A return to mass attendance at the 5th round of the Pearce Series at Bucknell Woods has seen a shake up in the standings, with some close racing denying some the chance to improve on their worst result and some big scores for the Army - but even they weren't quick enough to catch soon-to-be-civvy Ben Deakin who finished 2nd in Expert and notched up his second 20 point maximum of the season. He now holds a commanding lead with a race in hand and only the last Northern Downhill race (Kielder, 20-21 Oct) eligible for CSR points.

Standings post CSR Rd 20 / Bucknell are as follows:

1 Ben Deakin - RNRM - 97pts - 5 races
2 Tim Fleming - Army - 83pts - 6
3= Andrew Lochhead - RAF - 77pts - 6
3= Baz Fenton - RAF - 77pts - 7 (1 result discarded)
5 Ian Churchill - RAF - 65pts - 4
6 James Heal - Army - 61pts - 5
7 Phil Ashcroft - RAF - 57pts - 4
8 Brian Anderson - Army - 52pts - 3
8 Kev Smith - RAF - 50pts - 6
10 Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 31pts - 4
11 Trevor Byrne - Army - 27pts - 5
12 Arnoux Horne - Army - 24pts - 5
13 Matt Forster - Army - 22pts - 3
14 Jack Bennett - Army - 19pts - 4
15= Andy Freegard - Army - 17pts - 4
15= Steven Taylor - Army - 17pts - 4
17= Gaz Lake - Army - 12pts - 2
17= Etienne Gray - RAF - 12pts - 4
19 Nick Larkin - RAF - 11pts - 2
20 Martin Parsons - RAF - 10pts - 2
21 Luke Mortimer - Army - 8pts - 2
22 Martin Loveridge - Army - 7pts - 1
23 Alex Wood - RAF - 6pts - 1
24= Paul Rogers - RAF - 5pts - 1
24= Charles Price - Army - 5pts - 5
26 Andy Macmillan - RAF - 3pts - 2
27= Nicole Way- RAF - 2pts - 1
27= Jim Harvey - RAF - 2pts - 1
27= John Summerton - RAF - 2pts - 1
27= Justin Revell - Army - 2pts - 1
27= Rob Birmingham - Army - 2pts - 2
27= Rob Griffiths - Army - 2pts - 2
33= Richard Sorby - Army - 1pt - 1
33= Richard Yockney - Army - 1pt - 1

Most up to date standings pre Pearce round 5.

More updates: SDA 5 (Ae Forest) saw Tim Fleming again taking the win, but this time bythe narrowest of margins from a flying Phil Ashcroft, who just missed thepodium in Masters. Andy Lochhead and Kev Smith had their own personal tusslefor 3rd and 4th inbetween crashes.
Paul Whitelegge took the win at Aston Hill from Steve Taylor, with Nick 'Pops'Larkin and Martin Parsons taking 3rd and 4th.
The net result is some big gains for Paul W who moves up to 10th, Kev Smith isnow 8th, Phil Ashcroft moves up to 6th, Tim Flemingis now lead Army rider in 4th and Andy Lochhead is now joint leader with BenDeakin and Baz Fenton, all on 77 pts.
Andy and Baz have used their 6 races, so any further races have to score higherthan their current lowest score to improve. If no-one does any more racesthey'll be separated using their highest score - Baz's best round was 14 pts,Andy's was 15pts and the Deakinator has a 20pt maximum - so you'd best findanother race fellas!
Standings post CSR Rd 19 / Aston Hill are as follows:
1= Ben Deakin - RNRM - 77pts - 4 races
1= Andrew Lochhead - RAF - 77pts - 6
1= Baz Fenton - RAF - 77pts - 6
4 Tim Fleming - Army - 68pts - 5
5 Ian Churchill - RAF - 65pts - 4
6 Phil Ashcroft - RAF - 57pts - 4
7 Brian Anderson - Army - 52pts - 3
8 Kev Smith - RAF - 50pts - 6
9 James Heal - Army - 48pts - 4
10 Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 29pts - 3
11 Trevor Byrne - Army - 26pts - 4
12 Matt Forster - Army - 22pts - 3
13 Arnoux Horne - Army - 16pts - 4
14 Andy Freegard - Army - 15pts - 3
15 Steven Taylor - Army - 14pts - 3
16 Jack Bennett - Army - 13pts - 3
17 Gaz Lake - Army - 12pts - 2
18 Nick Larkin - RAF - 11pts - 2
19 Martin Parsons - RAF - 10pts - 2
20 Luke Mortimer - Army - 8pts - 2
21= Martin Loveridge - Army - 7pts - 1
21= Etienne Gray - RAF - 7pts - 3
23 Alex Wood - RAF - 6pts - 1
24 Paul Rogers - RAF - 5pts - 1
25 Charles Price - Army - 4pts - 4
26= Nicole Way- RAF - 2pts - 1
26= Andy Macmillan - RAF - 2pts - 1
26= Jim Harvey - RAF - 2pts - 1
26= John Summerton - RAF - 2pts - 1
26= Justin Revell - Army - 2pts - 1
26= Rob Birmingham - Army - 2pts - 2
26= Rob Griffiths - Army - 2pts - 2
33= Richard Sorby - Army - 1pt - 1

Latest standings CSR etc

Ok busy period coming again with the Army champs week taking place down at Tidworth Freeride next week and Pearce round the following weekend also, hopefully the weather will dry up otherwise its mud tyres all round( which we can get even cheaper now)!

Below is the latest CSR standings, the boys in blue are starting to creep back in at the top, not good but still long way to go, cmon James!

Also please take a look at this: http://www.cycletyre.com/help-heroes-race if you can make get ya name down gonna be cracking, lots hard work gone into to this so please support if you can!

The above event is being held at Hamsterly Forest on 29/30 Sep 12 confirmed entries such as Danny Hart
Adam Brayton
Sam Dale
Scott Mears
Jack Reading


DH and 4X!

Please enter and help this fantastic cause with top tracks, good atmosphere, Evening activities include a trackside BBQ and live DJ!

Standings post CSR Rd11 / SDA Rd 3 - Pitfitchie are as follows:
1 Baz Fenton - RAF - 63pts - 5 races
2 Ben Deakin - RNRM - 58pts - 3
3 Brian Anderson - Army - 52pts - 3
4 James Heal - Army - 48pts - 4
5 Ian Churchill - RAF - 47pts - 3
6 Andrew Lochhead - RAF - 36pts - 3
7 Phil Ashcroft - RAF - 29pts - 2
8 Tim Fleming - Army - 23pts - 2
9 Kev Smith - RAF - 22pts - 3
10 Matt Forster - Army - 18pts - 2
11 Arnoux Horne - Army - 16pts - 4
12 Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 14pts - 2
13 Jack Bennett - Army - 10pts - 2
14= Luke Mortimer - Army - 8pts - 2
14= Trevor Byrne - Army - 8pts - 2
16= Martin Loveridge - Army - 7pts - 1
16= Andy Freegard - Army - 7pts - 2
16= Etienne Gray - RAF - 7pts - 3
19= Gaz Lake - Army - 6pts - 1
19= Alex Wood - RAF - 6pts - 1
21 Paul Rogers - RAF - 5pts - 1
22 Martin Parsons - RAF - 4pts - 1
23= Nick Larkin - RAF - 3pts - 1
23= Charles Price - Army - 3pts - 3
25= Nicole Way- RAF - 2pts - 1
25= Andy Macmillan - RAF - 2pts - 1
25= Jim Harvey - RAF - 2pts - 1
25= Justin Revell - Army - 2pts - 1
25= Rob Birmingham - Army - 2pts - 2
25= Rob Griffiths - Army - 2pts - 2
32= Steven Taylor - Army - 1pt - 1
32= Richard Sorby - Army - 1pt - 1
32= Sam Poxton - Army - 1pt - 1
32= Darren Holden - Army - 1pt - 1

Those sneaky boys in blue are creeping back up, not good!
Number of races counted are given after the points total as requested. Standings post CSR Rd 9/ PCS Rd 3 - Bringewood are as follows:

1 Baz Fenton - RAF - 63pts - 5 races
2 Ben Deakin - RNRM - 58pts - 3
3 Brian Anderson - Army - 52pts - 3
4 James Heal - Army - 48pts - 4
5 Ian Churchill - RAF - 34pts - 2
6 Andrew Lochhead - RAF - 25pts - 2
7 Matt Forster - Army - 18pts - 2
8 Arnoux Horne - Army - 16pts - 4
9 Kev Smith - RAF - 15pts - 2
10 Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 14pts - 2
11 Phil Ashcroft - RAF - 13pts - 1
12 Jack Bennett - Army - 10pts - 2
13= Luke Mortimer - Army - 8pts - 2
13= Trevor Byrne - Army - 8pts - 2
15= Martin Loveridge - Army - 7pts - 1
15= Andy Freegard - Army - 7pts - 2
15= Etienne Gray - RAF - 7pts - 3
18= Gaz Lake - Army - 6pts - 1
18= Alex Wood - RAF - 6pts - 1
20= Paul Rogers - RAF - 5pts - 1
20= Tim Fleming - Army - 5pts - 1
22 Martin Parsons - RAF - 4pts - 1
23= Nick Larkin - RAF - 3pts - 1
23= Charles Price - Army - 3pts - 3
25= Nicole Way- RAF - 2pts - 1
25= Andy Macmillan - RAF - 2pts - 1
25= Jim Harvey - RAF - 2pts - 1
25= Justin Revell - Army - 2pts - 1
25= Rob Birmingham - Army - 2pts - 2
25= Rob Griffiths - Army - 2pts - 2
32= Steven Taylor - Army - 1pt - 1
32= Richard Sorby - Army - 1pt - 1
32= Sam Poxton - Army - 1pt - 1
32= Darren Holden - Army - 1pt - 1

Latest CSR Standings!

 Standings post CSR Rd 6 / WDMBA Rd 1 - Rheola are as follows:
1 Brian Anderson - Army - 52pts
2 Ben Deakin - RNRM - 38pts
3 James Heal - Army - 37pts
4 Baz Fenton - RAF - 37pts
5 Ian Churchill - RAF - 18pts
6= Andrew Lochhead - RAF - 15pts
6= Arnoux Horne - Army - 15pts
8 Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 14pts
9 Phil Ashcroft - RAF - 13pts
10 Jack Bennett - Army - 10pts
11 Matt Forster - Army - 9pts
12= Kev Smith - RAF - 8pts
12= Luke Mortimer - Army - 8pts
14= Martin Loveridge - 7pts
14= Andy Freegard - Army - 7pts
16= Gaz Lake - Army - 6pts
16= Alex Wood - RAF - 6pts
18 Paul Rogers - RAF - 5pts
19= Martin Parsons - RAF - 4pts
19= Etienne Gray - RAF - 4pts
21 Nick Larkin - RAF - 3pts
22= Trevor Byrne - Army - 2pts
22= Nicole Way - RAF - 2pts
22= Andy Macmillan - RAF - 2pts
22= Jim Harvey - RAF - 2pts
22= Rob Birmingham - Army - 2pts
22= Charles Price - Army - 2pts
22= Rob Griffiths - Army - 2pts
29= Steven Taylor - Army - 1pt
29= Richard Sorby - Army - 1pt
29= Sam Poxton - Army - 1pt
29= Darren Holden - Army - 1pt
Well done Brian for deposing The Deakinator from the No.1 spot, there's a good scrap lining up for the rest of the podium though

Current CSR Standings!

Ok so after round 1 of Pearce the results and standings look like this:
1 Ben Deakin - RNRM - 2:23.2 - Exp_______16_______10_______8________18
2 Brian Anderson - Army - 2:25.8 - Sen____13_______8________8________16
3 James Heal - Army - 2:32.9 - Sen_______42_______6________6________12
4 Martin Shipman - Army - 2:33.6 - Sen____45_______5________6________11
5 Baz Fenton - RAF - 2:38.4 - Mas_________30_______4________5________9
6 Matt Forster - Army - 02:39.4 - Sen______67_______3________5________8
7 Luke Mortimer - Army - 02:42.1 - Sen____75_______2________4________6
8 Paul Rogers - RAF - 02:49.1 - Sen_______91_______1________3________4
9 Andrew Freegard - Army - 02:49.6 - Sen__92_______0________3________3
10 Jack Bennett - Army - 02:52.4 - Mas____46_______0________2________2
11 Etienne Gray - RAF - 02:52.7 - Sen_____98_______0________2________2
12 Arnoux Horne - Army - 02:53.6 - Sen___99_______0________2________2
13 Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 02:54.0 - Mas__47_______0________2________2
14 Trevor Byrne - Army - 02:55.9 - Vet____13_______0________2________2
15 Richard Sorby - Army - 03:06.7 - Sen___106______0________1________1
16 Rob Birmingham - Army - 03:11.5 - Sen_107______0________1________1
17 Charles Price - Army - 03:13.0 - Sen____108______0________1________1
18 Sam Poxton - Army - 03:17.8 - Vet______22_______0________1________1
19 Rob Griffiths - Army - 03:19.2 - Mas_____53_______0________1________1
20 Darren Holden - Army - 03:32.5 - Sen___109_______0________1________1

So CSR standings are :


 1 Ben Deakin - RNRM - 38pts
2 James Heal - Army - 36pts
3 Brian Anderson - Army - 34pts
4 Baz Fenton - RAF - 23pts
5 Ian Churchill - RAF - 18pts
6 Andrew Lochhead - RAF - 15pts
7= Paul Whitelegge - RAF - 14pts
7= Arnoux Horne - Army - 14pts
8= Phil Ashcroft - RAF - 13pts
12 Jack Bennett - Army - 9pts
13= Matt Forster - Army - 8pts
13= Kev Smith - RAF - 8pts
15 Luke Mortimer - Army - 7pts
16= Alex Wood - RAF - 6pts
16= Martin Loveridge - 6pts
18= Gaz Lake - Army - 5pts
18= Andy Freegard - Army - 5pts
20= Paul Rogers - RAF - 4pts
20= Martin Parsons - RAF - 4pts
20= Etienne Gray - RAF - 4pts
23 Nick Larkin - RAF - 3pts
24= Trevor Byrne - Army - 2pts
24= Nicole Way - RAF - 2pts
24= Andy Macmillan - RAF - 2pts
24= Jim Harvey - RAF - 2pts
24= Rob Birmingham - Army - 2pts
24= Charles Price - Army - 2pts
24= Rob Griffiths - Army - 2pts
31= Steven Taylor - Army - 1pt
31= Richard Sorby - Army - 1pt
31= Sam Poxton - Army - 1pt
31= Darren Holden - Army - 1pt

Looks bit out of sorts at mo thats because cpl names come off that were nt to be counted. Could nt be arsed formatting!

Big well done guys!!

More piccies!

Jack Bennett at Hamsterly.

Extreme knowhow events Cannock Chase

This race was round 4 of the winter series and saw Martin Loveridge and myself take on Wonderland fresh back from Wales hoping to put all the good training into practice.

Well this was done with Martin who posted and placed a very respectable time of 59.996s placing him 4th overall in masters, myself not so good after catching the rider in front on my seeding run gave me a very low start time and could nt the time back finishing 8th in the old giys cat with a time off 1:08.281.

Report here:
The track used for the race was ‘Wonderland’, only announced last thing on Saturday so no-one could get sneaky practice before race day. This was a one-day push-up event, proper ‘grassroots’ racing, but a sunny start to the day meant there were plenty of riders arriving on the day to sign up, including quite a few first-time racers. Although this was Round 4 of the EKH Winter Series, it certainly wasn’t winter weather. The track looked fairly straightforward, but with a couple of interesting corners that continued to catch riders out all day.



The format for the race day was practice in the morning followed by one timed seeding run then two race runs. There was some fairly vocal disapproval from some riders when one corner was re-taped during practice to make it more of challenge, but after some ‘discussion’ a compromise was sorted out. The seeding run was fairly uneventful as riders didn’t push too hard, then things started to liven up in the first race run. Sam Maddison looked on good form, but ended up tangled in a fallen tree 5 yards from the finish line

Then Adam Morris had a disagreement with a tree on the fastest part of the course, and the race was stopped for about an hour while Adam was sorted out by the medics and taken off by ambulance. He ended up with neck, shoulder and arm injuries, I’m sure everyone wishes him a speedy recovery. Thanks go out to the medics, marshalls and commissaire involved in looking after Adam and getting him to the ambulance, and also to the Racer’s Guild member who cycled up and down the forest several times to make sure the ambulance ended up in the right place.

 There were quite a few members of the public spectating, and there was a mixture of disbelief that downhillers crash so much, but also admiration for the way all involved helped to look after a fallen rider, and the patience of other riders waiting to compete.
After racing resumed, Elliot Machin, the only Elite rider put in a careful run (riding part of the course one-handed!) after being injured the week before, leaving local riders Andrew Hughes and Adam Halling to fight for top honours in Expert. Andrew led after the first run, and although Adam improved slightly in the second run it wasn’t enough to take first place. Scott Barley took first place in Seniors, not far behind the Expert riders. The timing tent was right next to the finish line, so there was a good atmosphere at the bottom of the track as riders gathered to watch the times, allowing for cheering / heckling as riders crossed the line. The biggest cheer of the day was for Jack Thompson, as he went over the bars 5 yards from the finish, picked up his bike and ran for the line.”

Remember the Extreme knowhow series give us 50% on entries on producing our MOD 90 so no excuses for not having a go at some of their events this summer!

Few pics from last cpl months!

As the above says, would be more if guys actually bought them!! Seriously tho can be quite expensive all the pics so heres a few free ones!

Rich Yockney at PORC.

Brian Anderson at Cannock Chase

Martin Loveridge at Cwmcarn Welsh Epic

Sorbs FOD Welsh Epic

Latest stuff!

Well it was the first round of the Pearce series at Bringewood so I ll pass this bit over to Jack for a race report from this!

 With 2011 now a distant memory away it was the British Army’s downhill mountain bike teams rookie year along with a huge learning curve on how to form a mountain bike team and keep it running smoothly with 20 riders to kit out and keep informed of constant changes and progress.
2012 was a massive change in progress in both rider numbers and team support having teamed up with speacialized bikes and the team growing to 30 riders ranging from 19 - 44 years old of all ranks from private to the dizzy heights of Major, As a team it will be very difficult for us to ever be all together in one place at any one time due to work commitments etc so the way round this is we have entered 20 riders into the Pearce cycles race series this year in order for us to make some sort of impact and be seen to be racing at the top of UK racing and to be seen we had a big image change,
The main change was our team kit and suppliers with us still using Royal racing clothing for everything apart from our new tops who are now printed and supplied by RSD sports in Wigan Lancashire providing us with our own custom design so that we can be seen and stand out in the public eye as mountain bikers as well as soldiers doing some thing they love and enjoy that is a break from the norm to what is usually seen in the media.
Having had all winter to muster a team together and let every one who could train do there own thing unless those who where on tour doing there duty or otherwise injured from accidents through out the 2011 season we still managed to get a few winter races under our belts and pull in some impressive results with veteran rider zak needham getting several podiums in the veterans category and senior riders james heal and brian Anderson getting very good results also.
As the end of march approached us it was almost time for our annual training camp in Wales to meet up as a team and blow off any cobwebs collected over the winter months, the training week was planned before the 2012 racing calendar was published and it was then set in stone for march as racing usually starts in April until a spanner was put in the works and Pearce cycles round 1 was booked in on the weekend for the start of our training week so already things where starting back to front. We collected and regrouped as a team and prepared to get racing instead with allot of guys finding the last of the winter races to help race prep.




RACE WEEKEND PEARCE CYCLES ROUND 1 2012
Whilst the world’s best riders were battling it out in a hot and sunny South Africa, 300 odd UK riders were enjoying the first round of the Pearce Cycles Series at Bringewood this weekend. Though not quite as hot, the weather was pretty awesome for March, with warm sunshine on Saturday whilst the surrounding areas suffered from some pretty heavy showers. The rain tried to move in on Sunday but didn’t really affect the track and soon dried up and returned to sunny blue skies.
For those of you who may or may not know bringewood from the start hill, the far left track was used, with some new sections dug in to keep things interesting. The usual step down over the road was in, but the approach was a little bit different with some good pump to be had off a little down slope just before it, if you wanted then landing on what could only be described as the wet cobbles of coronation street which seemed to be catching allot of riders out all weekend.
Down to the next fire road the track was the same as usual, with the twisting bermy trail providing loads of fun and finishing with the bomb hole jumps where hitting the drop in smooth was vital in order to make a good approach for the step up in to the double that if any one got the landing wrong you where thrown off line for the next corner that led you out  just before a short pedal across the fire road and across the open section that was like moto whoops and just all out flowy fun and was also home to the speed trap.
Instead of bearing left or straight on at the end of this section there was a new section which cut across to the right and provided a bit of interest and new-ness to get to grips with. The track then cut across the final fire road a little bit further right than usual and then joined up with the left-most track in the bottom section. High speed fun was the name of the weekend through the tight and twisty tree line hitting jumps and drops as you approached the final stretch of your run hitting a twisty single track the spectators became louder and the voice from the tannoy more clear as you hit three drops in to a berm to a big drop in for the final table top in for a sprint finish to a good crowd who cheered every 1 on as they slogged their way home,
even the rain couldn’t dampen spirits or the track with drizzle on Friday and Saturday night. Tyre choice was obviously something dry and fast, although a few people were running mud tyres to offer a bit of extra grip in the dust, although there was the obvious compromise in rolling resistance.
The Pearce’s usual excellent uplift service provided a swift and efficient route up the hill, with some people managing 5 runs during the 2 hour Sunday morning practice slot, and most people well into double figures on Saturday.

This year Shukers Subaru are speed trap sponsors. There's £50 up for grabs for the fastest guy and girl through the speed trap at each round. Junior rider Isaac Anderson took it for the guys this round, and Emma Wareham got the gas down for the girls.

On Sunday Racing started around the 11 o’clock mark and things got underway pretty smoothly as usual. Of note was the massive senior category - 109 competitors in all, and it was the closest fought too, with first to fourth separated by less than half a second with two of our riders pulling out impressive times with Brian Anderson finishing in 13th and James heal in 33rd with other riders still making the top 50.
We had riders in almost every category this week end with some riders used to the big event pressure and other having their eyes opened to what serious racing is all about but he end result was the same for us all in that we all had fun racing our bikes.
Full results, including split times and speed trap info can be found on Pearce Cycles,

A massive thanks to all those who support the team and a huge thank you to

Renthal
Specialized
RSD sports
Hope technology
Cycletyre.com
Muc-off
O Neal