The first round of the KZN regional series went down this weekend and I carried on my current fixation with shooting in B&W…

Practice started out being sloppy and muddy but it dried out to become pretty tacky before the first race runs. Travis Browning was out before the race with pins in his hand so he was on hand to support the other riders and help out his Dad Gary. Rider turnout was pretty decent but spectator turnout was huge making the race feel like a national as they lined the side of the track. Lots of new riders which is good to see.

Hayden Brown started out with a sketchy first run coming in at 1:38 but turned everything around finishing with a 1:34 in his second run. As the track dried it was easier to make up time. Simon Dinkelman looked good as usual with his floaty, high elbows style.

A rider who you don’t hear much about because he is such a quiet kid is Tiaan Odendaal. Flying way under the radar I think he has huge potential and is already real fast. I saw him skip the “pro” line rock drop at the start and hit the “chicken” run at pace during a race run. Always good to see a rider not taking sheep lines and taking the “pro” line just because everyone else does.

ex-Motocross racer Justin Cope entered his first ever DH race and took 2nd in the Elite class. Pretty crazy since I remember racing him in 1998 a few miles down the road at the PMB MX track. Justin got sick of being injured in MX so has turned to DH full time.

Greg Minnaar was in town and entered the race. The guy is just badass to watch ride a bike. After the end of the first run, G Moneys time was matched by Tim Bentley both finishing at 1:33. Greg is on vacation and just back from 2 injuries but it could only have given Bentley confidence matching his time. Tim has an amazing amount of natural talent and made his new GT work for him as he threw down a 1:30 in his second run.

Alan Hatherly blasted some rocks at the start and lost contact with his bike slamming his shoulder in a corner later requiring surgery. Get well soon buddy, get some practice on MX vs ATV Untamed. I saw lots of people wearing Von Zipper goggles throughout the day which is good to see since they support NSRMTB. If you go to a store please consider their support of this site and the scene to make an informed decision on your purchase.

Overall Results
—————

1    Tim Bentley    JM    1.30.94
2    Greg Minnaar    EM    1.31.76
3    Hayden Brown    EM    1.34.33
4    Simon Dinkelman    JM    1.35.55
5    Justin Cope    EM    1.37.41
6    Kelvin Purchase    EM    1.37.74
7    Tiaan Odendaal    YM    1.39.43
8    Alasdair Fey    JM    1.42.10
9    Nigel Hicks    SVM    1.47.67
10    Ian Duxbury    EM    1.51.18

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 7:35 pm and is filed under Downhill, Events, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.