Bristol DMR Pump Track Challenge 2012

Saturday 10th saw a number of the UK’s mountain bikers meeting under a flyover in the centre of Bristol.

Not exactly a hub for mountain biking you may think. However this was the second annual DMR Pumptrack Challenge on Brunel Way. A pumptrack is like a mini BMX track, ridden by riders one at a time. The aim of the competition was to get the fastest time around the track, as timed by the crew from Naked Racing with the latest Tag Heuer timing equipment.

Pro-riders including Brendan Fairclough, Bernard Kerr, Olly Wilkins, Duncan Ferris and others were in attendance, chasing a massive prize purse with £250 for first, £100 for second and £50 for third.

First order of business was practice and there were plenty of controversial line choices and competitors debating whether pedalling would be allowed on the trick uphill second straight.

At the riders meeting, Naked Racing head honcho Chris Roberts outlined that indeed pedalling was forbidden in all categories.

Everyone got a seeding run before their three race runs. Pro riders were allowed a warm-up lap and a rolling start and amateur riders started from the roll in.

With commentary provided along with free Monster energy, the crowd were buzzing all thorough the day. DMR kindly provided a number of their new entry level dirt jump bikes called the Wrath. These were available for riders to borrow for practice or even racing in 24” or 26” varieties.

Racing started with riders competing in four categories; Rippers, Amateurs, Women and Pro categories. Racing was fast and furious, as soon as riders finished their lap, the next one was released on his run. Plenty of thrills and spills were enjoyed by spectators as the line between a quick lap and a crash was very hard to judge!

DMR Pumptrack Challenge – Rd4 Bristol a Mountain Biking video by petenewman

In the end the race results stacked up thusly:

Pro
Bernard Kerr
Brendan Fairclough
Duncan Ferris

Amateur
Martin Astley
Greg Hampton
Isaac Anderson

Ripper
Joel Anderson (on a borrowed DMR Wrath 24)
Reece Richards
Bard Kerr

Women
Jess Greaves
Alice Ducket

Racing was followed by the End of Season Party with Wideopen in Bristol’s premier nightclub; The Croft. The party started socially at 9ish and by 10pm it was getting pretty busy. An hour later and it was absolutely rammed. Drinks were flowing and a good time was had by all!