Round 3 of Irish Downhill NPS made its way to a wet and wild Dunmanway in West Cork last weekend and was hosted by Cork’s 021racing.  With back to back NPS races, having been to Carrick in Wicklow the week previous and with it being a bank holiday and many of the top riders who are heading to Maribor for the 1st World Cup didn’t want to risk injury, many riders opted to skip the round.
 
The 021racing crew had spent months preparing a brand new track for the event, which had a Motorway section at the top like in Fort William, a lot of riders were going 30mph+ and the distance people were getting from the ski jumps was huge!  After the open section, you dropped into some steep woods, with some fast berms and tight turns, then into a very tricky off camber rooty section, which led you down to the infamous Rock Drop, this section caught a lot of riders out, you then hit a series of berms before hitting a ski jump, clearing a load of nasty roots, riders then had to negotiate some seriously tricky off camber and drifty turns before the Finish line.  Riders had to be 100% focused the whole way down the track, one slip in concentration and you were in the dirt!
 
Never the less, a loyal bunch of racers travelled from all over Ireland and Wales!  It’s been a while since we had some competitors from the UK coming over to race our National series, hopefully they will spread the good word!
 
The weather played a huge part in the weekends racing and many riders struggled with the tough course in the dry, but as the weekend progressed and the rain fell, the course turned nasty.  For some it became unridable but to the optomistic riders among us, this was seen as a challenge and one rider in particular Cameron Cornforth riding his DMR hardtail in the Under 14 category, showed how it was done and was rewarded with a fine 3rd place!
 
Once again NACC Events came over to provide the Live Timing and along with Ian Brown on the commentary, spectators and riders were kept up to date every second!  Red bull turned up on both days with much needed energy refreshment for the muddy racers and the Red Bull girls were a sight for muddy eyes!  There was a great atmosphere in around the finish with tunes pumping and the smell of tasty burgers lingering!
 
Down to the racing and in U14 category, it was Dan Sheridan who couldn’t be touched in 1st, followed by Chritopher McGlinchey ans 021racings Cameron Cornforth in 3rd.
 
The U16 category was won by Targan Lewis, 2nd place went to Stephan Graef and Eoghan priestly rounded off the podium in 3rd place.
 
The Super Vets was won by a smiling Tom Sherdian, following his son on to the top of the box!
 
The vets was wrapped up by Carl Young, one of the most recognisable characters on the Irish racing scene, 021’s Antony Cornforth put in a great run to finish 2nd, considering he ran a half marathon in the morning!  Norman McKee dad to one of Irelands quickest Elite riders Gareth, made his way into 3rd.
 
The Sport category caters for beginners and guys returning to the sport after a long absence.  Paul Megarry took the honours, Fran Kearns in 2nd and Kevin Moran in 3rd.
 
The Seniors was invaded by the Welsh boys and they stole the 1st and 2nd places.  Jonathan Morley 1st with Mattew pinches in 2nd and the ever consistent Dave Egan on his new Sunn bike in 3rd, just pipping Denis Corkery by a second!
 
There were a few surprises in the Masters category, with Sean Herlihy ripping through the mud to 1st place and 7th fastest time of the day!  Killarney man Denis O Shea took a very relaxed approach to the race and it paid off with a great 2nd place, just snatching it from podium regular Dale Mcmullan.
 
The Junior category was dominated by Greg Callaghan, who put in a fine run to take 1st place from jonny McKee with Ashley Hemmingway in 3rd place.

                                                
 
Into the Elite category, Colin ross once again proved he is very hard to beat on Irish soil and once again came up trumps with a fantastic win ahead of Greg O’ Keeffe in 2nd and a welcome return to the podium for Tom Power in 3rd, who just returned home from Austrailia, Darren Quille was loving the course and he slid into 4th followed by Gareth Mckee in 5th place.
 
So a big thanks to all involved in 021racing for a great event, just sort out the weather!