please check the link and look at results http://www.pinkbike.com/news/fort-william-dh-world-cup-essential-guide-2016.html
year 2005 and older , winners like Steve Peat , Cedric Gracia and others had time around 4m10s -ish
so question is how much the tracked changed ? Does anyone remembers the track in 2005? Its weaird. as new guys like gwin etc have times about extra 30 seconds. considering the new bike technology geometry suspension etc. one would say that they would have times under 4 min mark actually unless the track changed massively.

They moved the start hut further up the hill at some point. Might have been around 2004/5

The course alters its changed again this year.

The new start was used in 2007 for the world champs. 2006 was still the old start. Various other changes have been made along the way with the motorway having being redesigned a few years ago with bigger jumps and there is a new bottom section again this year

I raced an SDA there in 04/5 ish on a 5″ bike (badly)
As said the track started in the middle of the moor then close to where the boards end.
It was nothing like the current course in lots of places, the motorway is very different

The one thing that stays the same is the weather….

The original track, 2000/1 maybe, not only started much lower but also turned left at the fire road after the tight trees, before the motorway. It the then ran across the hill with a long flat pedal (just what you need at this stage after riding that terrain with a 150mm fork) before dropping down and entering the car park in the corner at the very far side from the gondola! Even by 2005 there were big changes from the ‘original’, then it’s changed a lot since.

Anyone know what year the motorway was added? Possibly 2002 looking at the early times, big drop after the first race.

The elevator section after the Tissot arch was pretty special. Even riding it was tough in those days, let alone death grip and jump into the back of the 4x berm which took me all weekend to work up to.

Anyone know when the 4x track was added?

4x was there 04/5 I remember the drop from the tissiot arch in 04 bottoming out everything. Jumping into the 4x was different back then

The elevator section after the Tissot arch was pretty special. Even riding it was tough in those days, let alone death grip and jump into the back of the 4x berm which took me all weekend to work up to.

When they first started using the elevator you hit a small berm after it and turned slightly right, up a small rise and then finished further to the right than it is now.

Memories of Ian McIntosh ruining the back end of his ATX will live on for a long time!