I first rode the Munkae 190mm trucks set up on a Rayne Isis (the older, bigger model) down the gnarly hills of Malibu, CA.
They were perfect for the high speed bombing and freeriding that I was doing. With the 42.5 baseplates I had an insanely rad lean/turn ratio for throwing down fast 180’s and standup checks into corners. Running them with 87a Venom Barrels nice and loose they didn’t get a single twitch down the 70-80km/h straights into corners. This was awesome because I could run them nice and loose for throwing standup slides and not have to worry about getting sketchy when hauling ass down the faster sections. I was in love….
The next day I took the same setup to the infamous GMR, this run is 19km’s of winding, banked, fast corners. The banking on these corners is so intense that you can rail through a hairpin at 60-70km/h without sliding or footbraking and stay in your lane. First run down I knew these trucks had been designed for roads like GMR. Railing fast from left to right through these amazing chicanes and hairpins the trucks felt alive under my feet.
After getting back to Sydney I set my board up with some of these and took them out for the ultimate test of durability, the Sydney City Bomb Squad…
I had my doubts about the Munkaes as a carpark and city shredding truck. They seemed as though they were a bit dead below 15-20 km/h with the bushings I had in them. I changed out the top bushings for some nice and loose Venom 85a barrels and suddenly they were begging to be slashed. Smashing down tight, grippy carparks with dudes all around, they were turny and responsive, but still took a bit of getting used to. Throwing slides going slow they were a little bit stiff but the nice low profile kept the slide nice and smooth even with lipped 70mm S9 wheels on grippy concrete surface.
Another awesome feature of the Munkaes is the removable axle, I had no fears of bending the axles when early grabbing 5 stairs and ledges. Even if they had bent I wouldn’t have to dish out a heap of cash for a new hangar. They also have 35 and 49 degree baseplates and have just brought out some 174mm hangars for those who like narrower hangars.
Overall the Munkae trucks were exactly what I was looking for. A perfect allround truck that can handle pretty much anything you ride, jump or slide them down.
Pros:
-Stable
-Rad turn/lean ratio
-Built like a brick shithouse
-Lightweight
-Different baseplate/hangar sizes
-Replaceable axles [also come in 10mm]
-Awesome colour variations
- Nice and low
Cons:
-A bit dead at lower speeds
-Could be a bit too low on a dropped/dropthrough board
Downhill: 10/10
The Hopshop disclaimer
Gabe is on the Hopkin Racing Team, he gets flowed gear from the Hopkin skateshop. The manufacturers of Munkae Trucks did not flow him any trucks nor did they pay him for this review.
And the photo of Gabe sliding, he is not using munkae trucks...I just added it because it is a sick photo.
See it in action below, World’s number one men’s and women’s racers have already registered. Kevin Reimer and Brianne Davies. Current 2010 World Champions. General registration opens on Saturday.
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Kozakov Challenge has World Cup status this year. Last year it was the European Championships and voted by most racers as the best event on the European Tour in 2009. Here is the teaser video
And here is the Jackson Shapiera report…
Looks like the race is going to get rained out, which kinda sucks because this was the one race I was looking forward to all year, however I can’t complain because I just scored myself another podium.
Had so much fun riding this track, we had a full day of freeriding and had so many runs in, got the course dialed and then spent some time filming and checking out different lines people were taking. When we hit qualifying day I was in a great mood, so excited to run the track again and its a really fun track to ride solo. I love the speed you get into the windy section and the corners only need a little bit of breaking to really rail it.
First run felt pretty solid but I went for the safety run to get a good time, my wheels broke a little bit too much into the first section but made the rest of the run clean. By the time I was up for my 2nd run the tail wind had picked up and I was super excited to rally down the track at top speed. I used the tail wind to my advantage in the bottom section by making a clean line through the last lefty to gain maximum exit speed down the long straight. I felt that I went faster down that section than I had ever before and went full tuck through the last sweeper. The line was clean with no drifting and gave me enough speed to secure the 3rd spot in the qualify list.
Christoph Batt has really been stepping it up this year with his crazy double-grab footbreak technique allowing him to slow down quick enough to rally top exit speed through corners, and a man his size with a good tuck allows him to rip it mega through the straights. The dude is on fire and managed to secure a solid time earning him the top qualify spot right in front of Kevin, and I guess with this rain cloud not moving from the top of the hill, thats going to be the final standings for the last race of the euro tour.
Pretty stoked to start off the euro tour with podiums and after a few rough ones here and there ending with another podium. yeeeewwww!
Can’t wait to get back to ozzie to ride with all the boys again, looks like everyone has been having a rad time organizing outlaws and doing road trips, and its gonna so awesome to come back home and join in the fun with my mates again.
see ya in a couple days!!! I’m coming home early.
UPDATE ON THE RACE
The race got cancelled, the cloud never cleared. that means Jackson got 3rd!
Another Team Orangatang win!! The Otangs are having a big year on the IGSA tour.
1. Patrick Switzer (CAN)
2. Christoph Batt (SUI)
3. Douglas “dalau” Silva (BRA)
4. Ramon “aussie” Konigshausen (SUI)
Here is how the Juniors went down through Merrick’s eyes:
[Merrick]
Today was race day
Woke up with the leg feeling 100% and just generally feeling good about it all.
First thing was Juniors. There were 3 dudes that had a genuine chance: Luke Melo, Justin Readings, and myself.
We all started at different end of the draw.
We all had a simple first round, making it through, I won my heat.
In round 2 was the semi’s…
I was against Justin (CAN) and 2 European grom’s… I won the heat. Justin crashed out following me into the first corner, I jammed a hard heavy foot break, and he went to slide, but crashed out, because he tried to avoid taking me out. (Thanks man, I appreciate it)
Then was the finals. It was Luke Melo (number 1 qualifier), 2 quick euro groms (Piton and Conan) and myself.
I kicked out hard, and drafted Luke, passed into the fast part on the straight, then I foot broke, for the first corner and he passed back, using a quick check. I followed him down the whole way. Pumping and kicking out of every turn to build speed on such a slow lower section of the hill.
We exited the last right, the pressure was on, and Luke went to kick, as I pumped next to him on the exit. He fumbled and nearly fell, wobbling and nearly taking us both out. After he managed to get one last kick in putting him just in front. I tried to make a pass on the last sweeper, but for some reason I clapped (never clap in a race) and he closed me out. I took a happy second, and we both managed to survive!
Final results in the Junior race
1. Luke Melo (CAN)
2. Merrick Wildash (AUS)
3. Gabin Piton (FRA)
4. Pierre Conan (FRA)
Then we had opens.
In my first round of opens it was Mischo, and 2 euro dudes. I kicked out hard, and got in front of Mischo, I lead the whole way into the corner, Made a small break into the corner and surfed around, Mischo was behind in second (for how long I don’t know) I looked back when I reached the 2nd left hairpin, to see no one behind me, this felt great!
I just beat the 2009 world series champion was all that was going through my head.. lol
I won the heat, and a french dude, make 2nd, with Mischo finishing 4th and knocked out in the first round!!
I was so stoked on beating Mischo I forgot to change my wheels for the next round…
In round 2 of opens it was pretty much the junior final again, Luke and Myself with Justin and the french dude.
I kicked out hard, and lead into the first corner, knowing luke would pass when I foot breaked, I was in second after the 1st corner, then I went into the 1st hairpin (This was when I realised I forgot to change my wheels) I did not break enough, and scrubbed out, and thought I still had it, but then I hit the hay debris on the road, I came to a stop, and when I jumped back onto my board I was in 4th, but not by much.
I finished in 4th, that was roughly 24th over all. I was stoked.
If I had made it through I would have met Leeso in the next round.
Unfortunately, Leeso crashed out ending his day in the top 16 (Yeeeh bro)
Jacko also unfortunately crashed in his top 16 run ending his day.
So all in all it was a good day. And I got a cool looking cup/ plate not quite sure what it is hahah.
Well that’s the end of my Euro trip, what a way to finish, Now all I have to do is get shit done at home, and win… Newtons.. .(I can dream right)
Fruit booters are a nuisance the place is filled with them, but I give them credit, they know how to run a race! The organisation is something. Everything runs so smoothly over here.
The hill it self is a bit lame, a fast straight into a tight left right then from here on you don’t go over 45km an hour through the next 6 hairpins.
The hill was wet in the morning during first practice runs, I did a run with Jacko.
We come down the straight, I give him space into the first corner all going good, then we exit the corner 15-20m apart, then he hits a wet patch and slides, then I literally tackle him off his board and he lands on my leg, and dislocates my Fibular.
I finished the run, and the next 8. Then I went as saw a dude, and he looked at my leg, and told me that I had a dislocated Fibular, and he can put it back in. I said ok after I qualify.
So I qualified with a dislocated Fibular, and got a time of 2:07.45
The rest of the Aussies qualified
4th – Jacko (2:01.41)
19th – Leeso (2:04.98)
31th – Merrick (2:07.45) and Second in Juniors
46th – Dani (2:10.75)
First run down Robin, Leeso and I all ate it coming into the first corner, was hilarious. we all continued to eat it all morning, forgetting how tight and fast the track is, trying to negotiate the right lines.
After a lunch break it got awesome, there were two shuttle buses running in alternation up the back of the hill, so the runs were endless. Once you get to the bottom you wait no longer than 5 minutes for the next bus. This allowed so many runs and the appropriate shredding of the gnar. The organizers here are rad and let us skate without leathers, so i rocked the green overalls I partied in at Almabtrieb and shredded till my legs could take no more.
I think I shredded a bit too hard on the first day, as I bailed in the first corner of my qualify run today. Totally blew it, scrubbed a few corners and got an average time. I’m in good company, a lot of skaters crashed in qualifying, Erik, Dalau, Aussie Ramon and Scoot (who won last year). It’s raining now, hopefully it pisses off for tomorrow so I can have a stab at a better time, otherwise I will just have to deal with a bad starting spot in the bracket.
Either way this hill is epic, so much fun. Its like a playground of radness.
K-rimes got top qualify, Switzer actually got a faster time but refused to wear the racer bib. They warned him if he didnt wear it properly they would DQ him, so he did it anyway, got a whole second faster than Kev, and got DQ’d… hilarious.
Evran was ripping in 2nd place.
Leeso got a pretty solid time (33rd), faster than mine (47th), but he said he scrubbed a little in the last corner and crawled to the line. If the weather holds up tomorrow we can get some good runs in.
Dani is not skating, he fell over with a beer bottle in his pocket at the party in Almabtrieb and cut his leg open big time. Had to get 14 stitches. So he’s on the camera somewhere, we should score some good footage and get a rad vid happening after the race!.
cheers for now
jacko
Graveyard Call
Run #1 Qualifying Leaders
1. Kevin Reimer, Canada 2:08.113
2. Evren Ozan, United States 2:08.672
3. Stefan Ruefli, Switzerland 2:09.484
4. Christoph Batt, Switzerland 2:10.448
5. Christoph Haller, Switzerland 2:10.661
6. Mischo Erban, Canada 2:11.079
7. Adam Persson, Sweden 2:11.752
8. Haakon Wegge, Norway 2:12.514
9. Patrick Aldinger, Germany 2:12.844
10. Audun Guneriussen, Norway 2:13.031
Marcus has updated the IGSA World Cup rankings today, and the Aussies are making a charge to the top!
Open Downhill Skateboard
Jackson is sitting in 9th. This is despite thumbing his nose at Maryhill and racing in Norway.
Yat-dawg is a very relaxed 12th
Merrick has jumped up the rankings with a good Almabtrieb finish at 26th
Bowditch at 45 with bragging rights over… Leigh at 50!
Corey at 68
and it goes on, you can find other competitor rankings by following the link at the top.
There is a new name rocketing in and that is Lance Evans! Ranked 382 in the world with a bullet!!
The open division is interesting, they are very crowded at the top of the points table. From where Jacko is sitting there is only 300 or so points to the top three. 300 points is less than a top 20 finish in a World Cup! Between K-Rimes (1) and Scoot (2) is 123 points. So although K-rimes is dominating the podium this year, Scoot is the quiet assassin. Consistent, drafting his points just behind Kevin, waiting for the right time to pass. Anything can happen this year, one big win by another racer will open this whole competition up. An example of how competitive it is this year, the top 16 qualifiers at Almabtrieb made it through to the final 16. Something that has never happened before in a World Cup race. Means the top riders are on their game, focusing, limiting their mistakes. It is all looking like an explosive finish at Newton’s Nation this year, it could come down to the big race at Bathurst, who will be crowned World Cup Champion!
Juniors 2 Downhill Skateboard
Competition is hot, it is the new generation of downhill skateboarders that have grown up on longboards, have known nothing else, and will dominate racing in this new decade.
Merrick is 8th, 150 points behind the leader, Luke Melo. Luke will be hard to beat, he is on tour in Europe, and a solid competitor who always finishes at the top. The next few races could decide the overall winner: Evran, Spencer, Luke and Merrick = who ever places highest in the next two races could be untouchable going into the Australian IGSA World Cup event
Josh Evans is in the middle of the field at 38. With only one race under his belt this year (points are calculated on the best 4 races), it just shows he is a quality competitor, a contender in future years.
Jackson has been quiet on the emails the last few weeks. He has had an epic weekend at Almabtrieb, and has taken some time out on the car trip to France (Graveyard Call) to report his personal account of the weekend’s racing at Almabtrieb. Buckle up, here is Jackson’s race report!
[Jackson]
There was no Almabtrieb in 2009, it returns in 2010, and for the big one, the IGSA World Championships.
In my experience of racing in Europe, the Almabtrieb event is always the most fun and exciting event in the line up.
My first Almabtrieb was in 2008 at Jungholz, Germany/Austria (you crossed the border before the finish line) and was organized by the well known Stephan Risch. This year the event was back and was nothing short of amazing. All the riders who came to compete were so impressed by the organization of the event which included a large rider’s tent with a bar, food and great parties.
The hill was definitely World Championship material, it had technical turns with some late apexes, long straights with speeds up to 100km/h and huge fast hairpins that required a lot of speed control to negotiate so you can exit with a solid amount of speed.
The field of riders attending this race was of the best in the world. Crews came from all over the world including the best from Canada, USA, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Brazil and many more. Being at the top of the hill with so many talented skateboarders on one of the raddest tracks in the world was simply a blessing, mixed with hot sunny days and cheap beer I could not ask for a better time.
We had one full day of practice to start with to allow everyone to jam out and figure out the lines on the hill. It was a really hot day and the heat was taking its toll, sapping up everyone’s energy, I chilled out a lot in the shade with the Sector 9 crew at the top of the hill waiting for the last runs of each practice round and had lots of fun jamming out with Louis, Jeff, Evran and also James Kelly.
After a long day of riding and many runs, we called it quits and went back to the campsite for beers. The atmosphere at the party tent was just rad, everyone had a smile on their face, excited to get the qualifying happening the next day.
The first day of qualifying allowed a few warm up runs in the morning followed by a lunch break and then into the long process of qualifying all the riders. As the day went on and the faster riders continued to impress, stepping it up and kept lowering their times. Andrew Chapman held the best time for a while until the top 10 riders kept busting out fresh times and raising the gnar bar. After watching everyone push off the start line going for the fastest time Louis and I were having a laugh at how many people nearly fell off while pushing, and then I found out later that Louis actually pushed himself off his own board when he went for his run. Fortunately for him there was a 2nd chance to qualify for a good starting position on the following day’s qualifying. I managed to post a solid time putting me in the 3rd spot on the first day with James Kelly in front of me and Kevin a solid 2 seconds in front of him. Team Orangatang rounded out the top 5 qualifiers for the first day, really stoked to see the boys keeping the gnar bar raised and shredding it up.
On the 2nd day of qualifying, I opted to sit out and watch. The temperature was high as was the amount of de-hydration. I had already posted a good time and felt confident that my starting spot in the race would be good. It was great to watch the other riders come down the track, I got a chance to learn a few lines and check out the different styles of riding. That night everybody got a good sleep and started to get prepared for the following day of intense racing.
Almabtrieb really stepped it up this year with a racing bracket that allowed 128 riders. This was awesome as so many people had a chance to go for victory and get in the mix. However this made the race much longer than previous races I’ve attended. From the start the heats were stacked, the amount of talent getting around the world these days is extremely high. At the start line I was always nervous because anything can happen in racing and it gets really tough when you have to battle heat after heat with really fast riders. After a few rounds the heat was really starting to take it’s toll and I was getting ready to be beaten so I could sit down and just watch, but somehow I managed to keep it together in the racing, held my lines and picked my passes right and stayed in the game. Once I got to the round of 8 I was back in the zone, stoked to make it through so many heats and got to a place on the bracket I like to call Bonus Round (after the top 8 your then either in the finals or consolidation final) so you have raced every round of the day.
In the Semi Finals I was up against Kevin Reimer, James Kelly and Christoff Batt. Both James and Kevin pushed out like animals and got a good start to the heat. I went into hunting mode and chased down James and got into a good drafting spot before the long straight. A little bit of exit speed mixed with a good draft was a good combination for hauling ass down the straight and getting ahead of James to take 2nd spot behind Kevin and into the final round. From there it was Kevin Reimer, Patrick Switzer, Erik lundberg and myself facing off for the title of World Champion.
Right from the start Kevin was off like a race horse, exploding out of the starting line and into the lead with Patrick followed close behind, and Erik and myself behind them. The pack stayed extremely tight coming into the first few corners and was really exciting to mix it up with these guys, swapping leads and pushing the limits down the track. Kevin held a commanding lead down the whole track with Switzer going for the draft along the fast straight. Chasing these guys down the fast part gave me an extremely enormous draft and I had to make a daring pass on Switzer as he was footbreaking into the last corner. I did not want to mess everyone up with a sloppy footbreak at 90ks, I decided to pick a good spot and throw a mega slide. It was a daring move but then allowed for a chain of events to follow, I scrubbed a lot of speed through the corner and both Erik and Switzer passed me through the exit, however this put two people in front of me allowing a bit of a draft coming down the final section. I felt myself start to pick up some more momentum following them and timed the pass right to take the 2nd place. Kevin just totally dominated and whooped all our asses. He had enough distance before the finish line to look back, stand up, carve twice and fist the air before taking the win. My hat goes off to Kevin, he skated extremely well all day (and has been all year) and is really pushing the limits. He is such an extremely talented skateboarder and getting the chance to race with him at the world championships is truly and honor, well done Kevin!
After the opens were done we all got a chance to hang out and watch the Juniors and the Women’s race. Brianne took another World Championship title with 2 rippers from Norway taking 1st and 2nd in the juniors (Auden Gunnerlussen and Hakon Wegge). Unfortunately young Merrick from didn’t make it to the finals, however he was shredding all week posting solid qualify times and really raising his own level of riding.
Well done to all the competitors who raced this track, it was definitely not a beginners track and well suited the title of the 2010 world championship track.
Big thanks go out to Stephan Risch for bringing back Almabtrieb and giving everyone a chance to hang out and ride at one of the sickest hills in the world with some of the sickest riders in the world.
Merrick has sent in his race report. I have been waiting for this email, he was looking the goods to place well in the Junior category and when the results arrived, Merrick has slipped down the placings. Merrick explains all…
[Merrick]
So yesterday was race day. It was super fun.
Open racing was first thing in the morning, it started off good with all 32 heats taking about 3 hours to finish.
In my first heat I was the fastest qualifier so it was a nice easy run.
Then second heat I was with Christoff Batt (8th Qualifier)
I won the second heat with Batt in second.
The third heat was a step up in competition. I got pushed out in front off the first right, and then used as draft bait for everyone. I was leading for most of the race (dreaming of glory) until the last left, and I got passed by Batt and Dalua. I then drafted Dalua in the last straight and went to pass at the finish line, hit a stone and took 3rd. Knocked out.
In the Juniors
I won all my heats until the semi’s.
In the semi’s I was sitting in third place, I decided to go wide to the left, pass Auden in second place, then draft down the straight and take 1st. That was the plan. Auden slide out way wide, I put a hand up to stop him crashing and taking us both out. After I stabilised him, he knocked my hand off him, resulting in me into the bales!
In the consolation final I was just cruising behind Luke Melo at the end and had a finish line crash! Broke my Charley, split my leathers. So it was an interesting day of racing. I’m not dirty on what happened today, had a rad day working my way through the Open heats, learnt a lot of good racing techniques. My run in with Auden in the juniors semi was just bad luck. It turned out to be the make or break moment for both of us, Auden went on to become Junior World Champion, me eating haybales. That’s racing, the unpredictable nature of it is probably why we all love it, and keep doing it. It’s has made me more determine to place well at Graveyard Call. The favourites at Graveyard will be Evren and Riley. It will be a great battle, and it starts in a few days!
Manufacturers
