Round 1 of the Scenic Rim Enduro Series went down in some sweaty conditions on the weekend at Kooralbyn, a great showing of riders battled the humidity to put down some cracking times between the tape. Trail conditions were great and despite the warmth of the last day of summer, there was no better day to pin it against the clock. We took a look at the action….
By Mike Branch, Photography by Set In Stone Photography
The Scenic Rim Enduro Series has reached it’s third year of existence and looks to be going stronger than ever with a great showing of riders on the weekend. A total of 94 riders took to the trails of Kooralbyn Valley MTB Park on Sunday in humid conditions, the mercury hit 33 degrees with 80-90% humidity; making for a sweltering affair. The course was cut from a six stage course to a five stage course on Saturday due to some trail concerns, the team at Kooralbyn Valley MTB Club and On The Edge Events had been working hard to get everything ready in time for the season opener.
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The course was a familiar one for anyone that has ridden or raced out there and some good trails were included. Stage 1 was cut from the course, stage 2 was Nemesis into Attack Rooster, Stage 3 was ‘No Name’ into Black Snake DH, Stage 4 was ‘Ironman’, Stage 5 ‘Mavericks and Stage 6 was ‘Stilletto’. A pretty reasonable course with trails that could be ridden by all skill levels, with most being intermediate in difficulty. The faster the trails were ridden, the more challenging they could become with some decent features on some trails with b-lines available to all features.
The business end of the day saw Rory McKenzie take the top step in the Elite Men over Stu Cali and Alex Shadbolt; Lisa Mathison won the Elite Women over Catherine O’Neill and Michelle Gane. Joshua Cathcart took the win in Expert Men whilst Elisabeth Fairley won the Expert Women’s category, Adam Aitken won the Masters 1/2 Men, Mike Sleeter took the top step in Masters 3/4 Men and Garry Smith took the win in the over 50s Men’s category. The E-bike category yielded a total of 9 riders with Lachlan Betts taking out the Men’s category and Amber Smith winning the Women’s category.
The Juniors were out in force again with some strong riding from the young blood, some of the U19 riders being some of the fastest of the day. The Under 19 Men was won by Pat Swindles over Sam Schooley and Jacob Slatter; the Under 19 Women saw Maizy Evans take the win. Seth Morrison won the Under 17 Men’s whilst Sian Townsend won the Under 17 Women’s category; Under 15 Men was won by Dane Folpp, whilst Andrew Burke won the Under 13 category. All in all some super fast junior riders on course and a great showing from all riders.
FULL RACE RESULTS HERE
EVENT PHOTO GALLERY HERE
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The first round of the series was a great round of racing and an awesome way to wet your appetite for a year of racing bikes in South East Queensland. The Scenic Rim Series looks set to be a great grass roots series that will provide a relaxed race environment and an awesome chance to strap on a race plate for the first time. Kooralbyn looks set to have a big year of racing out there with the three enduro races, a few DH races and some other events in the pipeline that will come to light as they are confirmed.
The next race on the Calendar is round 2 of the Borderline Enduro Series at Kyogle, followed by the first round of the Queensland Enduro Series at Garapine. Brakes Wide Open will be there to bring you all the action and we look forward to seeing you on the trail…..
EVENT PHOTO GALLERY HERE
ENTER ROUND 2 HERE
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