Lally Sweeps the Weekend!
Andy Lally wins the Street Luge Final. Photo John Ozman
Goldendale, WA, USA - Auto racing star Andy Lally had a rare week off so he decided to spend the week resuming his luge career at Maryhill. #1 qualifier Matthias Lang from Germany and Lally first battled it out in Qualifying and on Sunday they resumed their fight.
Lally sailed through the race winning each of his heats by a considerable margin. Lang on the other had took it easy in all of his race heats doing only what was needed to advance to the next rounds.
Hicks, Lally, McIntyre, Rogers and Parks prepare for a warm up run. Photo John Ozman
Lang had broken his ankle at World Cup Round #3 in Padova, Italy and is still nursing it back to health. The last thing he wanted to do was push it too hard in the rain and crash. He had also opted out of Saturday's King of the Hill race for the same reason. In the Semi Finals, Lang's conservative approach paid off. Mike McIntyre had been fast all day. In Semi #1 it was Lang, Christopher Hicks, McIntyre and Louis Bouchard. McIntyre and Hicks both went out quickly but suffered crashes on the wet track. Bouchard and Lang took a more conservative approach and earned a place in the finals.
In Semi-Final #2, it was Lally, John Rogers, Charles Lavoie and Bob Ozman. Lally rode fast and precisely to a wire to wire victory. Coming into the last corner John Rogers was second and Lavoie a close third. Rogers spun out enabling Lavoie to transfer to the final. Ozman also went past to finish third.
In the Consolation Final, Rogers earned the victory and 5th place. McIntyre finished in second, Hicks 3rd and Ozman 4th.
In Semi-Final #2, it was Lally, John Rogers, Charles Lavoie and Bob Ozman. Lally rode fast and precisely to a wire to wire victory. Coming into the last corner John Rogers was second and Lavoie a close third. Rogers spun out enabling Lavoie to transfer to the final. Ozman also went past to finish third.
In the Consolation Final, Rogers earned the victory and 5th place. McIntyre finished in second, Hicks 3rd and Ozman 4th.
Matthias Lang was the favorite after qualifying #1. Photo Marcus Rietema
Once Matthias was in the final his conservative approach was thrown out the window. He was the two time defending Maryhill Champion and had set the all out track record on Saturday at 3:01.908. Lang wanted the three-peat. He took off fast and into the lead. Lally was close on his tail and stalked him the entire way down the hill. Coming off Seismic Cowzer Corner, Lally was in his draft and got a run. He found a dry strip of pavement and there was nothing Matthias could do as Lally went sailing by. Lally completed the pass just before the final corner and then rode on to victory. Lang had to settle for second with Bouchard finishing a close 3rd.
2009 Maryhill Festival of Speed
Street Luge Final Results
1. Andy Lally, United States
2. Matthias Lang, Germany
3. Charles Lavoie, Canada
4. Louis Bouchard, Canada
5. John Rogers, United States
6. Mike McIntyre, United States
7. Christopher Hicks, United States
8. Bob Ozman, United States
9. David Dean, United States
10. Kolby Parks, Canada
11. William Condon, United States
12. Paul Busse, United States
13. Justin Toleman, United States
14. Kyle Castaneda, United States
15. Chris McBride, United States
16. Robert Bowland, United States
17. Christian Conaway, United States
18. Nick Jean, United States
19. Brennan Anderson, Canada
20. Rick Wilson, United States
21. Ronnie Iverson, United States
22. Marianne Guarena, United States
23. Samuele Schoenberg, United States
24. Louis Roy, Canada
25. Mike Mailman, United States
2009 Maryhill Festival of Speed
Street Luge Final Results
1. Andy Lally, United States
2. Matthias Lang, Germany
3. Charles Lavoie, Canada
4. Louis Bouchard, Canada
5. John Rogers, United States
6. Mike McIntyre, United States
7. Christopher Hicks, United States
8. Bob Ozman, United States
9. David Dean, United States
10. Kolby Parks, Canada
11. William Condon, United States
12. Paul Busse, United States
13. Justin Toleman, United States
14. Kyle Castaneda, United States
15. Chris McBride, United States
16. Robert Bowland, United States
17. Christian Conaway, United States
18. Nick Jean, United States
19. Brennan Anderson, Canada
20. Rick Wilson, United States
21. Ronnie Iverson, United States
22. Marianne Guarena, United States
23. Samuele Schoenberg, United States
24. Louis Roy, Canada
25. Mike Mailman, United States
Downhill Skateboarders cross over into Classic Luge.
Billy "Bones" Meiners working his way down Maryhill. Photo Marcus Rietema
Billy "Bones" Meiners working his way down Maryhill. Photo Marcus Rietema
In Classic Luge the riders used the GP Format. For the first two runs, all the riders who qualified in odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, etc) were placed in one heat and those who qualified in even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, etc) were place in the other. Two large heats of 11 riders each were sent down the hill. Riders were then gridded up for their second runi n the order of finish. Those who finished in the top 5 in their second heat went on to the winners bracket. Those who finished 6th or lower went into the Consolation bracket.
For the first heat of the Final and Consi-Final, the riders were placed into the bracket by their finishing positions of run #2. Their finish positions in the first run of the finals determined ther grid position for the all important 4th and final run. How each rider finished at the end of the 4th run would determine their final placement in the race.
For the first heat of the Final and Consi-Final, the riders were placed into the bracket by their finishing positions of run #2. Their finish positions in the first run of the finals determined ther grid position for the all important 4th and final run. How each rider finished at the end of the 4th run would determine their final placement in the race.
Adam Yates and Jon Huey have both crossed over to Clasic from DH Skateboarding. Photo Marcus Rietema
The class was filled with riders who were crossing over from Downhill Skateboarding including Jon Huey, Adam Yates, Billy Meiners, Andreas Johnson, Katie Neilson and Open Downhill Skateboarding winner Patrick Switzer. With lots of fun racing and inexpensive, simple equipment, the class is gaining a lot of popularity.
Street Lugers Andy Lally and Louis Bouchard finished 1st and 2nd. Adam Yates in his first ever Classic Luge race finished 3rd.
Street Lugers Andy Lally and Louis Bouchard finished 1st and 2nd. Adam Yates in his first ever Classic Luge race finished 3rd.
Maryhill Festival of Speed
Classic Luge Results
1. Andy Lally, United States
2. Louis Bouchard, Canada
3. Adam Yates, Australia
4. Charles Lavoie, Canada
5. Kolby Parks, Canada
6. Kyle Castaneda, United States
7. Justin Toleman, United States
8. Andreas Johnsen, Sweden
9. Jon Huey, United States
10. Billy Meiners, United States
11. Christopher Hicks, United States
12. William Condon, Canada
13. Christian Conaway, United States
14. Scott Peer, United States
15. Chris McBride, United States
16. Jan Moisanen, United States
17. Katie Neilsen, Canada
18. Hannah Dubois, Canada
19. Steven Smock, United States
20. Mike Mailman, United States
21. Patrick Switzer, Canada
22. Dan Kasmar, United States