Early in the season, there were several races “in the wet”, but November 12th brought warm weather, blue skies and a clean course. Practice began at 9:00am with the competitors taking multiple runs on the twisty “Raging Waters” course. Three-time IGSA World Cup Champion Dave Kessler suffered a huge end-over-end crash when he clipped the hay bales while exiting the 90-degree Verizon corner. He was fortunate to walk away, and with only a bruised ego! Practice concluded at 11:00am and the riders immediately went back up for their single qualifying runs.

In the G.F.Hurley Downhill Skateboarding class, Rick Kludy was the number one qualifier with a time of 1:05.464. He was followed by Danny Conner (1:06.378) and Kyle Vojtas in third (1:06.475). In Street Luge, Gravity Games Champion Mike McIntyre was the top qualifier at 58.470. Newly-crowned IGSA World Champion David Dean was second (59.048) and Tyler Wendtland was a close third (59.135).

In the other classes, Mike McIntyre was the overall top qualifier in the Garland Restoration Stock Gravity Bike Class with a sizzling 53.643 that shattered the previous track record by nearly two seconds! David Dean was fastest in Classic Luge, Tim Huber was number one in Downhill Inline and Frank Waterhouse was the top qualifier in the Fairing Gravity Bike class.

After qualifying it was time to race. A total of 14 skateboarders were entered in the G.F.Hurley Downhill Skateboard Class including eight first-time competitors! This was the largest number of competitors we had in DH Skateboarding all year at Bonelli. After a hard fought battle of four man heats, Rick Kludy took First Place and a check home for $125. Danny Conner was Second earning $75 and Justin Kludy was Third, earning $50 and making the podium a family affair. Tyler Wendtland earned a very respectable 4th place, al the moreso because this was his first-ever DH Skateboard event!

The Street Luge field was one of the strongest seen all year. 14 competitors entered into the four-man bracket. In the final, Mike McIntyre held off the hard charging David Dean who came all the way from Columbus, Ohio. Brian Lee from Salt Lake City, Utah took the third place medal. In the Garland Restoration Stock Gravity Bike Class, Mike McIntyre was victorious, earning $150 for his efforts. Dave Kessler from Mountain View, CA was Second, earning $75 and Noah Rutherford earned $25 for his Third place showing.

Other class winners included 2004 IGSA World Cup Champion Dave Lambert in Downhill Inline, 2005 Classic Luge IGSA World Champion David Dean in Classic Luge, Frank Waterhouse in Fairing Gravity Bike, Chase Orta in Jr. Classic Luge and Tabitha Collins in Jr. Stock Gravity Bike.

After the awards ceremony everyone headed to nearby Zendejas Mexican Restaurant for the presentation of the 2005 California Downhill Series Championship plaques. The 2005 California Downhill Series Champions were as follows:

The IGSA would like to send out a special thank you to the following workers whose tireless efforts made the 2005 California Downhill Series possible:

A special thank you also goes out to the IGSA’s sponsors: