With our series final all set for the Cycle Show on the 25th of September you could imagine our panic on the 1st of September when we got the call to say that dirt jumping was not going to be happening at this years show. Without a venue for the final some serious planning and action was needed straight away. After a call to Freddy Pulman (Canyon/EX) a new venue was found. The only problem we had was there was no course at the venue, That doesnt phase or stop us though as after 9 weekends work a new course was built by Freddy, Dirt Wars Owner Cliff Barbeary and a bit of help from a handfull of guys ready for the final that had been postponed until the 29th of October.
Due to the amount of bad weather we had whilst building the course it was pretty clear the ground would still be soft for the finals. Come the 29th of October the riders arrived and Round 6 was underway.
Due to the size of the course we decided to run a Pro only comp but allowing the Open riders who wanted to ride to get out there and hit the course.
With 10 of the UK’s top riders lined up it was time to get the course open so that practice could begin.
During the practice session Robert Beard took a stack coming up short on the drop which bucked him over the bars, Robert suffered a broken collar bone but will be back next year for more Dirt Jump action (Healing vibes Dude) and Dan Northern took a stack off the 1st jump injuring his nee which also left him unable to compete in the comp.
With Robert and Dan unable to ride Zac Rainbow was the only open rider to compete in the Pro final and boy was he out to show he could keep up with the big boys.
Practice went off well with the guy’s throwing down 360’s Flips, Tuck no-Handers, decades and tailwhips as the guy’s took their time to get used to the course, The only complaint from the riders was how soft the course was but they still got on with it anyway.
After a few hours of practice the riders lined up at the drop ready for their seeding runs to see where they would start in the final. The guy’s still went all out with Alex Cahill throwing flipwhips on the first and Freddy pulling out his Flip tuck’s to barspins. Sam Hodgson put down tobaggons off the Canon and Alfie Stevens was throwing tailwhips on the last alongside Matt jones 360 tucks.
So Matt Jones won the day but there was still the Overall Series scores to total up and see who came where.
Pro Overall Top 3
1st Tom Isted
2nd Tom Reynolds
3rd Harry Campbell
Open Overall
1st Zac Rainbow
2nd Jack Cardy
3rd Josh Venamore
Well done to everyone who competed in this years series, We have had a blast and also proved that there is not much that can stop us from pulling off awesome events over and over again.
Massive thank you to all who helped out with the course build for the final (Freddy Pullman, Tom Isted, Zac Rainbow, Kev+Liam, Ian Black, Harry Campbell, Fin, Brett Cooke and Rachael and her Mum for bringing us coffee).
Massive thanks to all the Riders and Dirtwars Crew for making our 8th year so awesome.
Mega massive thanks to all our Sponsors and Venue owners as without you guys none of this would happen.
We will see you all in 2019 for our 9th year of Dirt Jump Madness #Dirtsnotdead
Cliff and the Dirt Wars Team