2012 Event List

1. Championship points are only awarded to current Gippsland MTB members.
   • All events are open to Non-Gippsland MTB riders, they are just not eligible for championship points.
2. Points are awarded for position achieved in each class.
   • Outright
   • Solo Male (inc. Single Speed)
   • Solo Female (inc. Single Speed)
   • Solo Junior (inc. Single Speed)
   • Teams
   • Single Speed
3. Competitors are awarded points based on their 8 best championship results.
4. In the case of a position draw, results will be counted back to the competitor with the most 1st places.

So you’re disappointed that the all time favourite Mt Baw Baw Downhill wasn’t added to any racing calendars this season? Well here’s your chance to come and ride the fast paced beast. Shuttles will be provided by Gippsland MTB. With limited places for this event and online registration open – get in quick! Another 2 DH ride days have been scheduled in February and March around the racing calendar so keep an eye on Gippsland MTB for more information. Be some of the first to ride the recently refurbished Mt Taylor Downhill on its opening day in March!

Date: Saturday 28th January 2012

Time: 10am Saturday till 4pm

Where: Mt Baw Baw, meet at Village Central 9.30am sharp.

What to Bring: DH bike, full face helmet and riding gear.

Cost: $35 – GMTB Members, $45 – Non Members

Online Registration ONLY: Click Here To Register

LIMITED to 50 RIDERS!

Accommodation is available for those who wish to make a weekend of the event. For all bookings please go through http://www.mountbawbaw.com.au or 1300 651 136

Please note: Riders will also need to have a current MTBA licence or fill in a MTBA participation form ($5) on the Saturday of the DH ride day.

After the success of the Mid Week Social Rides last year, these events are on again in 2012. Every Wednesday night in January & February there will be a ride at Blores Hill leaving the Sandy Point intersection at 19:00 (map) for a social ride/sprint/plod until dusk (21:00ish). Riders split into groups of similar skill levels and ride at their own pace.

If you want to come or have a friend that wants to come but does not have a mountain bike then the answer is simple, the club has two bikes that we can loan people to use at our events. If you would like to use one of these bikes the just send us an e-mail ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and we'll bring one for you to the event.

The 2012 Club Calendar is now available for download. Simply click here or click on Club Calendar 2012 on the left menu to view it. More details for each of these events will be posted on the web site in the weeks leading up to each event.

Race day dawned wet and overcast for round 10 of Gippsland MTB’s enduro series. Bulldog Junction however was its usual rain-shadowish self and approximately 30 participants were greeted by sunny conditions for the race. The course, taking in parts
of Mt. Hedrick, the Traverse and Pete’s Track had been prepared beforehand by several hardworking and somewhat handsome club members and had something for everyone, including raging river crossings.

Again, the Gunthers of Ben Cruachan Station had graciously granted us access to their property and the race got under way from further down their runway!!. After some fire road, competitors encountered the first section of single track, climbing towards Mt. Hedrick, and then turning back down over a tricky section of rocky downhill. The track then approached the overly signposted Traverse turnoff with more flowy track followed by an elongated section of rocky track. The next section of track was up the Pete’s Track Canal to finish back at Bulldog junction. The fitter, hardier (and others who had taken leave of their senses) went forth and did it all again.

First across the line, having successfully navigated the entire track was Matthew Franke, closely followed by Jamie Marslen and Steven Blake.

A fantastic performance was put in by Kirstin Curtis who took first place for the female category in her first race.

The juniors was taken out by Malte Adebahr, an U17 rider who came in 6th overall rounding off a great season in which he has improved in leaps and bounds.

A bonus set of Spec Saver prizes were handed out to those who could put them to good use. In closing, it has been an enjoyable season of many and varied endurance races and now it is time for the downhill season to commence.

• Click here to view the full event results

The weather forecast was looking pretty grim for Sunday the 23rd of October, but thankfully the weatherman was off target! A beautiful summer’s day greeted the Gippsland MTB Club at Erica for the 3 Hour Enduro. The warm day saw approximately 51 riders and caught many off guard with wet weather gear and mud tyres the standard.

A tough, challenging course was set for the race which would suit the skilled but powerful riders who also didn’t mind a climb or 3. For some reason the race directors decided to start us at the bottom of a nice steep fire trail hill!! Brenton Jones (TORQ Nutrition Australia) riding his Cube machine took the hole shot, Jones never looked back as he went on to complete the course in 3 hours and 8 minutes and the only person to complete 6 laps. The course proved challenging for most of the riders with not only the obstacles, such as logs and tree roots, but the course was quite slippery to begin with. After some laps, about half way through the race the course turned into the ultimate trail surface. The course dried out a lot and became tacky which allowed for some seriously gnarly and quick descents.

One dark, cold wet night in June, Trevor Nicklen, Neil Allen and the pygmy kelpie (trev's dog), sat around a fire thinking out a plot.

• “got to have some rain, not too much, particularly on the day or we’ll get wet”. Tick
• “have some red clay AND some sandy clay treacherous downhills, that’ll stuff em, no one with have the right tyres ” Tick
• “any roots have to be diagonal across the track and as slippery as a butchers” Tick
• “what about a loop that, time wise, is 90% uphill “ Tick
• “that section of uphill they complained about last time , lets close that, form a new track out of soft sand and ‘roll it in’ a couple of days before” Tick
• “and wouldn’t it be the cream on the cake if we could crack a 27 deg day after six millimetres of rain overnight …steamy” Tick

Club Riding Gear (Jerseys & Nicks) are now available to purchase on the Gippsland MTB store on the website. All orders completed before each event can be picked up at the event for no additional cost, alternatively postage is available at extra cost.

Click here to access the Gippsland MTB Store.

Items will also be available on race days but will be cash only sales.

Sunday 25th September saw approximately 50 riders turn up to compete in the Nowa Nowa 3 hour enduro with another 9 kids competing in the 30 minute kids enduro. The weather was perfect for racing with a cool but sunny day.

A challenging course was set for the 3 hour which was very different to previous Nowa Nowa events. This race was definitely going to suit the climbers with the addition of the climb to the top of the park that is rewarded with a great view to the coast and some challenging corners on the descent.

Brad Fisher got off to a great start and led at the end of the first lap with team competitor Toby Stewart right on his tail with a very fast lap of 29:21. Unfortunately Brad got a sense of déjà vu from last years race when he got a flat on the second lap which let a number of riders pass him. This made for a very competitive race from then on with Brad trying to chase down the riders ahead of him. He eventually caught everyone except Michael and the 2 fastest teams. Stuart Derham showed everyone that training for an Ironman really helps in MTB races, coming in third.