NSW Titles - A view from an average bloke...

[paulm]

Re: Top Three Juniors at the NSW Titles.
Postby The Hell Team » Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:37 pm

Sorry about not posting results sooner than Monday morning, but there is no Internet/phone access at Pacific Park.
It was not possible to get online until first thing this morning (Monday) when I got home.
I have just had a container of Bikes delivered from Spain, (7am this morning - whoooaaa) so the report posted on TA is brief. I'll give a better description of the weekend when I get a moment, unless someone else would like to appraise the proceedings before me!
Paul Arnott, for the PPTC.

Ok Mr Arnott – I’ll take you up on that and here’s a brief overview of the ‘lower grades’ action in what for me, was another great weekend at NSW Titles.

For those of you unfamiliar with Pacific Park, the Marchant family property spans hundreds of acres on the banks of the Hawkesbury river and is home to a Water Sports park, leisure and camping facility and arguably one the best dirt bike complexes in the Southern hemisphere.

The Trials area is set in a Y shaped valley that includes grippy sandstone rocks, of Jurassic propositions in some cases, rocky creek beds, sandy, slippy, dusty, niggly climbs, slippy tree roots and semi tropical rainforest that wouldn’t be out of place in Peter Jackson movie.

For those of you who do know Pacific Park - it’s got a mean streak when it rains.

And guess what, Day one – it rained.

The course for day one was laid out around the Southern leg of the Y shaped arena with 11 sections including the now ubiquitous ‘Man Made’ collection of concrete and tyres.

Sections 1 – 5 provided the classic combination of Pacific Park climbs, steps, logs and drop offs traversing the southern slope of the forest edge. Plenty of splits to catch the unobservant with tight turns in the slippy stuff (Pacific Park dust is slippy even in the dry…) Not too much to worry about for the better riders, for the lesser lights, plenty to keep you on your toes (or on your arse in my case)

The action really got underway with sections 6- 9 in the creek. As the gentle rain increased the rocks got slipper and creek banks got… well, let’s say not easy….

The real ‘troublesome’ sections were 8 and 9. Drop into the creek and up the other bank – tight turn, back into the creek and out over an increasingly slippy log then more tight turns – you get the picture I’m sure. Importantly, though the sections were tough they were all doable with care (and skill of course) nothing daft!

Section 10, on the point of the Y valley, gave a brief respite with more climbs and drop offs and then on to the Man Made section 11.

This is a particular favourite of mine since it provides the opportunity to make a complete pr#tt of one’s self (and I did...) in front of the assembled throng of spectators and, on this occasion, a gallery of professional photographers

The section was a cracker. Concrete step leading to a full lock right turn through 180 degrees over a concrete pipe with another tight left hander over a rock and a small step that had to be taken on the turn to avoid crossing your own line.

So… Lap one done - three more laps.

Rapidly running short of time for the 4:00 pm close, a number of riders (myself included) had to cop a penalty for not managing the allotted time effectively. Maybe an extra half hour of riding time would have been appreciated but we all knew the score when we set off so….

To Day 2…

Thankfully blue skies and sunshine greeted the 70 plus entry on Sunday morning with the sections for the day set around the northern arm of the Y shaped valley.

Pacific Park two day events have been a feature of NSW trials for a couple of years now and seem to follow a pattern - a tough first day and a more comfortable second day. With a personal score for Saturday that would have done justice to our ODI cricket team – I was hoping for the latter.

And I wasn’t disappointed…

Action began on the Man Made section with a Toby Coleman special, a mind boggling drive around tapped off alleys resembling shopping trolley parking stations, while the real action came with four strategically placed concrete pipes, just close enough to each other to make getting through doable but… you had to hit them just right or they would rob you of marks… v cunning.

Sections 2- 5 lie on the northern slopes again with traditional Pacific Park climbs, logs and drop offs in what could have been extremely muddy conditions. Interestingly, and probably a indication of the near drought conditions in NSW this winter, there was plenty of grip, apart from the slippy tree roots to catch the unwary.

Section 6 had some interesting challenges. Set in the creak at the far end of the leg - a wiggle through the trees led to a drop into the creek, a turning climb onto the opposite bank, a fearsome 2 mt drop into a bog – and even more fearsome near vertical 2 mt climb up a greasy bank, a full lock left turn back into the creek and a blast up the other side. Good section – one of the best in the event to my mind.

Section 7 included a rocky hill climb with a tight right turn, a traverse across the slope to a full lock right turn and drop into a sandy turn that grabbed marks from many riders, then up and around a tree and right and out. Another great section.

Section 8 – and the only section that, from my perspective, had me thinking about asking for a 5? mmmm… A steep 20 mt hill climb with a full lock 180 degree right hander and a wiggle through trees down the creek floor, and a tricky left turn to the end cards. Not as daunting as first thought.

Section 9 was a classic creek section with a run through the water to a nicely angled (and slippery) rock slab, a drop into the creek, climb up the other side and very slippery traverse across the slope to end cards. Very easy to lose marks here.

Sections 10 and 11 returned to the slopes with more classic Pacific Park climbs, rocks and tight turns – again relatively easy for the better ridders but plenty of pitfalls if you let the concentration slip.

And so, to the wash up – and please bear in mind these are personal observations…

It’s hard to criticise anyone who gives up their free time for weeks on end to put an event like this together so I'm not going to. I’ve had the privilege of working with the organising band on a number of occasions and they are as close to a professional group as you’d see in any motorsport event. For sure we could have used an extra half hour of riding time on day one but hindsight is truly rare commodity.

Regarding severity of sections… I can only speak for the grades I know but I believe the score cards provided a result in ALL classes - that says something. However - the largest cohort of riders (on the blue line) is becoming almost impossible to cater for.

The skills range of this group is huge - from ex champions who choose to ride the novice line, to up and coming youngsters, to older riders or riders of limited ability who know their limitations and need to rock up for work on Monday without injury. Perhaps we need some more thought in this area about how to cater for such a wide range of skills but as a firm member of the ‘know your limitations’ brigade – I'm not complaining.

In closing, I did have the opportunity to spend a little time ‘watching’ this year and here are some of the standouts that caught my attention.

At the top end of town you might wonder about the apparent gulf between Kyle and the Zar brothers. From my vantage point Colin and Kevin were riding well (you might disagree boys but as I say, form my vantage point) it just seemed that Kyle was in different world – watching him literally ‘float’ over the obstacles was truly awe inspiring.

In the same vein, Jarrad Boniface seemed to be riding in a 'new zone’ with a faultless performance on day 1 he showed real maturity to hold it together on day 2 and take the Youth award. Watching Jarrad work with his minder Jake was a pleasure to watch – could this duo be the new force in Australian trials?

And last, but by no means least, Frank Hull. Watching Frank ride the slippy stuff is a master class in old school technique. Smooth, subtle and unhurried, and all on 348 Cota that was built before half the entry was even born… Nice work Frank.

A few personal thanks… To Stuey for his ‘encouragement’ in moments of angst, to my riding partner Scotty even though you beat me – again… and to to Drew from The Hell Team for getting me going when I broke stuff (again).

Finally, to the crew at Pacific Park, the rest of the notorious ‘combined clubs’ contributors, the officials and the hard working observers well done!!!! A great event and the efforts you put in are very much appreciated - It bodes well for next year’s titles.

Paul Mac.

[Rob W]

Nice work Paul Mac. Paul Arnott we certainly appreciate the work that goes into organising a titles event. Thanks for getting the results up as fast as you did. From all accounts it was a credit to all involved and I wish I could have been there. It was good to have my boys home last night and get a run down of how it went.