The day started off like any other qualification day with downhill skateboarders gathering at the start line... But the atmosphere was charged - this was a track like no other!
With the marshals at their posts, the riders took their first practice runs at 10 am, with qualification beginning at 11:30 am. The time taken between qualifications heats tended to be lengthy; crashes occur frequently and marshals need time to ensure that the most dangerous sections of the track are clear for oncoming riders.
Crashing occurred frequently on the hot track - a total change from last year's rain racing. Riders struggled to pull back their drifts as they entered corners made slippery by thane dust and the heat.
A speed trap was set up on the first straight after the dip, which allowed riders to compare their top speeds with other racers. Nick Broms (US) won the unofficial skateboard speed contest (Opens AND Juniors) with a recorded 117km/h. Ulrich Becker (DE) topped the luge category with an incredible 121km/h.
Qualifying times proved to be another matter, with Chase Hiller (US) setting the track record AND best time (2:13:75) with a single qualifying run in the morning. Lisa Peters (NL) topped the Women's category (2:33:93), with Teresa Gillcrist (US) coming in hot behind her with a 1.47-second gap ( 2:35:37). Ulrich Becker topped the luge category (2:16.28) with Olivier Gering (FR) qualifying less than a second behind him (2:16.96). In Junior's category, Nick Broms once again comes out on top and placed an impressive 4th in opens with his qualifying time (2:16:55). Meanwhile, Pearse D'Arcy and Yanis Markarian, the two contenders for European Champion are separated by a gap of fewer than 1.5 seconds. The full results are available here.
In the honorable mentions, OG Patrick Switzer has made a reappearance on the world circuit and qualified strongly at 7th.
With such close margins, the track tomorrow is anyone's game. Who will come out on top? Stay tuned to find out!
