As the third round of the Southridge Winter Series commences, the race for the overall Downhill points race has really shaped up to be a close battle for the win.
Waylon Smith, John Keep, and Logan Binggeli have closed up the gap between each other in the downhill, more than ever points are vital to staying alive for the championship overall. Typical Southern California weather presented itself with sunny warm weather and blue skies for the race weekend. Fontana, California always has a trick or two up its sleeve, unfortunately the wind gusts were back and playing havoc on spectators, racers, and media a like. This made for a thrilling finals.
The Fontana Winter Series has settled in and is halfway through, but the race for the Championship overall looks to be decided all the way to the last race. As usual the pits were noisy and alive with action. Teams were preparing their bikes for the long abusive weekend and vendors were looking for sales and new interests. Rumors were being thrown back and forth with news that Aaron Gwin was in attendance for this race on his newly acquired Trek Session.
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| The rumors were true. Gwin was at Fontana to race his new Trek Session |
When speaking with Gwin, he said that he had only been on the bike that weekend. This would be the debut and first ride on the new bike. He also spoke that this Winter Series would be a great transition into the new race season. Gwin only had positive things to speak about the new bike. Placing on the podium this weekend was a great way to start off the new season with Trek World Racing.
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| Blake Carney talks about race strategy with the KHS Team |
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| Riders were out in flocks waiting for the shuttle to pick them and their bikes up |
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| John Keep and James Visser hanging out in the Banshee Bikes booth |
The 4X finals were held on a warm and breezy Saturday afternoon. Baking in the Southern California sun, racers and fans lined the course in excitement for the 4X event. Once the gate was set up practice started up and the competition looked quick right out of the first gate. The Pro finals were looking to be a fiery event.
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| Riders discuss various lane and line options throughout the course |
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| Eric Carter, Jarrod Jakubiak, and Blake Carney get their snap on |
The Pro class filtered through the riders and ended up with Blake Carney, Dale Holmes, David Graf, and Eric Carter. Right out of the gate the race was neck and neck. Dale Holmes got the snap on everyone and led to the middle of the course. At the technical rhythm section Dale Holmes was swiftly passed by Southern California local, Eric Carter. David Graf put in a last effort and got past Blake Carney for third position. The racing was decided on the last section, shows that it's never over until it's over.
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| Holmes, Carter, Carney, and Graf rail through the berm in single file |
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| Carter gets by Holmes and Graf edges closer for the pass on Carney |
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| Men's Pro Podium |
Official Pro Men's Results
1. Eric Carter
2. Dale Holmes
3. David Graf
4. Blake Carney
Sunday Downhill Finals Waking up to the pleasant sunny and breezy weather was great. Again, Fontana turns the tides and the windy gusts were back and reeking havoc on everyone. The top section was difficult for riders because the winds would throw riders offline with its unpredictable direction. Regardless, riders were up early and eager to challenge the wind.
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| Riders were up and ready to shred right out of the gate |
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| Thanks to the dust, Golden Hour was upon us in the morning |
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| Riders have to scrounge up the energy to scrub this last hump after the "Wall" section |
From the rider response, riders were really pleased with this course compared to those in the past. Riders were subjected to a steep rock section right out the gate, then they were thrown into some left right turns before entering the wide open section. Spectators might not have liked this section, but riders were pretty thrilled with it. Throwing themselves into braking bump littered sections with some quick turns at top gear was exciting to examine the various riding styles of riders coming down from amateur to professional. After those sections riders were put to the test with the famous "Wall." The "Wall" is a part of every course, it tests your endurance and pedaling power by making you sprint down a straight that leads to the finish line.
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| John Keep could only best a 7th place |
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| Rich Houseman put in a good effort and placed 6th |
Both John Keep and Rich Houseman have had great consistency this series. Unfortunately they were just off the podium. Keep was messing around with tire combinations and was trying out the usual semi-slick, but flatted three times in practice. Depriving him with quality practice and confidence the flats didn't help Keep all weekend, but he did a valiant effort and placed within the top 10.
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| Just sneaking onto the podium, Kevin Aiello placed 5th |
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| Eric Carter showing the young guns how it's done, 4th place |
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| Second day on the bike and Aaron Gwin places 3rd, amazing |
Aaron Gwin was a ninja all day. Riding in generic gear, with just a black tee shirt and race shorts, it was hard to spot him out from the locals other than his smooth style. Waylon Smith looked good all practice, every section was dialed looking from him. Not only did his technical riding looked good but his fitness was top notch. Logan Binggeli has had a stellar two races. Binggeli is really coming into his own and is making it worthwhile. Taking the win by over half of a second showed that Binggeli snatched the win from Smith.
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| Putting the fight for the overall, Waylon Smith places 2nd |
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| Logan Binggeli killed it and snagged another 1st of the season |
Official Pro Men's Results
Logan Binggeli- 02:08:84
Waylon Smith- 02:09:25
Aaron Gwin- 02:09:79
Eric Carter- 02:10:25
Kevin Aiello- 02:11:41
Rich Houseman- 02:11:61
John Keep- 02:12:46
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| Pro Men's Podium |
For more results check on
Southridge USA Thanks for all that came out! See you guys at the next race on February 19-20
-Tony "Double T" Tarumoto
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