BOBSLEIGH: The Australian Bobsleigh Teams have had another successful weekend of racing in La Plagne at the Europa Cup with some solid results as crews hunt down PyeongChang 2018 qualification.
In the men's events, pilot Lucas Mata and David Mari recorded a 16th place finish in the 2man race, while the 4man finished in 15th and 16th in Races 1 and 2.
"It was a decent weekend for the boys, we came here to do a job and pick up some races we missed in Whistler at the start of the year and we walked away with more," Mata said.
"Yes we didn’t have the best equipment but we matched some really good teams. I feel like the 4man is really coming along now this season."
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Mata, the crew's only returning Olympian, was proud of the team's efforts lining up with some of the world's best bobsleigh athletes.
"As a team we pushed in the top 6-7 sleds in the competition against some great Europa Cup and some World Cup sleds.
"I’m really happy with our progress as a team and we are super fired up about the last race in Lake Placid where we will aim to really turn some heads."
In the women's event, pilot Breeana Walker and Mikayla Dunn finished in 9th place, +4.83 seconds off the German duo who took home the win.
"It was a great way to start off our Europa Cup circuit! Its a really fun track and as a pilot I learnt a lot," Walker said.
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Walker said the French track has one of the longest start ramps of any track in the world so the girls were forced to work hard on their push starts.
"I’m proud of the start times the girls laid down.
"We are really coming a long and the more races we compete in the more we grow and develop, as athletes and as a team.
"We were really happy to walk away with a PB start time and down time during the race to finish with a 9th place!"
The Aussie bobsleigh crews will now enjoy a break over Christmas before returning to competition in 2018, chasing Olympic qualification.
Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au
