Street luge is a gravity-powered sport that involves laying down on a custom-made sled with wheels and riding down very steep slopes of varying grades and qualities.

Making the long roadtrip up to the Gold Coast were Nic McKirdy of Batemans Bay, currently ranked second in Australia in Classic Street Luge, and Ken Jacobs of Bermagui, ranked sixth.

Also racing was Ken’s partner Jo Jacobs, one of five women competing, as well as Bill Salmon, also of Bermagui.

The event was hosted by Brisbane Street Luge organisation and took place at Nerang, on the service road that surrounds the Nerang Cycle Centre.

The course was 300-metres long with top speeds of 60km/h reached on the high-quality asphalt.

Ken Jacobs said all the southern racers had a great time with good tight racing over the event.

The organisers BSL.com on their website said the rain in the morning kept things interesting, but there was still some great times laid down despite the slipping and sliding!

“Times kept dropping as the track dried and the riders got familiar with the track. It was a new course this year with more gates and technology and a new race system.”

“Thanks to all the riders for making the trip to Nerang to compete. It was great to see so many people travel so far, especially those from interstate! This year we had five ladies ride, more than ever before and enough to have a ladies only race, which they all really enjoyed.”

The full wrap-up and results can be found at:

http://www.brisbanestreetluge.com/default.asp?PageID=317

 The Narooma News has regularly reported on the group of Far South Coast downhill daredevils who make up the Southern NSW Street Luge Racers.

They’re from local towns from Batemans Bay to Narooma and Bermagui, and they travel as much as they can afford to events around Australia from Cooma to Mt Gladstone to Parkes.

Practice takes place early morning, on specially selected local but very steep byways with standard safety measures in place, but more on that later.

Nic McKirdy, who was last season was the Australian street and classic luge champion, has also travelled the world from South Africa to Europe to compete.

In classic luge, where street luge originated, all aspects of the wooden board are pretty much restricted, keeping costs down to around $300 and providing a more even playing field where the emphasis is on the rider as opposed to the equipment.

With street luge, most of the boards run six to eight wheels, they're usually made of metal and composites and range from $800 up to around $8000 and reach speeds of up to 85km/h.

BSL.com meanwhile on its home page says “street luge is a gravity powered sport that involves laying down on a custom made sled with wheels. Similar to its counterpart seen in the Winter Olympics, these sleds are used on asphalt roads instead of specially designed ice tracks.”

It goes on to say that riders can reach speeds anywhere from zero up to 157.41 km/h (the current world speed record for a gravity powered vehicle).  On average though a rider will experience speeds between 70 and 110 km/h depending on the hill.

“When riding, all Street Luge pilots wear full protective gear including helmets, full racing grade leathers, gloves and boots. You will see some riders even wearing body armour and pads. While being classified as an extreme sport Street Luge is relatively safe when done properly.”

Now for the results for the Southern NSW racers:

BSL Classic Luge

Nic McKirdy 4th

Ken Jacobs 5th

BSL Slalom

Bill Salmon 3rd

Nic McKirdy 8th

Ken Jacobs 14th

Jo Jacobs 15th

BSL Street Head-to-Head

Bill Salmon 3rd

Nic McKirdy 4th

Ken Jacobs 8th

Jo Jacobs 15th

Jo Jacobs ended up second top female rider after BSL Slalom 2013 day.

Current Australian 2013 season rankings in Street Luge:

Bill Salmon 2nd

Nic McKirdy 8th

Ken Jacobs 10th

Jo Jacobs 20th

Current Australian 2013 season rankings in Classic Luge

Nic McKirdy 2nd

Ken Jacobs 6th