RAF ice men beat Army and Navy
30 Jan 09
In a nail-biting test of nerve and courage, the Royal Air Force has beaten the Army and the Royal Navy in the third and last course of the Cresta Toboggan Run at the Inter-Services Championships in St Moritz this week. Report by Wing Commander Sophy Gardner and Steve Willmot.
Group Captain Tim Below glides down the Cresta Run
[Picture: Oli Scarff, 2009 Getty Images]
It is the first time the RAF has won the prestigious high speed toboggan ice-race in ten years.
The Cresta Run is three-quarters-of-a-mile-long (1.6km), and winds down a steep gully of the small Swiss city through ten testing corners, ending at the tiny hamlet of Cresta. It is the oldest and steepest ice-run in the world, following much the same course since its inception in 1884/5.
The Cresta is ridden on a single-man toboggan, head first, with the top riders achieving finishing speeds of close to 80mph (128km/h).
With all three teams from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF short of some of their key players due to operational requirements ranging from deployments to Afghanistan to sailing the Navy's brand new Type 45 destroyer Daring into her home port of Portsmouth, the field for the 2009 competition was wide open.
At the end of the first course, the Army was out of the competition after one of their key riders fell at the notorious Shuttlecock bend on his first ride of the day. The Navy were just ahead of the RAF, with the combined total times putting them just 0.48 seconds ahead of the RAF.
Flight Lieutenant (Retired) Mark Adams takes a tumble on the notorious Shuttlecock bend on the Cresta Run at St Moritz
[Picture: Oli Scarff, 2009 Getty Images]
In the second round, the Navy edged ahead a little further leading the RAF by 1.07 seconds. But the Cresta Run takes no prisoners and there are never any guarantees. On the third and final run, top Royal Marine rider, Major Jamie Summers, fell at Shuttlecock and the trophies were up for grabs by the RAF.
British servicemen have been involved in the run since its early years, including founder of the Royal Air Force, Lord Trenchard. Formal competition between the three Services commenced after the Second World War and has continued to this day.
The Services compete for the Prince Philip Trophy (first presented by His Royal Highness in 1958) which is awarded to the Inter-Services team with the shortest overall time for the event. The winning RAF time of 525.97 seconds was 5.35 seconds ahead of the Royal Navy runners-up.
Wing Commander Tim Hill from Air Command at RAF High Wycombe received the Auty Speed Trophy after recording the fastest personal time of the day - 57.11 seconds - and also the Lord Trenchard Trophy for the fastest collective time over three runs.
Wing Commander Tim Hill recorded the fastest personal time of the day on the Cresta
[Picture: Oli Scarff, 2009 Getty Images]
The design of the run, and the nature of the bends, makes the Cresta one of the most challenging ice-runs in the world. While most are bobsleigh tracks, with high banks that make falling out a rare occurrence, the Cresta maintains the principles intended by its founders with low banks and tight corners that regularly eject the unwary or unskilled from the run. The Cresta requires considerable physical courage and is not for the faint-hearted - a perfect training environment for the Services.
The RAF team comprised top scorers Wg Cdrs Tim Hill (National Air and Space Operations Centre) and Andy Green (MOD Directorate of Air Staff), Group Captain Tim Below (Chief Test Pilot MOD Boscombe Down), Squadron Leader Derek Sington (111 (F) Squadron RAF Leuchars), Flight Lieutenant Jason Murray (RAF Brize Norton) and Wg Cdr Greg Cook (Operations Directorate MOD).
The championships were attended by senior supporters from all three Services: for the Army, General Sir Mike Jackson (retired), for the Royal Navy, Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Health), and for the Royal Air Force, Air Marshal Sir Barry Thornton, Chief of Materiel (Air).
The club room above the Cresta Run, with Service flags draped
[Picture: Oli Scarff, 2009 Getty Images]
Air Marshal Thornton did the RAF proud by competing in the Services' Silver Spoon Championship after only one day's experience on the testing course. As the RAF celebrated their Inter-Services win at the finish line, Air Marshal Thornton completed his third and final run of the day, posting a respectable sub-one-minute time and arriving at the finish line at breakneck speed on his toboggan.
He said:
"Riding the Cresta Run, even if only from the shorter course, was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have had - it was very, very scary! The courage, fitness, hard work and effort required to compete here are exactly the qualities we are looking for in our people - the RAF team have done a tremendous job and I take my hat off to them! But all the competitors gave their all and at the end there was only a few seconds between winners and runners-up."
RAF Team Captain and World Land Speed Record Holder, Wing Commander Andy Green, was a junior member of the RAF Cresta team the last time the RAF won ten years ago. Celebrating after the race, Wing Commander Green said:
Army competitors prepare for the Cresta Run
[Picture: Oli Scarff, 2009 Getty Images]
"It feels magic to win for the first time in a decade. Racing on the world's steepest ice-run, we all had to face our individual fears and challenges to post consistently high level performances - it made for a fantastic competition."
General Sir Mike Jackson said:
"The courage and stamina required to compete at this level is quite remarkable."
Surgeon Rear Admiral Jarvis said:
"It was a great competition - but obviously frustrating for us that the Navy lost in the closing minutes of the competition."
Captain Mike Davis-Marks, Chairman of the Combined Services Winter Sports Association, said:
"I'm gutted for the Navy but the sportsmanship and teamwork here at this championship typify why competitive sport is such an essential ingredient of the fighting spirit of the military."