Based in Sheffield and fancy trying a downhill race, I’ve done a fair bit of XC racing and some downhilling but fancy trying a bit of racing DH. Can anyone suggest something close (ish)?

Cheers

Not really close, but the Innerleithen Winter Series is a good introduction to racing. Very laid back atmosphere and starts in Feb.

I’m in sheffield and did about 25 dh races last year so am fairly well placed to comment on this. There’s a good calender on here which lists all the races going on.
http://www.rootsandrain.co.uk/calendar.html
Inners winter races are good but there’s a big risk of them suffering with the weather. All 3 last year were struck by ice and runs are limited with the long uplift. If you want something to do a tester then consider one of the mini dh races at the forest of dean. These are cheap, short courses, no uplift events but lots of fun and a good atmosphere.
If you want a full dh race then look at the caersws cup races as a good starter. The Pearce series is the best in the uk in terms of value for money and organisation but there will be more riders at these (300 per race) and entries will sell out very quickly. Caersws cups tend to be quieter and have are more relaxed as a result. The uplift is also super quick so you can get lots of practice in.

Fair point re the weather. They’ve moved them back this year, but anything could happen these days with the weather.

great info there!

Cheers Steve, will check out the website and have a go, beats Rivelin valley uplifting!

The inners races aren’t quite as social either as the vast majority of people will b&b for the weekend. There’ll be a few people camping in the car park but at most summer races 90% of people will camp in the field for the saturday night.

Muddypuddle – No race licence is needed for the Pearce series. Only the national series (BDS) and national champs require a race licence. There are 5 pearce races this year, there will be one each at hopton, bringewood, bucknell and bala and a second at either bringewood or hopton not yet announced publicly.

Fort William endurance DH. No it’s not close, but it’s not close to anyone

Us commentators on the other hand… 🙂

Steveh, were you in the Inners car park in your Transit Connect last year?

Steve is spot on!

Nope I was in the car park in my iveco camper/panel van thing. Far side of the finish by the medics.

Theres a few races here this year.
Simply the most stunning uplift you ever saw.
There’s an uplift there Sunday and a race 20th Feb.
One of the nationals is there this year as well.
The track is also fantasic.

Nae worries, was camping next to a Steve from Sheffield.

the Innerleithen Winter Series is a good introduction to racing. Very laid back atmosphere and starts in Feb.

I don’t really get this cliche. it’s the same people that race the winter series as the SDA, well it’s the more hard core of them and the tracks are usually far more challenging even without the often dodgy weather conditions coming into play. as race/series go SDAs are one of the most laid back friendly series already.
if just starting I’d recomend a local (regional) summer race. agree with Steveh on the social side of it, the campervan racers might be there overnight but it’s dark at 4 so they’ll all be sat inside cozy or off to the pub.

Northern DH series have a few good (but steep/challenging) short tracks in their series and Hamsterly prob about an hour and a half to 2 hour drive from Sheffield. pretty small turnout of mainly locals tho.
Would you be going on your own? Racing is always more fun with friends.

Doing Mini DH at inners – not many entered so far so get on with it!!

Pearce is really good free camping good atmosphere, had a good game of cricket one night.

Remember to chill out and relax wherever you go and say hello to Steve so he can welcome you over the line (without much sarcasm!)

Fair point GW, not much differentiation between WS and SDA. Know what you mean about the social side at night, but I thought it was a good starting point (don’t have much else to compare it to right enough).

Look up http://www.innerleithenmtbracing.com

See if anything takes your fancy – Enduro on 30th of Jan should be good 🙂