Day 1 - Redbull Underground Brazil

Markolf dominates the first day of practice at the Red Bull Challenge in the
Goldmine

Brazilian biker Markolf Berchtold dominated the first official round of
practice at the Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine. The biker from Santa
Catarina got the best time yesterday (March, 24th) – 01:05:10. Next up
were Walace Miranda (Sao Paulo) and Djone Fornari (Rio Grande do Sul)
with 01:06:06 and 01:07:28 respectively.

By this Friday’s results, Markolf – number seven in the world and last year’s
second place in the World Cup stage held in Camboriu (Santa Catarina) –
proved to be among the favorites for the title. Australian biker Nathan
Rennie and the English biker Gee Atherton, another possible winner, also
showed their stuff. Gee Atherton got the fourth best time of the day and
Nathan Rennie came in fifth even though he made two mistakes.

“I felt great on the way down. I still think I can improve a little on my time
but I know the other bikers still have to improve a lot. The boys are going
fast and Gee and Nathan will improve on their times”, says Markolf.

Nathan Rennie, two-time world champion, thought much of the circuit and
said that he does not see himself as one of the favorites for the title. “The
times in general are good and I think I’ll be in the top five. But Markolf is
really fast and I don’t think I can match his time”.

Another highlight of the first day of practice was Felipe Wermuth (Rio
Grande do Sul). He got the best partial time until a fall jeopardized his
performance on the downhill. The first elimination round will take place this
Saturday at 9:30AM. All twenty bikers will complete the downhill again and
the ten best will qualify for the finals, which will take place on Sunday.

First day’s practice times:

1. Markolf Berchtold – 01:05:10
2. Walace Miranda – 01:06:06
3. Djone Fornari – 01:07:28
4. Gee Atherton – 01:07:49
5. Nathan Rennie – 01:08:24
6. Robert Sgarbi – 01:08:40
7. Martin Raffo – 01:09:41
8. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:09:86
9. Joao Ludolf – 01:11:04
10. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:11:07
11. Leandro Campovilla “Kblinho” - 01:11:61
12. Guilherme Bizarria – 01:12:69
13. Felipe Bortolletti – 01:12:45
14. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:12:75
15. Marcos Marra – 01:13:07
16. Marcio Ravelli – 01:13:96
17. Mario Jarrin – 01:14:94
18. Pablo Cingolani – 01:15:58
19. Kyle Strait – 01:20:42
20. Felipe Wermuth – 01:20:54