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On Saturday 1 June, the Schwalbe British 4X Series returned to Harthill in Cheshire for round three of the 2013 series.
With the weekend also hosting the second round of the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series on Sunday, a lot of European riders were present. Tomas Slavik, Felix Beckeman, Hannes Slavik, Martin Neumayer, Mirco Weiss, Helen Fruwirth, Anna Borschig plus many more had all made the journey over to Cheshire for the weekend, and that included them racing in the British round on Saturday.
At lunchtime the motos got underway. In the women's race, 16 women had entered the race and it looked like it was going to be a battle between Katy Curd and Helene Fruwirth. Both were riding fast, but it was Curd who took all the wins in qualifying.
In the small final it was Cara Murray who took the win and the final spot on the podium. In the main final, Curd lined up in gate one, Helene Fruhwirth in two, Suzanne Lacey in three and Anna Borschig in four.
Curd made her best gate of the day and took a dominating win. There was a great fight for second between Fruhwirth and Lacey, but at the finish line Helene took second, Suzanne in third and Borschig in fourth.
In the men’s race, 29 elite riders were entered. Felix Beckeman, Will Evans, Tomas Slavik and Scott Beaumont went unbeaten in the motos. They were all looking fast along with Hannes Slavik, Duncan Ferris and Nate Parssons.
In the first semi final, Scott Beaumont took gate one, Tomas Slavik in two, Duncan Ferris in three and Nate Parssons in four. Beaumont got the snap and led through the first two turns. Ferris carried amazing speed in turn two and passed Slavik into the third turn but lost grip and ran off track on the exit. Slavik held onto second and moved onto the final with Beaumont.
In semi final two, Beckeman was in gate one, Will Evans in two, Hannes Slavik in three and Dan Bateson in four. Beckeman made the jump and won start to finish. A great battle in second between the other three with loads of passes, but it was Will Evans who took the final spot.
In the small final Dan Bateson took the win and the final spot on the podium with fifth for the day.
In the main final Beaumont was on one, Beckeman in two, Slavik in three and Evans in four. Boom Boom made the gate and led the race through the tricky first two turns. The RSP riders Slavik and Beckeman battled and this gave Evans the opportunity to power around the outside. He flew into second behind Beaumont.
The two Brits pulled a lead and they were close all the way to the finish but Beaumont took the win, Evans in second, Beckeman in third and Slavik fourth.
Other winners
Big Fun (17+) – Ryan Turner
Rippers – Harry Fernihough - DBS
Youth – Ryan Hutchinson – Stealth 4X
Junior – Luke Cryer – Naked Racing
Senior – Mathew Sills
Masters – Stephen Russell
Veterans – Simon Rickett
