Skerritt completes near sweep, Brubaker takes last women's PDX short track

Shannon Skerritt (Vanilla Bicycles) added an exclamation point to his domination of the Portland Mountain Bike Short Track series Monday night, winning the final race of the season and capping a run that saw him top the podium in each race he finished.

Tina Brubaker showed up for the Pro/Cat 1 women's race to take her first win of the series. Brubaker led from the start and finished comfortably ahead of Susan Sherman (Showers Pass), Abby Jenkins (Bridgetown Velo), Marila Alvares (Bike Gallery) and Susan Grandjean (Showers Pass).

Skerritt won six of the seven races in the summer series, falling victim to a mechanical last week that opened the door for Portland Bicycle Studio's Doug Wilmes, a consistent podium finisher, to finally reach the top spot.

But Skerritt suffered no bad luck at the series finale, charging out of the BMX gate area for the hole shot and charging into the lap 1 detour through the western edge of the infield. Skerritt put the race out of reach quickly and left the others to battle for second. Wilmes topped the field for the runner-up spot, finishing ahead of James Crowe (Revolver Cascadia) and River City Bicycles riders Davy Yeater and Tim Butler.

RESULTS
Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series
PIR, Aug. 3

Singlespeed
1. Furniss, Jacob (Revolver Cascadia) 5
2. Gilmore, Leland (River City Bicycles) 5
3. Bravard, John (Cyclepath Racing) 5
4. Barker, Scott
5. Pereira, Tony (Team Beer) 5

Pro/Cat 1 Women
1. Brubaker, Tina 5
2. Sherman, Susan (Showers Pass) 5
3. Jenkins, Abby (Bridgetown Velo) 5
4. Alvares, Marila (Bike Gallery) 5
5. Grandjean, Susan (Showers Pass) 5

Pro Men
1. Skerritt, Shannon (Vanilla Bicycles) 6
2. Wilmes, Doug (Portland Bicycle Studio) 6
3. Crowe, James (Revolver Cascadia) 6
4. Yeater, Davy (River City Bicycles) 6
5. Butler, Tim 43 (River City Bicycles) 6

Complete OBRA results are HERE.

Portland Short Track Series rolls out tonight at PIR

Dust off those knobby tires and pull the 'cross bike down off the rack, because the Portland Mountain Bike Short Track Series gets underway tonight on the infield of Portland International Raceway.

The seven-week series runs Monday nights June 22-August 3. In short-track tradition, racers will do multiple laps (3-5) on a course that includes a bumpy dirt track on the motocross course, fast grassy flats and a twisty section of fun singletrack under the trees. The compact course makes for a very spectator-friendly race.

There will be free races for the young ones over 10, starting every Monday night at 5:45 under the trees. There will also be a skills area, featuring skinnies, teeter-totters, even some miniature north-shore style ladders, all built and hosted by Northwest Trail Alliance.

Aslo new for the 2009 season, the series will host FREE clinics for novice and intermediate racers. The Women's clinics will be taught by local pro riders Sue Butler, Alice Pennington, Tina Brubaker and Emily Van Meter. The Men's clinics will feature longtime singlespeed short track racers Ethan and Jake Furniss. There will also be guest clinics by the three-time Short Track champ Shannon Skerritt and possibly some more. The clinics will be held from 5 to 5:45 on the race course. Meet-up is in front of the registration tent. Advance resgistration for clinincs is not required, but you need to fill out and sign a series waiver.

Start Times & Race Duration:
4:00 - Course open for pre-riding
5:00 - Registration opens
5:45 - Kiddie race - racing for 5 minutes (this race is FREE, but registration is required)
6:00 - Cat 3 Men, Cat 3 Women, Junior Men & Junior Women: racing for 20'
6:30 - Cat 2 Women (19-34 & Master 35-44 & 45+), Cat 2 Men Master 45+ & Singlespeed: racing for 30'
7:00 - Cat 2 Men 19-34 & Cat 2 Men Master 35-44 - racing for 30'
7:30 - Pro Men, Cat 1 Men (19-34 & Master 35+) & Pro/Cat 1 Women: racing for 30-40'