A weekend of sand, grit, and speed at the British Individual Championships saw winners crowned across the Midlands, with Paul Heard and Emily Burgess taking the Open and Women's crowns.
Heard and Burgess put in standout performances across the weekend, while Noah Woodhouse and Lily Parr also showcased their potential as future stars with double wins.
Day one
Five national titles were decided on the opening day of the British Individual Championships, as the action kicked off in Leicester.
It was Noah Woodhouse who secured the junior title with a 20-point maximum from one of the strongest fields in the competition. Woodhouse, who finished second at the recent European Championships, made no mistake to claim the British title after a tough 20 heat match, beating Poole’s Kenzie Bennett into second.
There was no stopping Poole’s Phil Gard in the afternoon's Over 60s final, who dominated the category with an impressive 16 point maximum. Gard, who has recently returned to the sport, found the Leicester track to his liking to take wins in his four outings. Teammate Stevie Nation took second – the pair left it to the final heat to decide the winner, and by his own admission, Nation knew he was on the back foot.
Over in Wednesfield, Yoanna Gilpin from Coventry took 15 points to pinch the Under 12 Girls win, while Kesgrave claimed two successes in the Under 14 categories, with Lily Parr and Ryker Jolly both taking 20 points to win the titles.
Day two
On day two in Coventry, Norman Venson of Leicester took 19 points to secure the Over 50s title, beating Steve Harris from Astley & Tyldesley, who also won 19 points, after a run-off.
At East Park, Lily Parr took her second title of the weekend, taking 15 points in the Under 16s category, while Frank White of Astley & Tyldesley was crowned the Under 12 Boys champion on 19 points.
Day three
The last day of the finals at Birmingham’s Perry Park track saw another four national titles awarded in an action-packed feast of close contact racing.
The host club’s Paul Heard took his second Open title in three years in a match worthy of the occasion. Heard had it all to play for in the final heat as a win would take the overall victory, but Poole’s Will Bristow was sitting on grid one and a win would mean a three-way run-off. Heard used his advantage on his home track to take the overall victory.
Emily Burgess rode to a maximum 20 points in the Women’s category to retain her title. Lizzie Rigley (Sheffield) again gave Burgess a hard time, taking wins in her opening three heats as both riders met for the first time in the 14th heat for the match decider. Rigley held off Burgess until the last lap where the pair locked together on the back straight, but a turn of speed saw Burgess pull ahead to take the final bend ahead and a clean run to the chequered flag.
Noah Woodhouse (Kesgrave) took his second title of the weekend with victory in the Under 16s. Woodhouse didn’t start as hoped, having to fight for third spot from the fourth grid, but rallied to take four wins.
Leicester’s Kevin Burns started the day off with a fine win in the Over 40s Veterans, on 19 points, only dropping a point to his clubmate Craig Marchant.
Results
British Open
1 Paul Heard (Birmingham) – 17 points
2 Josh Brooke (Great Blakenham) – 16 points
3 Mark Carmichael (Newport) – 16 points
4 Myke Grimes (Coventry) – 15 points
Women
1 Emily Burgess (Astley & Tyldesley) – 20 points
2 Elizabeth Rigley (Sheffield) – 19 points
3 Maddie Saunders (Poole) – 17 points
4 Lauren Hookway (Exeter) – 15 points
Junior Men
1 Noah Woodhouse (Kesgrave) – 20 points
2 Kenzie Bennett (Poole) – 17 points
3 Feroze Langoo (Poole) – 16 points
4 Harry Radford (Bury) – 16 points after run-off
Under 16 Girls
1 Lily Parr (Kesgrave) – 15 points
2 Lexie Curtis (Poole) – 12 points
3 Natalie Goulden (Poole) – 11 points
4 Shannon Tucker (Exeter) – 6 points
Under 16 Boys
1 Noah Woodhouse (Kesgrave) – 18 points
2 Leon Penketh (Southampton) – 17 points
3 Torsten Jolly (Kesgrave) – 16 points
4 Ryker Jolly (Kesgrave) – 15 points
Under 14 Girls
1 Lily Parr (Kesgrave – 16 points
2 Charlotte Geach (Exeter) – 14 points
3 Ella Case (Kesgrave) – 14 points after run-off
4 Natalie Goulden (Poole) – 13 points
Under 14 Boys
1 Ryker Jolly (Kesgrave) – 20 points
2 Shaun Kell (Norwich) – 19 points
3 Duncan Whalley (Astley & Tyldesley) – 18 points
4 Harvey Shumake (Kesgrave) – 15 points
Under 12 Girls
1 Yoanna Gilpin (Coventry) – 15 points
2 Maisie Baker (Ipswich) – 14 points
3 Lola Martin (Hethersett) – 13 points
4 Esmee Lewis (Newport – 12 points
Under 12 Boys
1 Frank White (Astley & Tyldesley) – 19 points
2 James Randall (Poole) – 17 points
3 Will Blackmore (Norwich) – 17 points
4 Jayden Hancock (Bury) – 16 points)
Over 40s
1 Kevin Burns (Leicester) – 19 points
2 Craig Marchant (Leicester) – 18 points
3 Steve Harris (Astley & Tyldesley) – 17 points
4 Andy Yard (Exeter) – 14 points
Over 50s
1 Norman Venson (Leicester) – 19 points
2 Steve Harris (Astley & Tyldesley) – 19 points after run-off
3 Lee Galley (Newport) – 18 points
4 Jason Ashford (Great Blakenham) – 16 points
Over 60s
1 Phil Gard (Poole) – 16 points
2 Stevie Nation (Poole) – 15 points
3 Andy Collett (Exeter) – 14 points
4 Glyn Morgan (Hethersett) – 13 points
