VicDH - State Champs -

Liam Panozzo pushes through some woods that would easily fit into a Jurassic Park set.

The final piece of Victorian State Racing is the Victorian State Championships, this year to be held in the scenic Mt. Beauty. Over the years Mt. Beauty has gathered a reputation amongst riders as a very fast and wild track, having held state and national races over the years. This years state championships would be held on the Big Hill course, a long loose and high speed track with high speed rock gardens and flat out fire road sections, a track where the riders ability to trust their bike and let go of the brakes will be the difference in times.

With the track remaining relatively damp from the weeks rain prior the to event it was actually surprisingly tacky, with a few areas being greasy, but as the sun dried these they also became rather tacky. While the fire roads became loose pushing riders to continue to hold it wide open.

Tyson Brogden gets ejected in the rocks, one of the nastiest crashes we saw all weekend

Mac West-moor showing some style over the small kicker near tracks end

With the track open for practice it was the rock gardens catching most riders out, with a few crashes, but mainly riders being surprised to see the big rocks pop up out of no where at such high speeds there was a distinct sound of brakes and skids. Surprisingly the roots weren’t too slippery allowing riders to put maximum trust in their tires over the off camber and corner sections.

As Saturday wrapped up there where plenty of sore bodies strewn over the car park as the long track took its toll on riders. Many headed into town for the presentations for the overall season, partying the night away.

As Sunday arrived there were plenty up bright and early to get in a couple of practice runs before racing, and some not really wanting to leave bed due to the previous evening festivities. All riders would do a seeding run, this would test not only riders ability to maneuverer down the hill but also their fitness due to two race speed runs.

Alex Swann shreds the final corner during practice

When racing began it was clear these runs had worked well, with racing being very tight, producing many spacings of less than a second, very impressive for a track thats so long. With the elite men starting to roll down the hill everything went up a notch and the speeds increased while the gaps decreased, with only the top qualifier to come Oliver Zwar sat in the hot seat, could local Liam Panozzo get the one up over him? Liam crossed the line, taking the win and also taking a further 10 seconds off his already impressive qualifying time.

Shannon Hewitson pushes hard into the afternoon sun

Oskar Catoggio goes into traffic avoidance mode during early rock garden scouting

This wraps up our coverage of the Victorian State Downhill Series for this season, Thanks to everyone involved in running and organising the entire season. Your efforts are much appreciated.

Jason will now continue to cover the downhill, now switching to international coverage, starting in Cairns and continuing for the remainder of the World Cup Season.

Pinner Designs team manager gives us a smile to finish off the season