The GBXC is back for 7 rounds in 2009
30th June 2009 - Round 5 Post Code.
New post code for this weekend NP8 1RN
This is the postcode that will take you to the start and finish, Paddock/Parking area.
30th June 2009 - Round 5 - Knighter Kawasaki debut.
Round 5 of the GBXC series takes place this coming Sunday (July 5 th ) and the organisers are very excited about the prospect as the track and the race in general is shaping up to be one of the finest yet.
Not only is David Knight, The Worlds top XC and off road racer and current 2008 GBXC Champion making his '09 GBXC debut, on his new Kawasaki KXF 450 but again all of the top Pro's have committed to the event in their droves. As have the hardcore group of Experts, Clubmen, Veterans, Sportsman, Youth and ladies that make up this class leading series.
After several visits to the site the GBXC team are now on site and well into planning and producing the course….and what a course this is going to be. A 1 hour lap was possible with ease in this fantastic woodland venue but after considering the fact that the spectators will want to see great racing for the duration a decision has been made by the track bosses to run a 15 minute lap and keep everyone entertained. The Track starts in a very picturesque setting and has a lovely grass special test type field right by the parking and paddock area. The course then enters the huge woodland and will take on twisty single track and flowing and fast fire breaks. Due to the nature of the woodland and its integrated lanes and trails, the circuit designers will be utilising a lot of the already existing loops and rides that will make up this 6 mile+ lap. From proper forestry going to nice bermed up peaty (and sandy in places!!) berms through to some interesting downhill sections and as mentioned before the grass special test type field near the start finish, the circuit really does offer all levels of rider a very special day out on their dirt bikes indeed.
Entries have been flooding in for the event but you can still obtain yours from the website or by calling Mandie Edmondson on 01543 370 070 right up until Friday 3rd July. Do it now so the organisers can have a genuine idea of how many riders will be turning up. Some day entries may be allowed but there will be a surcharge on these.
Riders have been booking in recently and then not showing up for one reason or another and the organisers are stressing that they will be addressing this as from now and non show riders will NOT be allowed to book again for GBXC without pre payment.
Spectators will be charged £5 per person at the gates and a camping fee of £10 per vehicle is in place at this venue and all other GBXC events from now on. This is falling into the real world and the rising costs of keeping the series at the top with the TV crews and the high level press coverage that follows this championship around. In the GNCC in the USA even the riders and support crews are charged a fee (£10p/p) to just enter the site and although the GBXC wont be introducing this here for riders or mechanics it will be enforcing it for spectators and off road fans.
Well worth it though when you have the finest XC racing in the UK on offer.
Nick Fisk will be live on the Microphone with up to date race commentary and the big live results screen will be out for all to see. Alex Rankin productions will again be present with an emphasis on catching all the riders in action and not just the race stars….Although David Knight will have most eyes on him!!!!
David is most certainly looking forward to topping another GBXC podium after his stunning stateside GNCC victory return last Sunday.
With two action packed races taking place on Sunday (first race 10am for 2hrs…Main Pro Race 1pm for 2.5hrs.) it will be a festival of XC racing set in one of the UK's most beautiful surroundings easily accessible from the A40 Abergavenny to Brecon road near the gorgeous town of Crickhowell.
14th June 2009 - Round 4 TV Ready.
Check out the TV programme from the latest GBXC round NOW
10th June 2009 - Round 5 Press Release.
Details for round 5 available HERE
10th June 2009 - Round 4 Results.
Results from Round 4 AM RACE and PM RACE
Championship Points after Round 4 also available HERE
08th June 2009 - Round 4 Race Report.
By Tim Tighe - The 2009 GBXC Championship series reached its halfway point last weekend as the whole show moved to Kingsbridge, South Devon . Set not far from Plymouth, the distance to the event may have put off a few central and northern based riders but local riders rose to the challenge – and what a challenge! The 6.25 mile course was, in the words of many riders, the best they had ever seen, encompassing rolling hills narrow gullies, several woodland sections with very different course conditions in each area. Sunny Devon didn't live up to its name on Saturday. Torrential rain all day long saturated the course but eventually the clouds cleared by evening time the sun was out. Surprisingly the ground stood up well to the battering and a week of baking sunshine in the run-up to the event was counter-balanced by the downpour, leaving the course in excellent shape. Straight off the start line riders encountered an unusual section through a small stand of bamboo. The course twisted and turned through the two metre high stand, which caught out more than a few riders, and marshals. The flattened bamboo proved to be as slippery as ice for the first few laps then, as lines appeared, turned into one of the most enjoyable parts of the course, especially for spectators. At first glance the course looked fairly fast but this was not the case. There were fast sections, which were balanced by tight, technical woodlands and gullies. One gulley in particular played a major part in the outcome of both the AM and PM race. Many riders were surprised to see Fast Eddy take to the line in the Pro race. Eddy had not ridden competitively since the Muntjac BEC earlier in the year and had finally shaken off a nagging back problem. He had fierce competition in the class with Tom Sagar, Si Wakeley, Greg Evans, Oli Moyce, Ash Woods and Northern Ireland 's Phil McLaughlin. On form Darryl Bolter was also gunning for the overall win although he was in the Pro-Lite section. Another great start from Mark Roberts, who is proving to be something of a start-specialist, saw Fast Eddy hot on his heels while Tom Sagar got away in fifth, an improvement on recent events. By the end of the first lap Fast Eddy had stretched out quite a lead on his Suzuki RM250 with only Si Wakeley in touch at this point on his MPS Husqvarna. Edmondson's pace was fast, too fast to maintain for two and a half hours with little riding experience over the past few months. Sagar, Wakeley and Bolter began to take control by lap four. The big Midwest-Husaberg had the speed across the field sections but Bolters nifty KTM made up the gap in the technical woodlands and tight, bumpy gullies as the two were inseparable over the final few laps. As Bolter re-fuelled, Sagar took the lead. Bolter followed him from the pits and there was around three seconds between them heading into the final few laps. A few back markers held up the leader in a tight gulley section, allowing Bolter to close the small gap and once out onto the field sections they were bar to bar with Bolter just edging ahead. On the last quarter of the final lap Sagar saw his chance to take the lead back from Bolter and a new line saw him squeeze to the front and stretch out a nine-second gap to take the overall win and the Pro class. Bolters determined ride saw him rewarded with the Pro-Lite victory. Less than two minutes behind was Si Wakely who had enjoyed one of his best rides of the season so far, finishing second behind Sagar in the Pros. Fast Eddy was running on pure determination by the end of the race and was rewarded with third in class as Greg Evans took fourth. Evans had seemed out of sorts for the first half of the race but pulled himself together to get into the top five. He was joined by Oli Moyce, another Midwest-Husaberg rider who really enjoyed the course. The Berg seemed ideally suited to the conditions. Lee Edmondson rode his PAR Honda to yet another podium finish, second in the Pro-Lite class, three minutes clear of KTM-mounted Jon Hinam, all on 12 laps. Linc Brewster complete the Pro-Lite entry by taking fourth place, a lap down on the leading three.
KB Racing's Lewis Belfield battled throughout the race with young Joe Jones in the Expert class but managed to stretch a 20 second gap by the time the chequered flag was waved. Wheeldon Farm, the venue for the event, was well represented in the form of Max Hembroke aboard a Wheeldon Farm Suzuki, who took third place in the Expert class. Gas Gas' Charlie Evans was less than a minute adrift in fourth and had a clear 90 second gap over fifth placed Gary Daniels. Callum Hicks and D3's Oli Hart were head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the Clubman 2T pack. The two Welsh lads stuck to each other like glue and it took until the final two laps for Hicks to gradually build a 30 second lead over Hart to take the win. Hart's comfortable second place saw Tom Hirons take third just ahead of Ross Benton and Tom Healy in fourth and fifth. Sean O'Neill and Gareth Delahay travel together to all the GBXC events and they continued in this vein throughout the race in the Clubman 4T class. Delahay took the lead but suffered a puncture around the one-hour mark, handing control to O'Neill. A quick fix saw Delahay back into the fray but unable to whittle down O'Neill's five minute lead. Oneill won the clkass by five-minutes from Delahay who was closely followed by Lee Hattersley, who had also suffered tyre problems, in third. Just fifteen second separated fourth placed Marcus Alber, another local rider, and Stratford's Jamie Faulkner in fifth. As usual, the opening race of the day saw the Over 40's in furious action. Both Ade Bradley and Keith Jenkins are in contention for the series title and once again there was no quarter given. Jenkins rode fast and hard but Bradley rode even harder, the MXer in him still showing through. You didn't need to see where he was, you could hear the pinned Suzuki for miles. Jenkins slight edge on XC experience won the day with Bradley taking second place just over a minute clear of Chris Roberts in third. Roberts just managed to keep ahead of an ever-closing Colin Jones, who took fourth place just 20 seconds adrift. Gary Baker completed the top five line-up on his Midwest Husaberg. Chris Pryce dominated the Sportsman class and took the win some 5 minutes clear of second placed Scott Smith. Luke Smith nearly caught Scott, closing to seven second by the end of the race as Nathan Hotlby took fourth and Aaron Tilley fifth. Ash Bowden also managed a relatively easy win in the Novice class, with just under a minute clearance from Kieron Jordan in second while Mike Windsor closed to within 20 seconds to take third. Surprisingly, Danny Morris had an off day and fourth was the best he could manage, just ahead of Nate Jenkins in fifth. The Youth class turned out to be as entertaining as the Over 40's. All-conquering George Bayliss had stiff competition from Gethin Humphries and the two were locked together for much of the race. Both riders experienced mechanical difficulties at one point or another but Humphries rode on to victory as Bayliss, for once, took second. Joe Wootton, a lap down on the leading pair, took a solid third place ahead of Tommy Alba in fourth and Alex West in fifth. Jane Daniels and Sophie Thomas led the Ladies class but Daniels was in it to win it and took the class by seven minutes from Thomas. Steph Jewel cruised to third ahead of Nina Thomas in fourth and Helen Spiers in fifth. A good course doesn't always provide good racing but on this occasion the two worlds collided and provided both. It was worth the long trek that many riders made, possibly the best XC course seen in this country to date. It had everything and a great balance between fast and technical sections, which suited all types of rider.
Steve Ireland and Paul Edmondson really went out on a limb by putting on an event so far from their normal venues, but it paid off and raised both expectations and quality of GBXC events. Someone up there must like the two of them, Devon was one of the very few places in the country that remained rain-free throughout the day.
Results and Championship Standings to follow
10th May 2009 - GBXC TV Round 3.
Another great edition of GBXC TV from Round 3 at Maeshafn is now available to watch on GBXC TV
4th May 2009 - Championship Points
With the first three rounds complete, championship points scored so far by all riders are now available for the AM RACE and the PM RACE
4th May 2009 - Rnd 3 Results
Results from both races are now available AM RACE and PM RACE
