Gisburn R1 2020 – Rider Briefing

I find it highly unlikely this event will run, although as of 8am 18/3 I’m still awaiting the official cancellation notice from Forestry England.  Please bear with us, I need that cancellation notice to trigger the cancellation insurance.

Here is the rider and spectator information, we are aware there is a lot of information but please do not use this as an excuse for not reading it thoroughly, and knowing what you need to do and what rules to follow. More information will be added as we approach the event.

Danger ! Racing mountain bikes is a dangerous sport. You should ensure you’re familiar with the warning signs and a track should not be hit at race speed until you are comfortable with your ability on that stage.

As always we rely on volunteer marshals to make these events a success, if you know somebody who would be interested please ask them to fill in the form on this page, we aren’t too bad for marshals but it is always worth having extra! An extra half dozen would be awesome 🙂

Round Sponsor is Escape Bike Shop

Changes for 2020

The main change for 2020 is part of our plastics reduction schedule, and you will allocated a number & number board for the year, you must bring this to all rounds you are racing or a replacement will cost you a £5 donation to North West air ambulance.  You will have 2 choices for attaching the number board, easy plastic zip ties, or more a environmentally sustainable hemp string. The more of you choose the more awkward string, the faster and harder I’ll work to reduce the series plastic footprint – your choice is effectively a vote  🙂

We also have some hemp barrier tape, biodegradable plastic and we’ll be re-using last years start/finish boards on the stages as we have all the same sponsors as 2019 so the only thing dated was a date 🙂

Results & Series standings
Series standing will be available on this LINK

The results link for R1 Gisburn will be HERE

What to expect?
5 stages over a 12 mile loop with 1600ft of elevation. We will try and add a map here a few days before the event, it will also be available at sign on so you can take a picture of it on your phone.  The course has been designed to be fun and weather resilient, we have a couple of options for one of the stages, depending on the weather.

There will be a “Lite” Loop of stages 1/2/3/5 (so missing stage 4) there are no prizes for the “Lite event” but you will miss out the hardest stage and still get a finish.

Stage map – not yet available

Tyre Choice

We of course suggest the awesome Vittoria tyres, with superb TNT & APF sidewalls as well as grippy rubber compounds in a 4C construction, with graphene. See info on Graphene 2.0 and the new on the Vittoria Website.  If you are concerned with pinch-flats or dinging your rims running low race pressures, then the Vittoria Air-liner is an essential addition to any tyre brand and can ensure that you finish your stage what ever the course throws at you!!

With plenty of fast trail centre sections we advise a Martello front and rear,Ask at your local bike shop for these tyres, however Vittoria will also be providing technical support in our race arena and will have a range of tyres for racers on the day. If you do need tyres at the event then Vittoria can help with that go and have a chat they’ll have a full range available.

Special Vittoria  tyres deal for race weekend

This is Vittoria’s 3rd year sponsoring the PMBA and we would like more riders to experience the power of graphine as PMBA Enduro Ambassadors Tom & Leah, and series regulars Dan & Molly  have. This year Vittoria are also supporting Ellie Smith who is transferring her skills from being a GB Academy and national champion track rider into enduro with coaching from Tom and support from Vittoria,  Orange and Fenwick’s, keep and eye on her over the year too!

The offer is, on a first come basis, Vittoria Mota and Martello 2 ply Enduro tyres for £25 each fitted plus you can added the airliner for £30 each. The only proviso is you ride them in free practice on Saturday and come and tell us how you got on!!

Vittoria’s Jake Law and Adam from from Rad Shack are at the Vittoria Gazebo from 10:00 Saturday morning to advise and fit your tyres.

Tom, Molly, Leah and Ellie are all there to offer advice.

Every year we have a raffle, every entry into every round is a raffle ticket, there are just 2 prizes to be won but they are HUGE!

• A £3000 voucher towards any Orange bike of your choice.
• A Weeks holiday for 2 in Slovenia with Ride Slovenia!

Race Arena and Technical support.

We are fortunate to have great support for you at the event, please support our sponsors as they support your event.

Escape Bike Shop – Technical Support, Spares & Repairs.  Tom and Arawn who will be there offering mechanical support along with a van full of spare parts for the weekend… just in case!  Need your bike fine tuning / serviced before round 1? Everyone who has entered the first round will receive 10% off labour costs and 15% off any parts needed. give us a call to book your slot – 015242 41226

Sixth Element – Product Display & Advice; Team pit area
Hope Technology – Pro-Pit area
Orange Bikes – Pro-pit area
Gisburn Forest Cafe – Hot food and drink
Sport Ident – Timing and results screens
PMBA Enduro Merchandise

Official Photography

DialledinUK /JWDT will be there snapping away for the Official race report and free photo album, but they also very much appreciate the support from Rootsandrain.com purchases. It’s what makes it possible for that team to show up and snap away!! They’ll be doing pics from £5.75 and full album sets of individual riders for £14 (best value by a mile) sets can be anything from 5 photos to 20+ photos, please try and support our little collective working to give you a great range of shots. Please do remember that these are for personal use, if your sponsors want to use them for commercial use (social post sharing is fine with photographer credit) then please get them to contact DialledinUK .

Jerry Tatton  JWDT Photography
Adam Sherratt and Jerry Tatton are DialledinUK

Their space on roots and rain can be accessed here

KS – Style it up

Our instagram competition returns, as a year-long competion. Grab some style in front of the photographers on our KS feature and post on Instagram with the hashtag #KSdrop we’ll regram some and one lucky instagrammer will win a KS Dropper post at the end of the year!

Thursday & Friday.

Setup days – some parts of stages are not open to the public outside events, if your’e in the forest please be aware that our course marking team may be marking out; so please slow down for their safety.

Saturday.

Please park sensibly to allow maximum capacity, please use the parking ticket machine its £3

Forest open as normal, stages 3/4/5 will be taped.

Noon-4pm  Free kids race on “27 berms” full info here 

Sunday.

Please park sensibly to allow maximum capacity, listen to and pay our marshal the £3 fee;  100% of which goes to the Forestry. If you are there early please use the ticket machine

06:48 Sunrise

0800 marshal brief

0815 Sign On opens

0915 Stage 1 Opens

1130 practice finish

1145 first racers leave

1405 last racers leave

1630 racing finished

1710 podiums

1730 done and dusted

1737 Sunset

Cafe opening times – 0830 till 5.30pm.
Breakfast barms available till 11.30.
Dinners available till 4.30pm.
AFTER 4.30pm drinks snacks and cakes.

Sponsors are: Escape Bike Shop, Hope Technology,  Orange Mountain Bikes, Vittoria Tyres, Sixth Element, Datatag Security, Box Components,  KS Dropper Seatposts, Sweet Protection, Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery, Mudhugger, Saxx Underwear & Ride Slovenia.

The Venue: Gisburn Forest Hub, Stephen Park, Slaidburn, BB7 4TS.
Organisation:  SMK for PMBA Enduro

Race Director: Kev Duckworth email: pmbaenduroseries@gmail.com mobile: 07979 911337
Chief Marshal: Karen Long
Medics : Remote Medical Services – http://www.remotemedicalservices.co.uk/

Medical
RMS will be providing cover over the event. Full Medical Cover will be provided. Multiple 4 Wheel Drive Vehicles will be on hand if needed.

Timing
As per all PMBA Enduro events, we will be using the awesome SI Air+ contactless timing system, also the preferred system of the Enduro World Series.

It’s important you have a read of all the info here – It will answer almost any question you could possibly have, there is a lot here but please take the time to look through it…..

Fires – Fires are not permitted.

If you lose or damage your transponder you have to pay for it – The cost is £50.00

Parking is £3 for Sunday, 100% of which goes to the FC

Camping for Caravans, Campervans – You may use the main car park. Please park to allow maximum number of vehicles, our marshals may ask you to move if you are taking up too much room. Failure to follow marshal instructions may see you blocked in.

Follow the instructions given by the parking marshals during the weekend

Race lap: The exact start times will be confirmed/selected on the weekend. Competitors will set off in groups of 12 every 5 mins.

You MUST report to the set off point close to sign-on at your designated time to get your transponder switched on otherwise you will get no times for the stages, you will also receive a briefing before your race lap. Feel free to ask questions.

We will not confirm nor deny that Kev will be doing the rider briefing in briefs to highlight the comfort of the Saxx Underwear.

Red Flags / Yellow flags & Whistles: During practice Red and Yellow flags will be in use – The yellow flag means slow right down, There may be a rider on course or perhaps on the floor but out of the way. Red Flag means STOP This means what it says – There will be an incident ahead and someone’s safety is at risk if you continue. If this happens during your race run you should make your way back to the start of the stage and go again – When you arrive back at the finish you will notify the chief timer that you had a re-run and they will calculate your time.

Racing: Only red flags will be used in racing – If you are red flagged during racing, you should wait until you are given permission to continue by the Marshal, and then continue safely to the bottom and speak with the marshal who will let you know what you need to do.

Rider Etiquette: During practice and race you may come up on or be caught by another rider: Every rider must act in a polite safe manner at all times and permit any faster rider to overtake without obstructing

Track walk: It’s advised that you walk/inspect the trickier parts of the stages before riding – There are many features and varied terrain sections. Watch out for our 2/3 arrow caution/extreme caution signs to warn you of even trickier bits. If you see an Extreme caution sign there will be an easier rollable line which could be a separate taped line or within the main tapes.

Rules for Under 16 Riders
As organisers we have a duty of care to look after all our racers. Any racer that is under 16 years of age on the first day of the event must ride/race accompanied by an adult (Min age 18) support racer/rider. If the support rider does not wish to obtain an entry and race we will issue a wristband with ‘support rider’ and for this there is no charge – In this instance there will be no timings given and no transponder issued. The support rider/racer must accompany the youth rider for the duration of the event.

All PMBA Enduro events are available for ages 11+, however we strongly advise that parents entering children under 16 contact us beforehand, so we can advise you of what the event might entail and give you the information you need to make an informed judgement on the suitability of the event for your child.

Categories:
Men : U15, U18, U21, Senior, Master/30+, Vet/40+, Grand Vet/50+
Women : U16, U21, Senior , Master/35+
Unisex : Hardtail (additional category)

Ages are taken as age on 31st December 2020.

Go Pro’s / Action Cameras – We allow a factory fitted helmet mount or a peak mounting, this must only be on top of the peak, not below. Please be aware it will be the start marshals call, if they are not sure you will be asked to remove it. If you are, please do not argue, they are doing their job; as always abuse of our marshals will not be tolerated. Stick on mounts may be fitted to your helmet, but not used, however we do advise against using stick on mounts to your helmet at all.

Please remember this is for your safety. Start marshal discretion is final on these rules, if they don’t like a “legal” mount for any reason please respect their judgement. These are in line with current UCI recommendations.

ALLOWED
Bike Mounts – below cockpit level
On top of Peak 
Manufacturer fitted helmet mount

Transitions: It’s compulsory to follow the marked transitions on your race lap, please obey marshals instructions.

Whistles: Every time a rider passes a Marshal they will blow his/her whistle. This lets people around know that there is a rider about and it also lets you know that in the instance of hearing a second whistle as you pass then there is someone right behind you.

Spectators : Spectators are advised to follow marshal instructions, stay out of the taped zone and not to stand in crash area’s. Please be aware of safety signs erected close to the track.

Photographers: A spectator with a camera is not a photographer, actual professional or amateur photographers who can show PLI & attend a safety briefing can get a special wristband and have access almost all areas. Please note that at round 6, Grizedale, you will also require permission sought from FC Grizedale. You will need to comply with the current rules, be insured and complete a risk assessment – you can contact FC Grizedale for details of this.

Respect the officials and helpers & Follow instructions given: Anyone found to be swearing or giving abuse to any of our Event Staff whether that be Marshals, Timers, Helpers, Medics etc will be asked to leave the event. If you have a problem whether you’re racing or perhaps on behalf of your son or daughter then come and talk to any of the core team. (Organiser Kev  or Chief Marshal Karen) or any stage manager or marshal.
Those that know us always find we are reasonable and willing to listen and will help or advise the best we can.

Careful driving to event: Please be advised that when driving to the venue to be cautious while driving. There are narrow roads and you may be required to stop and reverse if 2 vehicles meet going opposite directions. We may need to use fire roads to park, please follow marshal instructions and take extra care on unsurfaced roads.

Toilets  : Permanent facilities are available.

Litter: Please take your litter home with you. Please if you can check around your car before leaving. Litter includes goggle tear offs, inner tubes and gel wrappers – all these cannot be disposed of onto the floor, even during a race stage.

Race Timing: You will be issued with a timing chip on Sunday morning. You will be 100% responsible for assuring that your transponder stays with you failure to do so will result in your time not being recorded. You will be able to set off 5-30 seconds behind the rider in front or as instructed by the marshal.

Armour: There are no specific armour rules for this event. Only that a helmet is compulsory. Full face helmet is advised. Knee pads & gloves are strongly advised. We cant advise strongly enough that knee pads, gloves & long sleeves should really be worn. We expect some riders to use full faces helmets on the stages but remind you that unless you are walking with your bike a helmet is 100% compulsory to be worn at all times, correctly fastened

Health & Safety: Anyone wearing headphones whilst riding on course (with a bike) will be disqualified – No second chances. You have been warned! Helmets worn correctly at all times whilst between the tape. No pushing back up the track during practice or racing, no walking the course during race runs. Absolutely no travelling in the wrong direction on the stages at any time. The arrows will lead you too the next stage, or if you wish to session a stage you may need to consult the trail map for a suitable route.

BAR END PLUGS MUST BE FITTED – You will not be allowed to enter the course without them

Self Sufficiency : No outside assistance is allowed and no racers riding as domestiques. However helping a fellow competitor is actively encouraged, just not one team member carrying a huge backpack of spares while others race without.

You will see a number of the rules and regulations require you to do certain things at certain times – Failure to adhere to these rules could result in you having to ride back to the car park, go back down the field or be disqualified – I’ve tried to make it simple and straight forward for everyone, but if you are confused please just ask.

SMK/PMBA Enduro reserves the right to modify or cancel the event if circumstances beyond the control of the organiser should arise. This includes cancellation of event due to extreme weather, acts of God, violence, civil disobedience and war.
If the event is cancelled we will not be liable for costs of travel fares, hotels, or any other expenses that may be incurred.
It is your responsibility to ensure the race is going ahead before travelling. We will do our best to inform you if the race has to be cancelled but we do not accept liability if we are unable to contact you. We strongly advise that you check before making travel and accommodation arrangements.
If the event is cancelled we would endeavour to reschedule if possible. Please be aware that we may be unable to refund or part refund any entry fee. We are also maybe unable to transfer your entry to another event.

See you all at the event; Kev as well as other members of the team will be around on Saturday and Sunday so feel free to ask any questions.

Regards
Kev Duckworth – Series Promoter