What a blur the season has been, so much fun and so many races. No sooner had the Winter season wound up, when the Summer season kicked in.
Last weekend was the Twin Peaks. For those that are not familiar, this is one of the biggest races of the Plastic series. 2 days of racing in different venues.
Saturday we had 9 racers in Tillicoutry, racing in Firpark. The weather wasn't nice to us, but the racing was certainly hot. Firpark is a sprint race, with only 15 gates, so the racing is Fast & Furious.
Gordons had a good medal haul with 1 silver and one bronze. Beth Whatford took the Silver in U16 whilst Kathleen Ray took bronze in the U18 age group. Quite an achievement considering they are both new to their age groups, so in the youngest bracket of each category.
Sunday was a completely different affair. The Sun shone, although the wind didn't ease.
For those that have never stood on top of the Hillend slope, it's something to behold. The racers kick out of a dedicated Start Box onto a very steep (Alpine steep) entry to the first few gates. The racers then vanish over a sharp change in gradient, before having to tackle an off camber traverse. Then it's back onto a double stepped steep with another sharp kick off, to the right, at the bottom. The last section of the course is a real highlight for the spectators. The course setters normally install a couple of combinations, right in front of the audience, so the action is up close. I always hear comments about how hard the racers hit the gates and how noisy it all is. It's also amazing to see the faces of the racers close up, as they focus on the gates ahead.
The courses on Sunday proved challenging for many. We had 25 gates (that's an awful lot for a plastic race) which meant a high DSQ rate. Both courses were very technical, with linked combinations.
All the same, Gordon's managed another medal. Beth Whatford was holding onto the gold after the fist run, but the second run saw a local racer squeeze past, leaving Beth with a well achieved Silver.
Well done to all of our racers, especially those new to Hillend. If you've never been, we have another couple of races there this season, so please think about it. It's a great day out.
This weekend sees the racers and coaches back in action. We have the Scottish and British Indoor Championships at the Glasgow Indoor Snow Slope. Once again we have an impressive turn out of racers and they will be fully supported for the races.
Best of luck to all and I'll let you all know how they get next week.
Gary W
Gary W
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