The Steve Peat Syndicate convoy rolled in to Llangollen last weekend for round four of the Halo British Downhill Series.

Known as one of the steepest tracks in UK downhill, mixed track conditions – from wet and loose on Saturday to bone dry and fast on Sunday – added to the demands of the course and set the stage for SPS to put their season-long training to use.

With recent SPS recruit and experienced race mechanic Jamie Johnston busy in the pits preparing the team V10s for action, the riders walked the track and swapped notes with each other and team boss Peat before heading out for practice. The stage was set for race day.

As Sunday dawned, the sun appeared and dried the track out in record time. Gone were the loose, slippery conditions of Saturday practice and attention quickly turned to setting the bikes up for a fast, dry track.

“The camaraderie in this team is awesome to see,” said Peat after the event. “They all help each other with set up, track walks and lines. It makes me so proud to be part of SPS.”

The highly competitive expert class saw three SPS riders in action with Nathan Vials cementing his domestic comeback from an awful shoulder injury with a well-earned sixth place. By his own admission, Vials is not yet back to full strength so to finish just 1.45 seconds back from the winner sets him up nicely for the forthcoming World Cups in Mont St Anne and Windham.

Dale Russell, fresh from his 4X exploits at Fort William’s World Cup weekend, finished in 14th, with Tom Kelly in 31st.

Chris Griffiths has been flying the SPS flag in the masters category and his season-long battles with downhill legend, Nigel Page, have been one of the highlights of the season for many and continued last weekend with Griffiths coming in 3.4 seconds behind Page for third spot and yet another podium finish.

Team manager and reigning British masters champion, Tristan Tunstall, put in a strong ride to finish seventh.

In the bulging junior field, Josh ‘Loosedog’ Lewis continues to impress, finishing ninth.Billy Matthews and Freddie Oxley also ran strong races coming home in 15th and 17th places, respectively, while Jack Read and Ben Humphries finished 37th and 51st.

At the other end of the age range, vets SPS rider Ally Simpson, an NHS physiotherpist by day and also the SPS physio, finished 13th and then promptly ran off to check on team mate Jenny Beesley who he had earlier strapped up for her race run following an injury in Saturday practice.

In the senior men’s division, Michael Vickers’ early season form and debut SPS win has set expectations very high, although he could only race to eighth.

“SPS is growing more than I ever expected,” said Peat. “These guys are developing individually and as a team.

“It’s great to see them grow in confidence and improve their skills on the bike as the season goes on. We have some really talented riders here. They put pressure on themselves to perform well and our aim is to help them reach their potential quicker.”

Speaking of his latest recruit, mechanic Johnston, Peat added: “Jamie is a huge benefit to the group. Now we have a top class mechanic at every race to get the bikes ready for each run. I’m really pleased to have him on board with us.”

The next round of the Halo BDS is in Fort William on September 10, with the National Championships back at Llangollen on July 23-24.