Back to the roots: Old school racing at Ourimbah
Ourimbah is the “home track” of the Rocky Trail crew and we held Round 3 of our SHIMANO MTB Grand Prix there on 1 August 2015. We ride there a lot ourselves as it is only a few kilometres from our house and has everything you’d want from an everyday trail and a challenging, yet fun race track. It’s technical, but not too technical. There are fire roads, but not too many on the XC course with plenty of wide open trails all around for a rainy day. The local Central Coast Ourimbah MTB Club is one of the most active ones around and they keep the track in great condition – we’ve had a lot of them race with us on the weekend too and we could see how proud they were hearing all the positive comments from fellow racers about the trails.
Over the past few years and since this season in particular we’ve kept our SHIMANO MTB GP Series raw and real and affordable. We attract a lot of regulars and heaps of new racers to it, so the emphasis from our side to the crowds is, “Keep it friendly, keep it sociable.” One major feature of the series is that all prizes are distributed BEFORE the race – every rider gets to pick a sponsored prize from our “Rocky Trail Bazaar” and there are always some major prizes up for grabs as well.
Once again, Ourimbah MTB Park proofed to be a perfect venue as part of the series. It’s one of the most iconic and oldest mountain bike trails on the coast between Sydney and Newcastle and on the weekends it’s always packed with riders that seek a getaway from the cities.
Andrew Lloyd and Lana Moy increase 4-hour GC solo series leads
The SHIMANO MTB GP Series has been offering a 4 and 7 hour competition and Quantum Racer Andrew Lloyd from Newcastle and Lana Moy from the Northern Beaches increased their solo elite series leads in the General Classification (GC). In the men’s Andrew now leads by 290 points ahead of Central Coast’s Max Richardson, who won the solo singlespeed category at Ourimbah. Third overall is currently Michael Crummy from the JetBlack Racing Team, who took out the 30-39 age classification at this Round 3.
In the women’s, Lana Moy won the 40+ category racing for the Manly Waringah MTB Club and has a lead of 290 points as well. Second overall is 30-39 age classification winner Bikeworx Erina-team racer Charlie McCabe from Wamberal ahead of Sydney’s Wendy Stevenson in third.
Interview Andrew Lloyd:
Interview Lana Moy:
Interview Max Richardson:
Andrew Finlayson claims third consecutive race win in 7-hour
Andrew Finlayson is one of the rising endurance stars of the 2015 SHIMANO MTB Grand Prix Series. At Ourimbah he claimed his third consecutive race win in the 7-hour solo competition after James Estate Winery in March and Awaba MTB Park in April. Andrew has been building his strength as part of the JetBlack Racing Team over the past few years and said that he’ll keep pushing hard in the series. With the best result of four races out of the six counting towards the final score he is in a very comfy position at the half-way mark.
A consistent second in the series overall currently is Jarrod Connolly from the Central Coast, racing for Bikeworx Erina and winner of the 24-29 age group at Ourimbah. This is a rider who converted from the downhill scene and is now an endurance racer to watch. David Stevens from Belmont completes the overall Top 3, bringing home the win in the 40+ age classification at Round 3 for sponsor James Estate.
In the women’s GC, Melinda Allen took over the overall series lead after two second places in the early rounds and a race win for ZeroFive Sportswear in the 30-39 age classification at Ourimbah. Club rider Melinda Holmes from the Central Coast is in close second and JetBlack Racing team rider Lindy Turnbull is currently in third.
Interview Women’s podium 7 hour:
Interview Andrew Finlayson and Jarrod Connolly:
Half-way through the series and going strong
A lot of discussion has been going on recently about the numbers of people that attend races these days – we’ve had about 200 at this SHIMANO MTB GP Round and you know what? We were stoked!
Of course as a promoter you’d always like more “bums on seats” across the line, but rather than worry about those who didn’t turn up, we’re all about the ones that do come to our races. And we make sure they’re in for a hell of a show. We’re not trying to over-analyse things, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes an industry undergoes changes and as a business, we need to keep track of that. Our approach is that we’ll be very carefully listening to our riders and partners and take on board what they expect from us on an ongoing basis.
All we can do is to promise that if you’re a #rockytrailracer, you’re in good hands, you’re in good company and you’ll have a great race. Each and every time. We’ll keep spreading the word about your achievements and it makes us really proud that we can be a part of your journeys from rider to racer and often to race winner!
For sponsors and supporters we are able to provide a powerful promotional platform and we have been aligning our business with industry leaders across many segments of the industry. We offer such a wide variety of events – cross-country, marathon, downhill and enduro that we cover a broad range of the industry. There are so many different experiences we can offer and so many different aspirations of our customers! And that’s the most exciting thing and what matters for us!
Next stop for us? Canberra with the double-header of the Fox Rollercoaster #Enduro Series Finale, hydrated by CamelBak on 9 August, followed by Round 4 of the SHIMANO MTB GP Series on 15 August!
Results portal
Results and Rider List of Round 3, Ourimbah MTB Park 1 August
JetBlack Bikeshop Trophy Progress results
OuterImage.com.au photo portal – FREE download for all SHIMANO MTB GP Series racers (PW: rtracer)
Photos: OuterImage.com.au
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