Downhill Mania

Photo: Morgan Meredith

Rubbing elbows, handlebars and tires is par for the course in Downhill Mania. The event, which features four competitors racing simultaneously on a shorter and faster downhill course, returned to the NORBA national downhill series at Big Bear Lake, California.

Each racer started with a solo qualifying run to determine bracket seeding and then moved on to the four-up racing format with the top two advancing to the next round. The final heat for the pro women's category boiled down to Sabrina Jonnier, Marla Streb, Bernardita Pizarro and Kathy Pruitt. In the pro men's category it was Eric Carter, David Klaassenvanorschot, Steve Peat and John Kirkcaldie going shoulder-to-shoulder for the win. In the women's race, Jonnier's holeshot out of the gate and no-regrets racing strategy led to her to victory; and even though Streb came out of the gate last, she was able to swoop in at the right time for a second-place finish with Pizarro in third and Pruitt in fourth.

"I was being really sneaky," said Intense's Jonnier. "There was nobody near me so I did a big skid to make dust so they can see nothing. That's mean, but that's racing."

Photo: Morgan Meredith

Racing for Luna Chix, Kathy Pruitt was the first to hit Jonnier's cloud of dust and she dropped abruptly from second to last place.

"Sabrina [Jonnier] braked quite early; I was surprised," said Pruitt. "All of a sudden, I was going so slow that the girls passed me and there I was, just trying to get my foot back in the pedals."

Streb, also racing for Luna Chix, took the opportunity to make her move and put the pressure on Jonnier and Pizarro, eventually overtaking Pizarro near the bottom of the course.

"The key for me was to come up from behind on every run because I have an incredibly horrible gate start," said Streb. "It was actually beneficial to be in the back because you could see what was happening and where the pile-ups were."

Eric Carter, on his way to winning the return of DH Mania. Photo: Morgan Meredith

In the pro men's race, 2003 World Cup fourcross champion and former pro BMX'er Eric Carter drew from his wealth of experience to snap out of the starting gate into the lead, which he maintained all the way to the finish to take the win for team Hyundai/Mongoose.

"My race was from the gate to the first turn, and then I raced it like a fourcross race," said Carter. "Without a doubt, it was the gate [start] that did it."

Intense's Klaassenvanorschot took second place after bumping elbows with the notoriously hard-charging U.K. racer Steve Peat. Racing for Royal/Orange, Peat rounded the final turn and launched into a powerful sprint toward the finish line in a final attempt to overtake Klaassenvanorschot, but he had to settle for third place with Team Maxxis racer John Kirkcaldie coming in on his heels in fourth.

Downhill Mania was a one-time-only event in the NORBA national series and was limited to semi-pro and pro racers. The other stops on the NCS will still feature the traditional DH format, but Carter said he would like to see the event make an even stronger comeback.

Photo: Morgan Meredith

"I wish we had never gotten away from Mania racing," Carter said. "I hope the industry gets behind it. I think it really shows what we can do on our bikes."

Streb had mixed feelings addressed whether the Downhill Mania should be used at additional races. "As far as a national series, it would be sort of a hit-or-miss game because anything can happen, even if you're the fastest rider out there," she said. "But I think it's good for the sport. It just adds another element to it and it's a lot of fun."

For complete race results from the NORBA national race in Big Bear Lake, visit www.usacycling.org.