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Chesterfield Brings Down Curtain on 2006 National Series
National BMX Series Round 7
Chesterfield, 28 August 2006
Report: Rich Eames | Images: Blackdog & Steve Bodey
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And so we entered the final round of the national series for 2006, a mixture of thrills, spills and multiple trips down the M5. But not this week, for we were at the iconic BMX Mecca that is Chesterfield. Downhill first straight to oh-my-giddy-aunt first turn to bump and jump the rest of the way round. Titles were to be decided and dreams were to be realised or relinquished, let battle commence!
6 and under; the pocket rockets gave it their all, as always, with Gideon Orena chalking up the win from Daniel Blanche and an unlucky Lewis Hipkins who fell in the second turn.
7 year olds; Kye Whyte sports an E8 plate and took it to the top spot on the podium followed by Luca Premola on his white Hyper (nice bike Luca!) with Eddie Moore in third. Is Eddie still the smallest kid in BMX? Probably not now? - oh well.
8 year olds; Team Intense had Reece Brownson leading this one from the off but under pressure from Paddy Sharrock who became the second victim of that second turn. Joshua Moore took second and Tom Novis third.
9 year olds; As the gate fell the 9's were so close together you could have thrown a blanket over them but some nudging took down Alexander Pullen and put Jack Clarke out as well. It didn't bother Jimmy Orena who was out in front to take the win.
10 year olds; Lewis Ferguson was on fire in this one and wasn't to be touched but it didn't come without serious pressure from 'Trousers' and Oliver Fay. I can't wait till these guys are pro if the racing is this good now. Zach Stevens took fourth.
11-12 year olds; 26 riders in this one which was nearly 25 cos' Ben Clarkson jumped the second straight double in his semi and 'dinked' it front and back wheel nearly giving me a heart attack on commentary. His luck ran out in the final with a third, Bradley Minns got 2nd and Reece Hoggatt 1st.
13-14 year olds; This class rocks, plain and simple. Deane Ashcroft and Andy Cameron were battling with Andrew getting the slightest of nudges in a turn sending him off and into eighth place. This left the 'Deane Machine to take it to the line with Jake Ferguson in two and Matthew Kirk in three.
15-16 year olds; Cal Strickland had the title in the bag already which was a good thing as he didn't seem to be able to put winning laps together all day long. Alix Deakin could though and he did it when it counted in the final. Cal took second so I wish had bad days like that on my bike with Dan Price third and Steven Sewell fourth. This class has been an absolute blast to watch this year and hope it continues into 07.
Girls next; Jenny Noble took another win in the 7-9 Girls from Chloe Taylor and Victoria Kinrade (Isle of Man) Unless I'm very much mistaken Charlotte Green hasn't lost a lap all year! A Carmichael-esque domination of the class and she even has the Fox gear to match MX's all conquering champion. Charlotte was even getting rad and jumping down the first straight to lead Bethan Hallet and Emma Coles in on the day.
Nicola Reed did a similar thing in 13-15 Girls keeping a clean sheet all day long from Jessica Rogers and Nicola Rogers.
Only 5 ladies in 25+ and the usual battle ensued between Abi Hill and Nikki Spiers with Kim Bent in third, Gail Aspden fourth and Jane Keating fifth. Junior Female had seven riders with Lauren Smith utilising her honourary Midlands status to the fullest by taking the win from Ria Goodman and Lucy Hale.
Cruisers; 12 and under finished Minns, Clarkson, Howard. 16-29 had a mix of Elite with Messrs Hill and Lacey in there but all the action went on further back with Roy Sutton taking a hard fall to wrecked elbow. Bruises and stitches for the North Region chairman, Dave Ives won on the day. 30-39 Bruiser was as stacked as always with a guest appearance by 'The Fed' who did a passable impersonation of Jenson Button by starting well and going backwards from then on!! Chalk up 4th for the man from BC. Neil Hopes was firing with a 5th and James Christie's consistency deserted him with a 7th on the day. Its that boy band he's forming with Bernie Schaale, its ruined his concentration! Out front Darren O'Neill showed he's still got it with the win from Pete Power and CJ Butler. Neil Harbour took a header over the gate and left the track holding his arm, hope he's OK.
40+ saw one of the scariest moments of the day, Shaun Calvert's accidental coming together with Ade Warden caused him to slam his head into the tabletop as he fell. Shaun immediately went limp and rag dolled down the jump, which is never good. Luckily the medics were on the ball and Shaun got out of hospital later that afternoon with bumps and bruises, get well soon Shaun.
19+ had a similar scenario with Russ Kirk pile-driving himself into the track as he battled with Antony Tuffs down the last straight. No word to his condition as I write this but I hope he's OK. Dan Hodge took 2nd and Matt Allen third.
Masters; By contrast this class seems almost serene these days! The fun and games started in the semis with Warlock just managing to hold onto a 4th place finish despite his legs packing up in the second turn. He got 7th in the final. Lee Alexander's lane sweeping skills served him well with a win from Jezza Hayes and Bobby Ball?.sorry Miles Kirby. It's the braces that caused the confusion!
So this leaves two classes; Elite, and Junior Men which was to see the match up that would decide the title. Dialled Bikes Lee Bromfield and Groove's Jonathan Roberts were the guys involved and whoever won took the title, simple as that. Lee wasn't even making mains last year but has proved that when preparation meets concentration you can achieve anything. Some serious off-season training has taken him to a level where he was battling for a number one plate. The gate dropped and he just went 'see ya' and that was that. Your number one junior male rides a Dialled Bike and is called Lee Bromfield. Congratulations to him.
Elite Men saw Kelvin Batey back on track after surgery on his shoulder and a heart op from which he was supposed to be having a rest. Kelvin's idea of rest is to get back on his bike and win three Elite mains!! Eh? How does that work then? Bloomy was challenging till that second turn put him on his backside and out of contention. Scott Beaumont was also riding well till a crash in the final main left him on the ground and in pain. Laurence Mapp got second with some consistent finishes with Wazza Bancroft third. Nice to see Lewis Lacey making an Elite main as well.
So that was the national series for 2006 all done and dusted. Just the Brits to go and that's it, see you at Harworth!!
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