Midland
Summer Series - Radnor |
16th
Oct 2005 |
 |
Craig
Bromley's second podium in as many races after a drout for 2 years! |
It's the final round of the Midland Super Series and the final race of the year, this brought out a few riders that wouldn't often come to a Midlands round.....Jason Carpenter and our very own Paul May & Aidan Bishop to name but a few, but would they upset the final standings....will I once again get another 4th like the 2004 Winter Series, the 2004 Midland Championships, and the 2003 Midland Summer Series.......surely not? |
| Radnor was the venue which is not my most favourite course as it's too slow and twisty for a talentless fat boy like me, the Midlands Masters category was all but sorted for the top 3, however, 4th to 6th was another matter. It was tied between Wayne Tavenor, Adrian Bradley and me, we were all in the running. The top 5 in the series will grace the hallowed podium so there was more than just pride at stake, there was silverware to. |
| Aidan Bishop was back from injury and was back on a bike, but not wearing any chest body armour...muppet, when will he learn! Gummy was also back from injury but was not looking too confident on this course. Practice started and Aidan tw*tted a tree with his left shoulder leaving a red sore reminder of his his broken colar bone earlier this year, that said he was talking confident whilst Gummy was playing down his chances. I was also not overwhelmed by the course as the slow twisty technical section doesn't suit my gung ho style of riding. We all suffered a little against 90% of the competition as most did the practice day the day before sneeky g*ts, but hey, we're fast learners. |
| The first run slots came and it was time to see where we all stood, Gummy was up first and he kept it clean to post a time of 2:09, not really Gummy's usual pace and it showed in his face. I was next up and I struggled to get a fast rythm but still kept it clean to post a time of 2:11....not tremendous but only a couple of seconds behind the Gumster so I was initially pleased. Then Adrian Bradley came down with a superb time of 2:08 placing himself several positions above me, this meant that if I couldn't reverse this for the second run then I would lose 4th in the series and maybe even 5th. |
| Aidan was up next and he also had a clean run but was suffering from a bit of race rust, although he was dissapointed with his 2:04 is was still a good steady return to racing after a long injury break. As the afternoon progressed the track got increasingly dry, this meant that the second run times were going to be noticably faster. |
| First up again was Gummy who again kept it clean but was still not happy with his speed, he posted a time of 2:04 placing himself in 5th. I was up next and decided to throw caution to the wind which is dangerous for me as I already ride beyond my limits, I was rewarded in most corners with greater than anticipated grip until the tight hop between the trees where the root on the exit caught me out and I slid out, I was up and moving again very quickly and back on the gas only losing a couple of seconds. I crossed the line with 2:06 which I felt was about as good as I could achieve on this course. |
| All there was to do now was for me to wait for Adrian and Wayne to sort out the overall series results, Wayne came through the line slower which was a good start as we were joint 4th overall, the only other rider to upset the standings would be Adrian and he crossed the line shaking his head, he didn't improve on his 2:08 first run time after a crash in the woods.....I was momentarily elated to get 4th in the series and another podium trophy, only to realise that it's the dreaded recurring 4th place AGAIN! |
| Aidan was last to come down and as he came into view he seem to take the last few berms very conservatively , we found out later he was clipped out through the last few corners which cost him time. Aidan slightly bettered his time but it was still 2:04 and 8th in the Expert category, Aidan left knowing that more pratice was needed before he could challenge at the top again......especially as fatboy Bromley was only 2 seconds behind Gummy and Aidan! |
| So that is it for downhill racing for 2005, no more races, no more crashes, no more injuries, no more camping.....fanito |
| A big thank you to all our sponsors who have supported us for the last 2 years, without you this expensive sport would be that bit harder to enjoy....THANK YOU. |
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