Monterreal, Mexico – Practice and qualifying took place today for the Monterreal Longboard Festival near Monterrey, Mexico. The race is round number four of the 2012 NorAm Downhill Series and the first IGSA event ever held in Mexico.
Surprising nearly everyone, the track features combination of high-speed straights, fast sweepers and technical hairpins. Last weeksMaryhill runner-up Zak Maytumdescribed the course as, “Scary fast!” At 3.8 km in length, the course is the longest of any IGSA sanctioned event in 2012.
During the first practice run, Pre-race favorite Dillon Stephens has a high speed impact with the bales that left him with a deep cut to his shin. The injury required four stitches to close it up and Dillon sat out the rest of the day. His status is doubtful for today’s race
Two qualifying runs took place late in the afternoon. The riders were placed in order by their IGSA numbers. Since Kyle Martin carries the number 9 on his helmet this season signifying he was ranked ninth in the final 2011 IGSA World Rankings and he had the lowest number at the race, he went first. He crashed on his run and was in ninth position following the first qualifying attempt. Zak Maytum set the pace in the first run with a time of 3:24.085. He was followed by JulianoCassemiro from Brazil in second and Brent Dubendorff in third
The riders ran in the same order for the second run so once again Martin was the first to go. As he came through the finish, his time left everyone in disbelief. Kyle had run a 3:16.067! It was a full eight seconds quicker than Maytum’s first round leading time. One by one, each of the riders tried in vein to best Martin’s time. In the end K.C. Morrow came the closest with a time of 3:21.386. He was followed by Billy Meiners with a 3:21.450 in third, Maytum who improved his time to 3:21.971 to take the number four starting spot and JulianoCassemiro was able to hold onto the number five spot with the 3:24.784 he turned in on his first qualifying attempt.
Monterreal Longboard Festival
Top 10 Qualifiers
1. Kyle Martin, Canada 3:16.067
2. K.C. Morrow, United States 3:21.386
3. Billy Meiners, United States 3:21.450
4. Zak Maytum, United States 3:21.971
5. JulianoCassemiro, Brazil 3:24.784
6. Brent Dubendorff, United States 3:25.226
7. Justin Readings, Canada 3:25.609
8. Aiden Lynds, Canada 3:27.493
9. Brian Sandoval, Costa Rica 3:28.692
10. Daniel Caro, Mexico 3:28.712
Full Qualifying Results