Features

GOODWOOD ACTION SPORTS 2017: Gallery

Photos by Ed Ballingal
Words by Robin Pearson

Every year, the Goodwood Festival of Speed comes round and we get excited about all the rare and amazing cars, crazy motorbikes, other exotic contraptions, crazy displays, interesting people, dirt jumps… Dirt jumps? Yeah, they always have dirt jumps. Goodwood Action Sports (GAS) has been running for a few years now and it’s always pretty sweet. The lineup was as good as ever this year, and with Kye Forte taking charge of course design and build, you know it was a good time… We asked him how it all went down.

– What’s it like having a dirt course surrounded by ridiculous cars?

“It’s insane, quite a location for a set of jumps, that’s for sure. But it does make it kinda hard to concentrate working or riding with so many distractions going on around the place.”

– What was the course like this year? what was the most fun part?

“The course was rad this year, we had a tall first set with wooden FMX style kicker. It then split into two dirt transfers followed by a huge scrub bump. There was an elevated curved wall, a big dirt spine and a huge quarter pipe to flat bank. After that the course went into a racer roller section, another elevated wooden section leading to a final straight jump. The curved wall leading into the dirt spine was so cool to ride.”

Nasty dog chillin! Cory Nastazio keeping it stylish on the first.

– Who else helped build the jumps, who rode them and who rode the best…?

“I have a great & loyal crew to call upon now: Toby Parker, John Wood, Mike Bennet, Jay Aliano, Done, Spider… Rushmore also helps out now and then.

It’s hard to pick who rode them best, everyone killed it. Doyle is always super rad aways again ripped the whole festival so I’ll go with him.”

– How’s Forte Trailscapes going? What else you been building?

“It’s going really good, we are steadily getting busier and bigger. I am continuing on from a previous company I recently sold that was based around mobile shows to concentrate on the track and trail building.

We now have a steady stream of work and I haven’t been taking on anything too big, just doing what we do and doing it well. Clients are happy and recommendations keep coming! But it’s hard work running the business and means working away a lot, which in turn increasingly gets in the way of riding.”

The man himself, Kye Forte. 360 Turndown on his 22″ United.

– What’s coming up next for you?

“Currently building NASS for the freestyle worlds. We then have to load all the dirt out the following week. After that we are back on to a long term secret project we are working on for a well known energy drink, before heading to London and building an 8000m2 temporary beach for a music festival! After all that I might get to ride my bike.”