COMPETITORS contesting the second Newton’s Playground International Gravity Sports Association World Championships at Mount Panorama left Bathurst yesterday delighted after a fantastic weekend of hot action.
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While the strong tailwinds reduced speeds and proved challenging at times, spectators were treated to an exhilarating display of speed and precision over the three day event from the world’s leading skaters and gravity bikers.
The first day saw many stacks as riders familiarised themselves with the course which comprised a 1.3 kilometre section of Bathurst’s iconic track starting from Skyline at the top of the circuit, through the famous Esses and finishing on Conrod Straight.
In an upset Canadian Kevin Reimer, also known as “White Lightning”, proved a dominant force in the downhill skateboarding class, defeating fellow countryman and current world number one, Scott “Scoot” Smith.
“Scoot”, whose green hair and matching leathers were hard to miss, put up an amazing fight down Conrod Straight but Reimer proved just too good.
“This is the best feeling in the world, it is awesome,” a delighted Reimer said after the race.
In other competitions, Vancouver’s Brianne Davies demonstrated why she is the fastest and highest ranked woman on wheels by defeating Switzerland’s Rebekkah Gemperle and fellow countrywoman Anne Harding.
In one of the closests races of the day, Adelaide’s Nick Duffield took out the streetluge event defeating some of the world’s best including NASCAR driver Andy Lally (USA) with Peter Eliot from Great Britian in third.
Duffield took the lead early in the race but had Lally right behind him until the NASCAR driver moved out of Duffield’s slipstream at the finish line.
Lally’s move came just a few seconds too late, as he finished less than a foot behind Duffield.
However, Lally went on to redeem himself in the classic luge division where he took victory ahead of the two leading British entrants, William Stephenson and Peter Eliot.
With Australia’s premier gravity racing competition set to be bigger and better next year, plenty of competitors were heard saying there was nothing that was going to stop them coming back again for another crack at Mount Panorama.