Kesgrave Panthers retain British Club Championships crown in Poole

Kesgrave Panthers retain British Club Championships crown in Poole

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Kesgrave Panthers were crowned overall winners at this year's British Club Championships with a total of 115 points, after a packed weekend of racing at Poole’s harbourside track.

The Suffolk club showcased the strength of their young riders with solid wins in the Junior, Under-14 and Under-16 Boys' categories, backed up by further top three placings in the Under-12 and Under-16 Girls', en route to victory. Here's our full run-down of the weekend's racing.

Open

Horspath retained their title in the Open category with a solid team performance that saw them finish the day on 50 points - eight points ahead of Poole. Fielding a team that included the current British champion and current world champion was always going to be a tough ask for any team to challenge, however the points total really didn’t reflect how close the racing was over the 16 heats.

Poole went into the interval with 24 points – three points ahead of Horspath - as Aaron Smith continued his recent good form with wins in heats one and six. However Horspath stepped up a gear in the second half, taking seven of eight wins to claim the overall victory.

Women

Poole took their first win in the women’s event, with Maddie Saunders gaining 16 points, in what was the first championships that Leicester haven’t taken the title since the competition began in 2006.

Sheffield claimed second on 27 points – 17 of which were claimed by Laura Watson – while Exeter took third on 25 points. Kesgrave came fourth on 24 points, while Horspath came fifth, with Rachel Lammin claiming 16 points. Leicester came in sixth on 19 points.

British Club Championships, 2022, Poole

Under-16

Kesgrave took the Under-16 Boys' win to retain their title with solid performances from Noah Woodhouse, Charlie Parr, Torsten Jolly and Ryker Jolly.

A straight six team final saw the Suffolk team ease to victory over second place Exeter – with JJ Wildman, Owen Geach and Ed Selwood unable to break the Kesgrave grip.

Poole’s Kenzie Bennett and Oliver Saunders took 17 points each to take third on 34 points.

The Under-16 Girls' race saw Poole take the win with Daisy Sherwood, Natalie Goulden and Lexie Curtis all putting out impressive rides to get 36 points overall.

Kesgrave took second on 34 points, with Lily Parr’s 22 points proving vital, while Exeter finished third on 32 points and Newport fourth on 18 points.

Under-14

Continuing their dominance, Kesgrave A secured 33 points to win the Under-14 category, with Ryker Jolly taking 13 points. Coventry came second on 27 points, while Poole and Kesgrave B finished joint third on 23 points. Ipswich and Southampton claimed 22 points to take joint fourth.

Junior

Kesgrave took 38 points to secure another victory in the Junior category, with Woodhouse, Torsten Jolly and Parr matching their strength in the Under-16s.

Exeter finished second on 31 points, while Poole finished third on 24 points and Sheffield took fourth on 23 points.

Veteran

Leicester duo Craig Marchant and Norm Venson secured the win in the Veterans' pairs category for their B team, while the A team of Mark and Nicky Whitehead took the runners-up spot.

The Poole trio of Alan and Steve Nation and a returning Phil Gard, who rode to an impressive 19 points, took the third step of the podium.

Results

Open:

Horspath - 50 pts

Poole - 42 pts

Great Blakenham - 33 pts

Ipswich - 30 pts

Women:

Poole - 32pts

Sheffield - 27pts

Exeter - 25pts

Kesgrave - 24pts

Horspath - 23pts

Leicester - 19pts

Junior:

Kesgrave - 38pts

Exeter - 31pts

Poole - 24pts

Sheffield - 23pts

Under-16 Boys:

Kesgrave - 41pts

Exeter - 36pts

Poole - 34pts

Southampton - 31pts

Horspath - 23pts

Ipswich - 22pts

Hethersett- 17pts

Under-16 Girls:

Poole - 36pts

Kesgrave - 34pts

Exeter - 32pts

Newport - 18pts

Under-14:

Kesgrave A - 33pts

Coventry - 27pts

Poole - 23pts

Kesgrave B - 23pts

Ipswich - 22pts

Southampton - 22pts

Veteran:

Leicester B - 39pts

Leicester A - 35pts

Poole - 33pts

Exeter - 32pts

Newport - 29pts

Sheffield - 22pts

Hethersett - 14pts