Schanskop Downhill Challenge: Race Report
Written by Kim Taylor
On the first weekend of spring 2010 another greatly successful SAGRA (South African Gravity Racing Association) officiated race, “King of the Fort”, brought 23 stand up skateboarders, 7 lugers and 7 buttboarders from around the country together to enjoy a hill that now resonates for many as a fast, technical and, above all, fun course to ride! Quote of the weekend; “Wow, I had to airbrake for a zebra man!” encapsulates the overall sense of race excitement entirely.
Located in the Voortrekker Monument Reserve near Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa, the run at Fort Schanskop boasts a deceptively tight first left corner, a gruellingly long straight, sweeping S’s, and a very challenging right-left chicane before the finish line. To excel on this course, for the stand up guys at least, is to be consistent in keeping tucked, choosing good lines, controlling drift and staying in your competitors draft until passing at exactly the right moment.
Matt Arderne, winner of the Speedboard (stand up) category, certainly showed his skills diversity here when in the finals he came from third position and passed two riders on the inside of the left corner of the chicane to take the win. Matt was lucky not to have to race against Raoul van den Berg in the finals. Raoul, who was fastest in time trials and a clear favourite all weekend, lost control in the chicane in his semi-finals heat and then went on to win the consolation finals by a massive margin.
Well done to Russel Naude for his domination in both the Street Luge and Buttboard categories, his excellent lines and super tight tuck meant that he was hardly ever challenged in the chicane. Riders and spectators alike where very impressed with the only female competitor at King of the Fort, Nicky Caromba who took fourth in Streetluge and beat even her own husband, Marco, to take third in Buttboard.
Thanks to a TUKS fm interview held a few days before the race and great promotion of the event through the Jo’burg Longboarders Club, Longboard Stellenbosh and SAGRA groups on Facebook, many spectators showed up on the day to picnic in the beautiful spring sun, jam to the music and cheer the racers through the chicane and over the finish line.
For many it was the first time they had ever seen a longboard or a luge. They certainly could not have imagined the speeds that could be reached on such foreign funky looking contraptions either. Curious questions -“What on earth is that thing that guy is lying on?”, “Did he make that? It looks like a 70s spaceship”, “Is that guy standing now, why is he crouching like that”, “is that a leather suit, so power ranger?!?” and “HOW IS HE GOING SOOO DAMN FAST!?!”-were constantly being thrown around, which is exactly what those who are passionate about expanding the sport were aiming to achieve. TUKS fm also gave away a fully equipped skateboard as a radio competition prize to get the general public excited about skating. Thanks to the sponsorship of First Nature and Project Skateboards, the winner, Bradley Pinto, had a smile as big and wide as the ABEC11 Centrax wheels (included in the prize) for the entire weekend!
Other sponsors also played an integral role in making the King of the Fort a success. These include Missing Link, a presentation specialist collective that sponsored cash towards the overall running of the event; ABEC 11, who donated some of the sickest longboard wheels available; Jaded Ink, an internationally renown tattoo boutique that sponsored prizes in the form of vouchers and discounts; First Nature, who helped with organising the event as representatives of SAGRA in Johannesburg and sponsored a set of wheels for the best first time racer and trucks and wheels for the TUKS fm prize; Project Skateboards, who sponsored the low centre of gravity (LCG) deck for the TUKS fm prize; Lumo Sumo, for sponsoring one of their new pop-up festival tents and a hydration back pack for prizes; Action Cameras, who sponsored demo Drift HD170 helmet cameras to capture HD quality footage of the practice sessions, Lasertec Street Luge who sponsored prizes for the luge categories, and Concrete Wave Magazine who sponsored some groovy swag too. Thanks to these guys for investing in the sport. Without sponsors, these races would not be possible.
The marshals, who spent two days in the blistering sun ensuring safe racing conditions, could not be thanked enough. You’ll only know how challenging the job is once you’ve actually been a marshal yourself! A special thanks should also be extended to Brad Pinto, representative of insurance company Edgemont Consulting, who offered his 4×4 as a shuttle for the riders for the entire weekend. And most importantly, thanks should be given to the riders from Cape Town and Stellenbosch who represented more than 50% of the entrants. The race could not have happened without their unflinching commitment. Hopefully this race showed everyone the potential for how beautiful the Gauteng skate-life can be too.
Speedboard Final Results:
1. Matt Arderne (Stellenbosch)
2. Terry Terreblanche (Cape Town)
3. Dean Engela (Cape Town)
4. Paul du Plessis (Stellenbosch)
5. Raoul van den Berg (Stellenbosch)
6. Lloyd Clark (Johannesburg)
7. Murray Chandler (East London)
8. Anton Prat (Stellenbosch)
9. Glen Phillips (Cape Town)
10. Chris Lubbe (Stellenbosch)
11. Attila Hery (Cape Town)
12. Samuel Mrgatroyd (Cape Town)
13. Richard Gibello (Jeffreys Bay)
14. Massimo Bastiotto (Johannesburg)
15. Christian Bowes (Johannesburg)
16. Stephen Gant (Johannesburg)
17. Justin Boast (Cape Town)
18. Reece Trout (Cape Town)
19. Guy Munton (Stellenbosch)
20. Aurthur Eley (Cape Town)
21. Bradley Pinto (Johannesburg)
22. Robin Moodley (Johannesburg)
Street Luge Final Results:
1. Russel Naude (Cape Town)
2. Glen Phillips (Cape Town)
3. Marco Caromba (Johannesburg)
4. Nikki Caromba (Johannesburg)
5. Andries Haasbroek (Johannesburg)
6. Tyne Law (Johannesburg)
7. Phil du Plessis (Johannesburg)
Classic Luge Final Results:
1. Russel Naude (Cape Town)
2. Phil du Plessis (Johannesburg)
3. Nikki Caromba (Johannesburg)
4. Marco Caromba (Johannesburg)
5. Jonathan Herbst (Johannesburg)
6. Trevor Mey (Johannesburg)
7. Glen Phillips (Cape Town)
Photos 1, 2, 3 and 6 by Kim Taylor
Photo 4 by Riaan Swanepoel
Photos 5 and 7 by Anel van der Walt
Photo 8 by Eugene van der Elst
More Photos by Anel van der Walt
More Photos by Eugene van der Elst
