Grabouw, South Afica- After a one week delay, practice and qualifying finally got underway for the High Rising Downhill Extreme at the Houwteq complex. In the Downhill Skateboarding, Richard Dweza scorched through to first place.
Decio Lourenco qualified second, although he took a spectacular fall in the bottom left-hander on his second run. The corner claimed many casualties, including Tibor Hery and Armin Gray who still qualified in third and fourth places respectively.
In the Street Luge Qualifying, Russell Naude was first, with newcomer Brian Isham taking second, and Warren Smith third. Glen Phillips opted out of taking any qualifying runs. The event is being organized by SAGRA (South African Gravity Racing Association) and sanctioned by the IGSA (International Gravity Sports Association) as a National level race.
Last weekends terrible weather forecast caused the organizers' to postpone the event for one week. Their decision was a good one, with the riders enjoying a perfect autumn day at the spectacular High Rising course. Everyone was very stoked to be back at Houwteq! Unfortunately the postponement does mean it’s unlikely that 2008 IGSA World Cup Street Luge Champion Leander Lacey will be able to attend. Also missing is Mike Zietsman who finished the 2008 IGSA World Cup Series ranked fourth in Downhill Skateboarding. He is not in Cape Town this weekend due to a previous commitment. Zietsman’s absence has opened the field for several other riders to show their mettle.
The South African Gravity Racing Association (SAGRA) is once again offering a “Non-racing” entry option to encourage more people to give gravity sports a try. It was good to see several new faces entering the "non-racing" entry option, and taking advantage of the option to do time trials
The weather forecast for Sunday is good and everyone is looking forward to some exciting racing on this challenging track.
Downhill Skateboard Qualifying Results
1. Richard Dweza
2. Decio Lourenco
3. Tibor Hery
4. Armin Gray
5. Ben Malherbe
6. Tertuis Vivier
7. Josh Smit
8. Atilla Hery
9. Anton Pratt
10. Dave Hort
11. Rudi Willcocks
12. Justin Boast
13. Andries van Niekerk
14. Terry Terreblanche
15. Paul du Plessis
16. Chris Bowes
Street Luge Qualifying Results
1. Russell Naude
2. Brian Isham
3. Warren Smith
4. Glen Phillips