Rider Profile: Mitch Ingley

Wideopen contributor and all around good lad Tom Gaffney just sent through a little writeup he’s done for Mitch Ingley who is looking for a sponsor in 2011. We first met Tom and Mitch in the Squadron team feature in Issue 13, see below:

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By Tom: Last year I briefly met a 15 year old lad, riding a orange that was hanging on for dear life. And now I have just witnessed the epic experience of the British Downhill Series covering how he has progressed through the past year. When Mitch first came onto the scene to me he seemed quiet and very focussed, but after finding out we dug on the same hill and the I lived round the corner from him this soon changed. I have seen him come out his shell over the series and he’s made lots of friends from it. But nows the hard part as he is trying to get a great sponsor for 2011! Please enjoy my production and look out for Mitch in 2011!

Who are you?
My name is Mitchell Ingley, I am 16 years of age and live in Burton Upon Trent. Through the 2011 season I will be racing in the Junior category.

What where your goals for this season and how did you go about achieving them?
My goals for the British Downhill Series where to finish in the top 15, this was going to be tough as I did not have the safety of the 1st round at Rheola. I went about achieving them by spending plenty of time on the bike, going out with friends riding and – at some points – going up the local every night either digging or riding. Also I joined a gym and started going around 3 times a week, this definitely helped!

Out of your goals what did you accomplish?
It was a close call, with crashing in Llangollen and having a really sore run to the bottom at Caersws, but I did what I wanted and finished in the top 15. Added to this I got a podium in the race at Aston Hill!

Is there anything in the series you see that could be improved venue / coverage wise?
All of the tracks where great! Although I really like Caersws when its soaking wet better. My favourite track in the UK is Llangollen so I was so pleased when they announced it was one of the venues. As for the coverage, due to the media accreditation system I think it inspired lots more people to go along to this series, as they had a bigger outlet for their material and saw more opportunities for getting it noticed.

Your favourite track of the year / why?
By far it was Llangollen, its a great track you can just let loose on and its got everything a great DH track is made of; steep, fast, loose and some super fun step downs at the end!

How fierce was the competition?
It was tough, I knew going into the season that it was going to be hard and not to expect to be finishing top 5 in the first season. But now I have a taste of how tough it is I will make sure to train extra hard to put in an amazing season in 2011!

Highlights / low points of the season:
The best bits of the season where definitely riding the best tracks in the UK and getting to see what the country has to offer. Top 10 at Moelfre and qualifying well in most of my races was also a big plus. The low points came in the form of crashing on race runs, I think this came about because I got myself too worked up just before my race run and tried to hit all my lines faster than I was prepared for.

What are your goals for next year and what is going to be done over the winter?
My aim is to finish in the top 5 in Britain and move up to expert or better! Also to try and not get worked up before runs, this way hopefully I should perform to the best of my abilities.

Any final thank you’s?
I would like to thank Thomas Gaffney for covering my season media wise, thanks a great team in the form of the Racers Guild Squadron. Also to my Mum and Dad for supporting me and taking me to all the races. And finally to Paul Machin, the mans a genius with spokes!