Photo Report: The Gravity Events UK Mini DH Series
Words: Iain McConnell
I used to work as an uplift driver at Revolution Bike Park. As many of you will know, the park had to close at the start of this year as the trees needed to be felled due to a fungal disease. A couple of weeks ago, I returned to Revs to have a look around after the felling had finished. Some of the trails are still in remarkably good condition, particularly 50:1 and Vision, but there will still need to be a lot of work to rebuild. I was rather surprised, therefore, when a few days later a post appeared in my feed about a mini downhill race at Revolution Bike Park a few days later, at the end of July.
The Gravity Events UK mini DH series is a race series for under 16s which aims to encourage younger riders, both girls and boys, to have a chance at racing with no adult racers involved. The series is based at downhill venues in mid wales where we have a good selection to choose from. Previous rounds have been held at Berwyn Bike Park and Llangollen, and have seen some great racing from the rippers and above. The third round was due to be held at Caersws, but due to a full downhill race being held there next weekend, it was felt a good idea to look elsewhere, and Tim and James Foster allowed Gravity Events to make use of the lower slopes at Revs. The mini DH format is a push-up race so the lower section of Revs where no felling has been necessary was ideal and made for some great racing.
The only uplift queue at Revs these days
The bare hill at Revs
The big jump on 50 to 1 may be a bit windy in the future but the start ramp at the top of the hill is still standing
Now the felling is complete, the timber has to be removed before rebuilding can begin
The safety briefing before the race with a small amount of the timber from Revs in the lower car park
The track from last year's BDS race was used for push-ups, so some team work was needed in places
The push-up format does make for a good atmosphere
The lower section of Ghetto track was used for the race which was pretty gnarly but made for some great racing
The track came out of the trees onto the lower part of the hill by the famous Revs "hut"
Getting the right line here was one of the main points of debate during practice
The jump below the hut saw plenty of action across all the age groups
Sketchiest landing of the day went to Ollie Adams in the under 10s, who managed to ride this out
Tom Kelsey keeping focus
Not a bad view for the riders
A lot of the families watched from this part of the course
Asa Cartwright getting loose on the lower section in practice
Revs regulars Anthony Harvey and Charlotte Lawton Silva showing off and the last jump in practice
The lower section is still looking good despite not being ridden for six months
Biggest near-miss of the day went to Tyler Edwards and Casey Roberts when Tyler nearly landed on Casey as he came flying off the big jump but managed to keep it together and pass on the berm
Sam Corless drifting round the lower section with a flat tyre
Local rider Robin Rowlands getting some air time in the rain in his race run
Some riders were getting very close to the tops of the berms
Sam Ellis hitting the berms on the lower section
Keagan Shepherd scrubbing his way down to the finish
Fletcher Gallagher flat out on the lower section
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Charlotte Lawton Silva taking the win in female U10 in style
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Esme Drakeley charging to the finish to take the win in female U12
Despite being the only contestant in female 13-14, Orla Broome showed great consistency in both of her race runs
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Harley Harcourt taking fourth place in male U10s
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Sebby Lee took third place in male U10s
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U10 rider Olly Adams crashed in his second race run but had already done enough to take second place
After recovering from a crash in his first run, Finley-James Todd came storming back to take the win in male U10s. There was only 0.3 seconds between the top 4 riders in the most hotly contested category of the day
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Woody Clayton taking the win in male U12
Rowan Williams-Howells first race run was good enough to take the win in the 13-14 age group
Anthony Harvey's storming first run was the fastest of anyone on the hill by 2.75 seconds and won 15-16 category
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