Questars Race 4
Perfect Finish to the Series at Purbeck
David Hunt (Questars). Photos by Jon Brooke / 11.09.2008
At the pre-event briefing teams were forewarned about how tough much of the terrain had become due to recent rainfall, and where the muddiest parts could be anticipated. As it turned out the forecast storms abated for much of the day and teams enjoyed some sun and fine views.
Many teams reported back that they were bowled over, not just by the wind, but also by the scenery and stunning panorama afforded from the chalk ridge near Corfe Castle. Others who tackled the further optional checkpoints towards the World Heritage Jurassic Coast were rewarded with great views east as far as the Isle of Wight and west towards Portland Bay - where the Olympic Regatta will take place in 2012.
All the top teams took different route choices around the plethora of optional checkpoints. Strong bikers aimed to visit as many of the red checkpoints as they could and a number managed to gain all the available biking points.
The trail run started from a remote transition point on the high Purbeck Hills. This afforded teams access to some of the best areas of the Isle of Purbeck to the south. The kayaking stage also proved challenging in the wind, albeit some teams managed to visit all six optional checkpoints on the water, which was quite an achievement.
A number of the leading teams were caught out by the conditions as they opted to visit one too many checkpoints resulting in arriving late back at the big yellow finish arch.
Patrick Meldrum who won the third questars event in the series in July was determined to do the same in Purbeck. He had a storming day choosing a route very close to the 'perfect' route anticipated by the course planner. A combination of the tough conditions and the self imposed pressure of aiming for the top slot led to a rare error at the end of his race. This resulted in out of bounds penalty points and the loss of the top slot. This was partly compensated by his strong second place in the overall series leader board and the award of £500 worth of Merrell kit.
For the first time ever the overall questars series leader title was successfully defended by last year's winner Matthew Leathwood. He received the applause of his fellow adventure racers, as he was awarded the series trophy and a top of the range Rivette mountain bike at the post event prize giving.
Full results including split times and route choices of all teams are available now at www.emituk.com. Images of teams competing were captured at various places around the course by Jon Brooke and are in the photos section.
Eleven category winners in the Purbeck event also won prizes alongside the top ten teams in the overall series leaderboard. Quest is grateful to our event and series sponsors, Rivette, The Bike Chain, 2 Pure, SIS, Timex, Merrell and Likeys for the terrific prizes for event and series winners.
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