After a taxing roadtrip from Johannesburg we finally arrived in the Mother City for 2 weekends of gravity racing and fun. We had more fun than we should have at the various concerts and parties on Thursday and Friday night and only arrived at the Houwteq Complex at 10am, 2 hours after the scheduled start time. Unfortunately the start of practice had been delayed as the track was wet from the light rain that fell the night before.

The gloomy clouds and chilly wind had no effect on the excitement and anticipation for this year’s event. Upon arrival, there was an indescribable feeling of happiness as old friends in the downhill family re-united. Smiles painted on everyone’s faces as hugs and handshakes were exchanged. For us it was topped with pride as we saw a lot of our Jo’Burg downhill friends that had been skating with us since we started. It is very difficult to describe the unity that is shared in the downhill family.

After registration and tech inspection were completed, marshals were prepped and placed in in anticipation for the 1st practice runs. The first rider was sent down around noon.

The Houwteq hill looks like a straight forward hill but soon enough the riders learnt she is a little scarier than she looks. The course starts with a long right hand bend, always longer than you think it is. There’s a long straight section after the corner  with a hay bale chicane halfway down. At the exit of the chicane the gradient increases to it’s steepest just before the daunting tight right hand bend before reaching the finish line. If that wasn’t enough to scare you, add the intense tail wind down the straight to the mix and you have an epic downhill course. Only the riders can tell you the fear and excitement this hill brings on.

Qualifying got underway around 4pm, the organizers were faced with a daunting task to make sure all the riders got 2 timed runs before sunset. With 39 Open Stand Up, 15 Junior Stand Up, 4 Women Stand Up, 5 Street Luge and 5 Classic Luge, this was not an easy task. The timing system worked really well and all the riders got to set their times efficiently with very few crashes taking place. See qualifying times below.

The evening was spent at the Back 2 Basics camp site close to the hill. Everyone was still buzzing on a high from their qualifying runs. As things settled in, tired bodies were warmed by the camp fire and everyone was introduced to a new game called “NINJA.” Once the rules were clearly explained, the next 3 hours turned into the ultimate ninja face-off. Great entertainment to add to the epic weekend. Once all the excitement died down, everyone retired to their wind chilled dorms. Some riders fell in to deeper sleeps than others so much so that the snoring started to sound like a mental dupstep party. So with intermittent sleep, the campsite became alive again around 6:30am.

Sunday morning, upon arrival, we were welcomed with sunny skies and no wind, a true reflection to the temperamental Western Cape weather. Nevertheless, excitement doubled from the day before as riders began practice runs around 10am. The spectators started rolling in early and there was a DJ on the bottom corner keeping the crowds pumped up as they watched top class gravity racing.

Once the race heats started, the level of skating got more intense with the wind picking slightly up and competition getting hotter. Towards the last few rounds of racing, there were a few hectic crashes needing the medics to attend but no serious injuries were sustained. More than anything, emotions were affected more as riders were feeling super competitive. There were a few upsets in the racing. World Champ Mischo Erban was crashed out off the push in his quater finals heat. Number one qualifier, Oliver Nielsen was sent into bales as Stefan Rufli took the inside line on him in the last corner in their semi final heat. Matt Arderne ended up in the hay in that heat as well allowing Stefan Rufli and Richard Dweza to make it through to the semi finals. Number 2 qualifier Paul du Plessis came to the final corner miles ahead in his semi final heat but came in way too hot and ploughed straight into the hay bales. He  then went on to win the consolation finals with a steazy speed check in the final corner that made the crowd go wild.

All in all it was an epic race day and by the end of the day, the same excited feeling of unity and family was clearly evident as riders and spectators cheered the prize winners and top achievers at this year’s event.

All eyes now on this weekend’s World Cup Series Finale at Hot Heels Africa 2011.

Check out the video report of Houwteq HDX 2011 by Matt Arderne

Houwteq HDX 2011: Qualifying results

OPEN STANDUP

1 Oliver Nielsen – 57.18sec

2 Paul Du Plessis – 58sec

3 Tobjørn Sunde – 58.03sec

4 Misho Erban – 58.06sec

5 Murray Chandler – 58.55sec

6 Anton Pratt – 58.98sec

7 Glen Phillips – 59.07sec

8 Mike Upham – 59.27sec

 

JUNIOR STANDUP

1 Adam Lincoln-Lewis – 59.86sec

2 Nick Hook – 1min 0.75sec

3 Sam Jakins – 1min 01.15sec

4 James Jagger – 1min 02.56sec

5 Nick Jakins – 1min 2.99sec

6 Justin Brown – 1min 4.45sec

7 Damon De Pinna – 1min 5.47sec

8 Camden Lategan – 1min 5.84sec

STREET LUGE

1 Russell Naude – 1min 0.47sec

2 Glen Phillips – 1min 1.97sec

3 Andries Haasbroek – 1min 2.08sec

4 Marco Caromba – 1min 4.84sec

5 Nikki Caromba – 1min 6.13sec

 

CLASSIC LUGE

1 – Russell Naude – 1min 1.86sec

2 – Marco Caromba – 1min 3.06sec

3 – Andries Haasbroek – 1min 4.42sec

4 – Glen Phillips – 1min 4.67sec

5 – Nikki Caromba – 1min 6.8sec

 

Houwteq HDX 2011: Race results

OPEN STANDUP

1 – Tobjørn Sunde

2 – Justin Readings

3 – Richard Dweza

4 – Stefan Rufli

5 – Paul Du Plessis

6 – Alex Duss

7 – Raoul van Den Berg

8 – Terry Terblanche

 

JUNIOR STANDUP

1 – Adam Lincoln-Lewis

2 – Sam Jakins

3 – James Jagger

4 – Nick Hook

5 – Nick Jakins

6 – Camden Lategan

7 -Justin Brown

8 –  James Burgess

LADIES STANDUP

1- Rebekka Gemperle

2 – Tamara

3 – Anje Lindenberg

4 – Gabi Murray-Roberts

 

Photos by: Ultra M Photography