The Specialized Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge is one event held simultaneously with a whole range of other events in Indonesia, think of it as the closest style ofA�event the region has to Sea Otter. We are just going to focus on the downhill, here is what Chris Berry had to say about the event as well as Junior Aussie Jackson Davis;
Looking back we realised that the only dry race we have had was in 2009. It has always been a wet race and I think thata��s what made the event different from other races around the region. The pros got to ride the track in all conditions, dry, intermediate and really wet. Summing up the comments from the riders after the track walk on Friday was that the track was quite mellow. Fun is the word when ita��s dry. For the first two runs the riders were still getting the feel of the track. Dan had a crashed at the entrance of the pinball section. Marc was looking super-fast, Mitch and Brendan was boosting the small chute trying to clear a section in one go. Neko was flying at the top section. Christian, the brother of Brendan, also decided to join the race and he was having fun riding the track. Jackson Davis was here few months ago and won his category. However, this time we were using different line which he thought was way better and so much faster. He was doing runs with the elite guys and tagging along was United Bike Kencana International upcoming rider Adrian Aakre. These two were flying and whipping all the jumps.
Just as they thought they had it under control in comes the rain! Then all of a sudden ita��s game on. Never have you seen so many pro riders hitting the deck and not once but a couple of times. Brendan Fairclough and Mitch Ropelato were telling us, never before had they rode a track that is like riding on tiles or ice…. Like last year, we see a lot of riders getting confused which tires they wanted to run. The whole weekend was like two seasons in one day. Wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon or vice versa. The track was drying out for seeding although rain fell after the official practice on Friday. Some riders are sticking with wet tires. The pros were running intermediate and cut spikes. The track was so much grippier than Friday and there was some fast action in seeding. Jackson Davis took the lead with 2.43.8. The Women Elite field only had 3 riders and they were all from Indonesia. This is one category we want to see more riders in the future. The Elite men was the last to come down as the clouds were rolling in.
The Elite men started with Dan Atherton coming down 1st, the line he took was an eye opener and the speed he was carrying was mental! He posted the fastest time for the day with 2.29.3, Mitch Ropelato in 2nd, Marc Beaumont 3rd, Agung Fambudi the National series leader in 4th and Popo in 5th. Brendan FaircloughA�was way down in 10th and Neko MulallyA�in 16th. Young Aussie Jackson Davis took the win in the Youth category with 2.42.7, making it 2 from 2 for his Indonesia races this year. John Derrick Farr from the Phillipines came in 2nd, Abien in 3rd, Henri Fitra 4th, Multi Gangsar round up the podium in 5th. Adrian Aakre was just off the podium this time in 6th. The rain fell right after the seeding run and it didn’t stop until 11pm. The sun came out stronger then on Saturday, riders were taking the morning 1 hour practice time very seriously. The track was slippery and they all said that the track was so beat up making it harder to stay up right. The condition stayed the same until lunch time, then water came down like it was being poured from the sky. Some sections of the track turned into small streams! For the local riders, this condition is the best condition because the track has better grip and the mud tires can dig into the clayiest ground.
With the heavy rain falling more spectators were on the track, they wanted to see how the worlda��s best riders handled the technical parts of the track. They were cheering like mad for every Elite rider passing through. We saw riders crashing and falling as they tried to stand up. Dan Atherton finally wins it with 2.39.2, followed by his team mate Marc Beaumont in 2nd, Mitch Ropelato 3rd, Popo in 4th and Neko Mulally, despite a top section crash, still managed to get the last spot on the podium. Brendan Fairclough crashed at the pedalling section and this put him way down the order in 24th place.
We caught up with Aussie junior Jackson Davis and this is what he had to say about the event;
Well we were racing in a place called Bandung, about 3 hours out of Jakarta, the track we raced was called Chikole, which is actually part of a volcano. Last time I raced there in June it was dry but it was the wet season over there this time and after a few showers it was definitely the slipperiest thing I’ve ridden. The locals said ita��s something to do with the soil. The rain was kind of on and off all week which made the track pretty gluggy and slow to race on, it was a different track since last time, with a new top section which was probably the most technical part. Then there were some steep corners and drops, then it came to the old section where it was really fast, full of corners and breaking bumps and then the pedal… Haha the pedal section was probably a little over 30 seconds, with a few cool jumps along the way, which eventually led into some fun corners and jumps towards the finish! On race day I was lucky enough to have a semi dry run and ended up winning youth with a time of 2.42, which I was stoked with! At about lunch time was when the rain hit, making it a super wild race for the Elite boys definitely the heaviest rain all week! It was Dan Atherton taking the win with a 2.39, he was just too good for the local boys! All in all it was a sick event they really know how to put a show on up there big thanks to Andre Palmer, FJC, Specialized and Kabuto helmets.
With the event all done and in the books of history, the boys headed off to Bali for some relaxing time and to get a tan for few days. The organisers would like to thank all the participants and sponsors for making the event possible and even bigger this year. See you all next year…
Article and photos: Andrew Palmer/Christopher Berry