Downhill racers head to town

A late change of course will see downhill devotees heading to Rotorua rather than Tauranga this week for a series showdown.

With the sixth and final round of the inaugural NZ Downhill series originally scheduled to be held at Papamoa's Cycle Obsession mountainbike park on Wednesday and Thursday, organisers have now moved the event to the National Downhill venue at Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest.

The decision to switch locations was a tough one given the success of events held at Papamoa in the past two years, but due to a "change in circumstances" at the facility, the move was the only solution, said NZDH spokesman and Tauranga downhill mainstay Tim Lawton.

Preferring not to comment on the unavailability of the Cycle Obsession property, Lawton said NZDH had been in contact with Descend Rotorua for a fortnight over possible use of the Whakarewarewa course, before making the final call two weeks ago.

Launched this year as a breakaway from Mountainbiking New Zealand's summer series - which kicks off next month - the NZDH programme got under way at Rotorua in September, with further rounds in Levin, Napier, Taupo and Auckland.

While the Papamoa venue had been hugely popular, drawing the biggest field on the national calendar last year with 178 riders, the switch to Whakarewarewa had its upside, Lawton said.

"Rotorua is such a great course, it has 300 metres of elevation, twice the descent gradient of Papamoa. It's super fast - a full-blown moto track in the trees, which is a big drawcard.

"Our Papamoa track has always lacked elevation, but we made up for that by putting on a great show around the event village at the bottom.

"Now we're going to replicate that at Rotorua."

As series leader George Brannigan [Hawke's Bay] is not expected to front for the final round, next Thursday is shaping as a shootout between Matt Walker - originally of Kawerau but now based in Rotorua - and 2009 world junior champ Brook MacDonald, also of Hawke's Bay.

With a win worth 200 series points, both are sitting on 500 points, 20 behind Brannigan, while Auckland's Sam Baker is well within striking distance on 459.

Leading the charge for local riders are 2010 Oceania senior men's runner-up Daniel Heads, and the much-travelled Hayden Lee, with both Tauranga talents on 345 points.

Heads, 20, is sponsored by Scott bikes, while 25-year-old Lee is backed by Cycle Obsession and has returned to the national scene this year in lieu of competing overseas.

Scott McGregor rounds out the Tauranga trio at present among the top-10, the 21-year-old sitting just 20 points behind Lee and Heads.

Lee, Heads and McGregor filled the fifth to seventh spots respectively at the Dome Valley, Auckland, round earlier this month, and McGregor and Heads had also been hard at work, putting in new descent lines at the Papamoa course before the move to Rotorua was declared.

A hot Tauranga prospect in the age-grades is Tim Lawton's son Matt, now second in under-15 with 610 points to Jack Humphries' 720.

Saddling up for Descend Rotorua, Humphries will have the hometrack edge next week.

Winner of the 2011 MTBNZ series opener at Papamoa in January, Wanganui's Sam Blenkinsop is also a potential starter at Rotorua, the 23-year-old having snared bronze at September's downhill world titles in Switzerland.

Descend Rotorua-backed Kaytee Campbell leads the women's rankings heading into the series finale.

The NZDH Championship Series is designed to cater for all various skill levels within the New Zealand MTB All Mountain category in preparation for the MTBNZ Summer Nationals. Lawton expected about 150 riders across the grades.

Practice will get under way on Wednesday, with further practice time from 9.30am on Thursday.

Lawton urged anyone looking for spectacular action to get along to Whakarewarewa on Thursday. There will be a spectator van shuttle from the gateway at Whakarewarewa Forest. The first event starts at 11.45am.