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Report: East Anglian Winter Regional Round 1
Event: 25th October 2009 | Source: Julian Allen | Photos: Spencer Moret
Braintree Bullets BMX Club played host to the first round of the East Anglian BMX winter series last weekend. 136 riders, from 12 different clubs as far afield as Andover and Leeds made the trip to the Bullets track which gave the event a real National feel. Volunteers from the club had spent all of Saturday in unpleasant weather conditions, preparing the track to a superb standard. When Sunday morning rolled around the club was treated to glorious sunshine ready for the on track battles to commence.
The 7 and under boys class kicked off proceedings for the day. New riders Frank and Robert Whitworth worked hard to make the semi final stage but missed out on the top four positions and their day ended there. Owen Vaughan was another rider who missed out on the A final, but he redeemed himself with a win in the B final. The A final was packed with quality riders, and Braintree riders didn't disappoint. Joe Read-Millard was unstoppable, winning all of his motos, semi and the final. Sydney Allen had looked slick and smooth all day, and after a first straight wobble rounded off a good day finishing third, and Archie George followed his club mates home in eighth.
The racing moved on to the super competitive 8-10 boys which had 24 riders looking for action. The C final Saw Jake Newton in third, Christian White in fourth, Jacob Thomas in sixth, Evan Sorrel in seventh and Bernard Whitworth in eighth. Tom Stokes was riding up an age group and narrowly missed out on the A final with a fifth in his semi. In the B final Tom took a respectable second, closely followed by club mates Dan Gilbert and Luke Butcher who finished third and fourth respectively. Onto the A final and the culmination of the day. Luke Mayes who had an excellent second place in his semi finished fifth, Oliver Rowe finished fourth, but it was Charlie O'Grady who took the battle to the line and the second step on the podium.
The pace started picking up in the 11-13 year olds. After the motos Daniel Killingback had had to suffer the agony of a run off which he won to make the B final where he finished seventh. Girl racer Kelsey Dixon fought hard against the boys to take sixth and Evan Tulloch took the win. The A final was an action packed affair which saw a big crash on the first straight for Daragh Ward and Jedd Hurst, but they got up and dusted themselves down to finish seventh and eighth respectively. At the sharp end of the race more Bullets racers were getting it done. Jonathan Boreham finished fifth, Shane Redgewell finished fourth and after a second place in his semi Shane Pavitt romped home in third.
The 14-16 year olds saw the familiar figures of Chris Potter and Olly Cutmore battling it out at the front. They exchanged positions all day, and when it came to the final the race was on. Olly fought all the way around the 330 metre track but Chris was too strong and that was the way they finished with Chris in first and Olly in second. Jake Britton rounded off the A final field in eighth. In the B final, Hugh Mizen took seventh and Natalie Miller showed her home track expertise in third place.
Another class with 24 competitors was the 17 and over Cruiser class. Lee East suffered a nasty crash in his second moto and his day ended there with two heavily strapped wrists. His brother Ryan was equally unlucky and saw his day end with a crash in the motos along with lady rider Dee Williams. Paul Bateman returned to the fold and finished 3rd in the C final. The other Braintree riders in the class had much better fortune and breezed through the semis to the A final. Steve Gilbert put on a show and finished fifth, Lee Firmin battled through the mid-pack and took the third podium step and Danny Bateman returned after three years off to take the top step of the podium.
The senior citizens of the BMX world had low numbers in the class but that didn't stop the action. Steve Hurst returned to racing after spending most of the year with a back injury. During the motos he had consistent thirds, unfortunately his front wheel fell out in the final bringing his consistent day to an end. Mark Read-Millard had a very consistent day with second places in all of his races, finishing second overall.
The super fast 17 and over class saw a real national quality field. Narrowly missing out on the semis after unfortunate moto placings Matt Kirk and Joe Kennedy finished fifth and sixth in the C final, just behind Charles Moret in third. The B final had a whole bunch of Braintree riders in the field. John Stockwell showed the younger riders how it's done in sixth, Toby Bearne riding up an age group showed the older riders how to do it in fifth, Jake Ward took the battle to eventual winner Brad Watts and that was how they finished. The A final saw the return of last years British Champ Jason Jessop, who got a bad start and settled for seventh. Julian Allen who had had inconsistent moto results just made the final after narrowly missing some semi final carnage. He had a fantastic start and when the dust settled he finished sixth.
The club would like to thank Essex County Council 2012 Legacy Fund and Greenfields Community Housing and Braintree District Council for their support this year. The second round of the clubs winter series is Sunday 1st November, registration closes at 11 am. All riders of any age are welcome. For further information please contact the club through their website www.braintreebmx.co.uk
