Perth Mountain Bike Club

Four X racing kicked off with a bang this year at the all new Pingelly track, with a good mix of seasoned riders and new blood. The majority of riders took advantage of the opportunity to practice the track on Saturday afternoon to pick the best lines and nut out the tougher sections.

After a chilly night camping out riders where eager to get some more runs in before racing kicked off. There was a thumping soundtrack to keep everyone amped up and a Shuttle run vehicle straight out of mad max to keep the bikes flowing up the hill.
Everyone was ripping the track in practice on a course that had first timers grinning from ear to ear and the experienced riders challenging themselves to the limit, some past it as a few had to bow out before racing started due to some enthusiastic attempts at the final six pack.

The riders had plenty of chances to test themselves with a total of 4 motos each before the eliminations started. Some stand out riders where JakeByrne who would have raced under 15s but moved up to U/19 to make a more competitive field and ended up showing a few of the older boys how racing was done. Julien Rogers was showing speed and style in the sport class which was a made up of everything from street and park riders to those well accustomed to the dirt.
The Elite class saw some very smooth riding and some risky lines being attempted by guys from Bmx and downhill backgrounds.

After a lunch break for some awesome burgers and a quick shower of rain it was time for the elimination rounds. Out came the sun and so did the competitive spirits with a few of the dominant riders getting eliminated before the finals.
In the Juniors the final saw Peter Krieg take the win with Jake Hall in second followed by Michael Taylor and Shaun Black in 3rd and 4th respectively.
In the Sport men’s: Julien Rogers (AKA Frenchy) dominated the field followed by Alex Yuill in second, Dean Byrne in third (Good to see the Dads in there and racing) and Derek Abel in 4th place.

The Elite men’s final was a race worthy of attention at any level of sport with spectators on the edge of there seats.
Darren Kirby was leading the race just holding off Ryan Andrews until the last corner where Ryan took the risky inside line without a berm and edged in front over the double jump the pair came into the six pack with only inches between them. Ryan gaining about half a bike length before coming unstuck on the last jump crashing out and taking Darrens bike from under him. As the photo shows Ben Hall was hot on there heels and had crossed the line to take the win before they were off the ground. Liam Wooltorton made it through for 2nd and Darren crossed for 3rd place. After a quick check by the Ambos Ryan was able to take out 4th place.
It was great to see everyone enjoying the track at the first event of the year and hope to see even more riders stepping up at the next race in July.
Thanks to Bin from INDIEYA DESIGNS and Scotti for photos.