youth Podium.  Danny Hart - Balfa UK - Whipping it in Practise
Joe Smith took the Victory for Ancillotti UK with the seventh fastest time of the day in the highly competitive junior category with his place in the GB Junior squad already confirmed. Ruaridh Cunningham was hot on the chase to take second and Marcus Williams took third. Jack Geohagen with his results throughout the season could be slightly annoyed he won't be donning the GB colours at Fort William took fourth spot on the podium a result which should have him on the bus, but I guess the BCF face recognition system didn't have the right details to let him on.
 Joe Smith - Ancillotti UK  Ruiardh Cunningham - Team Bike Love - In the Swtichbacks Into the older and wiser categories. The Masters win was sealed by David Tallontire with a time of 2:38.88 closely followed by Aidan Bishop with a 2:40. Welshman Julian Poffey came into third followed by Andrew Titley who finished off the podium just a second behind. Keith Wilson for Online bikes took the top spot for the Veteran category, Martin Crocket took second place with Seb Ramsay and Southerndownhill's Dave Michael went back to the old school of the DH Team to secure fourth spot. Out of the Non-Elite women it was Katy Curd who took the fatest time of the day in the juniors to with Aimee Dix riding for Team Skene shortly behind. Habyblu Cann was next in line followed by Vet Female Lynda Davies.
The Elite Female category was a little thin on the ground but Rachel Atherton made her comeback with his first race since Vigo and strolled to the top of the podium with a storming time of 2:42.76 and showing no signs of having lost any of her blistering pace ready for Fort William in a few weeks. Anja Rees-Jones took second place on the podium with a time of 3:00.21 and Calamity Jane Cann and Olivia Johnston completed the field.  What better way to celebrate your sponsors 30th Birthday than with a Podium? Daniel Yeomans riding for Curtis/Howies took the senior win with two seconds in the bank from Peter Williams riding for Pro Bike Sport. Nick Platt and James Swinden finished up the podium and Duncan Ferris in fine 4x form throughout the season kept up his form in downhill too to take fifth spot. Ben Baker had it all this weekend, pinned when it mattered, decked when the cameras were looking and had a dog to contend with in his race run, but importantly he took the win with a 2:33.23 to put him 18th overall. Stuart Jenkinson so close to the top spot came in second with a 2:33.41 and Billy Cheetham came third with a 2:34.37 and smoked "Blondie" by four seconds... ahh rivalries. Matthew Parkinson finished up the expert podium with a 2:35.30.  Ben Baker - Balfa UK- Pinning the Dirt... Eating the Dirt.. Dodging Dogs! A second isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things, in an Elite Category though its a massive margin and Marc Beaumont took the win from the locals with a blistering run of 2:24.39 followed by Dan Atherton with 2:25.66. Le Mojo Frog Julien Camellini seperated Athertons with a 2:26.01 followed by Gee with a 2:26.24. This season the Ancillotti UK team have not been shy of podium time and maybe a third member of the Italian contingent feels they should also be at Fort William in a couple of weeks. Matt Simmonds continued his good form to wrap up fifth place and fifth fastest time of the day.  Marc Beaumont - MBUK Santa Cruz - Fastest man of the day  Dan Atherton - Team Animal Commencal  Julien Camellini - MoJo Suspension  Gee Atherton - Team Animal Commencal  Matt Simmonds - Ancillotti UK - Elite Podium again with 5th Place, but can only look at on at the GB Squad for Fort William  James Hughes - Syncros Electric  Dan Stanbridge - MoJo Suspension Many thanks for all involved in what was one of the best weekends in ages. All you uplift banter people, hardworking marshals, tractor drivers, stall holders, microphone workers, wooden post weilders, commissionaires, medics, caterers, Felix, jet wash providers, sponsors, Red Bull providers, Farmer Jack, friends and family and lets not forget the racers. Full Results are available from Mikrotime here. Photos are available in the foyer from Fastlane. |
