Redditch Road & Path CC held their fourth Go-Ride Racing event of the year. 51 riders joined in the fun on a beautiful sunny evening. A whole host of parents and other volunteers including quite a few of our aspiring young volunteers helped put on probably our best Go-Ride Racing event yet.
There were three tracks set up on the local football field and the coaches had organised a range of races for all of the competitors. These consisted of a scratch race, point and handicap race and a devil type race. Everyone had a chance to race in at least three races.
The under 8's had the largest field with 26 riders, the youngest only four years old. To cater for the different age groups and to keep everyone safe within this category the riders were initially split into five groups for a one lap sprint. From the results the riders were grouped and handicapped for the next race. Four year old Lauren Oldfield delighted everyone as she won her race. Jake Nash, Jake Mancell and Charlie Reynolds managed to finish strongly despite their scratch start.
Next on the race schedule was the ambitious devil-take-the-hindmost races. Riders race for several laps and the last one to cross the line on each lap is pulled out until there are just 3 riders left to sprint for the finishing places. The final placings were 1st Jake Nash, 2nd Jake Mancell and 3rd Ryan Oldfield.
There were some very tired legs but happy faces by the end of the evening. With so many riders in the under 10s and under 12s we decided to split the categories up a bit with novice racers being split from the more experienced to allow for fair competition across both the age ranges and ability groups.
Sulli Berry took 1st place overall in the under 10s races, with Georgina Tonks and Oli Cooke taking joint 1st place out of the less experienced racers. In the under 12s girls category Paige Challonor took 1st place overall, with Ella McAfee in 2nd and Katy Jarvis 3rd.
In the under 12s boys race a great effort by new comers Matthew Lowe and Jack Lewis kept the more experienced boys on their toes. With Matt finishing 1st in the Go-Ride Racing category, Jack 2nd and Elliot Bullard in 3rd. Scott Matthews won the overall standings with Matthew Lowe 2nd and Sam Wainwright 3rd.
The under 14s and under 16s had the chance to contest seven fast and furious races of with a variety of formats and many close finishes. Gareth Richardson (under 14) emerged as a clear winner with his experience shining through. 2nd place was tied between Joe Geehan (under 16) and Will Gorner (under 14); who is a newcomer to racing. Annie Lindsay took first place in the girls under 14s competition followed by Chloe Barford, who first competed just a few months ago. A very good third place in the boys under 14s was awarded to Fergus Regan, another new club member.
For further information about up and coming events and sessions please see the club website.
