GP RACE NEWS: Awaba postponed to 20 Feb

Dear RockyTrail Racers,

Well, that didn’t go to plan.

This sucks, this is not how we planned to start the 2021 racing season. In the aftermath of the biggest ever season despite and because we were able to pivot our business completely in the Covid-19 events environment, we went into this full of energy and determination. We were so impressed how we all as a Nation have been able to keep the situation in Australia under control so well these last few weeks. We were ready.

You know, it was like when you line up for a race or go for a ride, you prepare, you know the track, you know there will be challenging obstacles and you are in ‘ready position’. Ready to tackle it all. And it still catches you out. Despite being experienced and up for the task, sometimes you crash, without you even knowing what hit ya. And it’s bloody hard to lie there on the ground, you hurt, you’re embarrassed and yet, you pick yourself up and keep going. Hoping that your mates will help you getting back up and be supporting you. No matter what.

After all we went through with you together last year, we somehow cannot really believe that the weather stopped us in our tracks for the first event in 2021!

So here is Martin’s statement transcribed:

“We did track walk this morning and had another look at the weather forecast for this afternoon and for tomorrow Sunday and have decided NOT to race. The first round of the Shimano MTB GP will be pushed to Saturday, 20 February and held at Awaba MTB Park.

“First of all, huge apologies, our credo has always been to make those calls by Wednesday and Thursday at the absolute latest. We have been working very hard to get those calls right and for the first time we’re in a situation where we didn’t. Looking back at Wednesday and at the forecasts then, I thought we’re going to be fine. When we said yesterday, we’ll push it back by 24 hours, I thought that would give us time for the trails to dry out. To have a fun and enjoyable race.

“Coming here today and combined with the current forecast that decision had to be changed. The hard part is that on track right now (11am) the sun is peeking through the clouds, the trails, right now, are not that bad. I don’t believe today or tomorrow we would have caused any considerable damage to the trails. That would actually have made the decision easier, if I thought we had. It would have been clear cut.

“The main decision-making factor was the forecast potential for thunderstorms this afternoon. At Awaba with the way the ridge line runs through Olney State Forest, those are hit and miss. We’ve had races where Newcastle 20min in the North and Wyong 40min in the South had torrential rain and it was dry at the park. Worst case scenario right now is to get a dump of rain in the afternoon. The chances for more rain to return tomorrow Sunday are now higher as well as of mid this morning.

“This all just means that tomorrow early in the race there is a high chance that it will turn into an absolute mud-fest and because of that high chance we are calling it off.

“If you are coming from further away and have booked accommodation or can’t cancel it, please still come – we are inserting some blogs and links below of what you can do off the bike in the region. And chances are still that tomorrow is ok to ride, so you might just get a ride in – please check the Hunter MTB Association FB page for trail access status in the morning.

We truly hope that this doesn’t mess with your plans too much and we endeavour to learn as much from this experience as possible – we haven’t been in a situation where we’ve had to call a race off so late ever, so we’ll derive as many opportunities to improve our processes for the future.

We hope to see you back at Awaba MTB Park on 20 February. We’ll be there with bells on, looking forward to an awesome race.

Thank you for your understanding, thank you for your support,

Juliane and Martin Wisata
Owners

LINKS:

Caught out by the postponement? We’re so sorry, here are some links to hopefully make a stay in the region enjoyable.

• What’s on in Newcastle this weekend
• Explore the Lake Macquarie region and What’s On
• Itinerary ideas to explore the Central Coast

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Do you have any questions?

Talk to us via our online chat – click on the orange circle symbol on your bottom right screen corner and we’ll be right with you! (We always love talking bikes, racing and riding!)