NPS 4X Round 1 Chicksands by: Aidan Bishop

Wow that looks a long way down Aidan?

 

Sunday 20th Aprill 2008……a new race season starts, at last. With a winter of getting back into some fun riding, there has been lots of banter between the berkshire branch of the RapidRacers team about Stefan and Gummy stepping up and having a go at 4X this season, and 50% kept to their word and lined up for the first round of the national 4X series held at the great Chicksands venue in bedfordshire.

So with Stefan and myself on the start list the scene was set for a battle royal for top honours in the masters category. In fact Stefan has got so into the idea of giving 4X a go that he kitted himself out with a super-trick Intense taser frame decorated with top of the range products from our sponsors like michelin, hope, thomson, odi, the list goes on….a very nice bike to say the least!! While Gummy managed to build up a race bike with PINK brakes!!! (nothing to do with his sexuality apparently!!). Whilst most of us were content with digging and jumping at a local spot, Stefan got out and raced Chicksands in winter and placed second in a bmx race aswell!!!! It’s safe to say he is quite serious about doing well this year.

Stef's first 4X - Not so shabby!

 

He Chicksands track was tacky, and luckily no rain fell and it only got grippier as the day went on. The same track as previous years with the addition of a slight uphill out of the old final berm into a hairpin left with berm on outside into a step up to step down table top then cross the line. These additions added length and a needed last chance to overtake on what was a hard course to make a pass on previously.
With a healthy turn out in masters the moto sheets were showing we would go to quarter finals after accumulating sufficient points from the motos, then semis and the finals, something that didn’t occur at all last year.
Stef and I practised together and then did gate practise together also, this showed if nothing else it was going to be tight racing as were literally elbow to elbow all the way down the track in the runs we had, we both then wanted the motos to start so we could get on with the job.

Aidan shows it's all about the style

 

As it turned out we never met in any of our motos sadly but both qualified comfortably for the quarters, with myself placing 1st, 2nd, 1st and 1st in mine and I think Stef placed top 2 in all of his also. One serious threat emerged in Steve Jones who was faultless through the motos, winning all four from start to finish not putting a foot wrong and proving to be the man to beat, turns out he used to race elite class and had last year off.
Quarter finals and Stef and I didn’t meet here either, but thankfully both went through to the semis. Again we didn’t meet here and both had to ride hard if we wanted to make the finals. I had a tight battle on the first berm where I was locked up with the rider next to me and had to back off so I didn’t go off the track, this left me last so I went for the inside line approaching the big triple and made the pass for third there, I then followed second place close until the final flat turn where I rode it very tight and exited under the other rider who came into me but fortunately I had more momentum and pedalled out of the bump and took second while he went down, recovering from the battle I was relieved to have made the final after so nearly missing out. Stefan also had a hard semi final and was anxious as to whether he would make the cut for the final, Steve Jones led from the front and Stef took the outside line to the triple and made the move which secured second place and a spot in the final.

It's all about the gate

 

So with both of us happy to have made it into the final we both lined up just not wanting to be last and not make the podium. The final lined up with Steve Jones (unbeaten so far), Steve Williams, Myself and Stefan. The random gate dropped and it was go!!! I had a good start and managed to get in front of Stef on our side of the track, Jones unclipped and so was running last, upon joining together on the track Steve Williams was infront and I had to tuck in close behind with Stef hot on my heels! With hindsight I made the wrong choice and followed Steve on the inside approach to the triple and subsequently came in slower than I would have liked and hooked up on landing, whilst Stef gunned it round the outside approach and flew over the triple and then pedalled past me. Going round the penultimate berm it was Williams, Stef, then me, we all sprinted hard to the last corner and everyone chose to go tight but with red mist in my goggles I managed to squeeze myself inside Stefan and made the pass stick but couldn’t get past Williams. And so it finished Williams, Me, Stefan and Jones, with Stef a little shocked that I had the audacity to push through on that last corner, but I say that if I made it through and no one went down it was good racing past….I think I have to watch my back at the next round though!!
At this point you should have had the pleasure of viewing some of Gummy’s photography skills, why was he there but not racing you ask!?!
1: My opinion is that he bottled it
2: He was scared of the abuse he was going to receive from other racers when they saw his PINK brakes (with flowers by the way!!)
3: He wanted to hone his trail jumping skills as there were ample on hand to play on.

4X is about 100% commitment - 99% is 4th place

 

Unfortunately Gummy’s skills need a bit more fine tuning as he had a big stack on one of the sets and sat in pain for the rest of the day. That night after a hospital visit he discovered he’d broken his wrist and knee!! Bad luck mate!

So rd1 is done and all in all Stef and I had a cracking day, both making the podium for the team is no easy task in a very competitive master field. We can look forward to an eventful season!