Welcome to the Manchester BMX Club website. Have a browse around our information pages and please add your comments and replies to posts. The Platt Fields BMX track is open 7 days a week and run by Manchester City Council. For enquiries on opening times and admission prices for general public please email: trackmanager@manchesterbmx.co.uk or click here for summer opening times.

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It’s high time for another race report, with so much having happened since the Club’s National in July. Here’s what’s been going on;

The Nationals moved on to Gosport for the next rounds, to a track with seven straights! It was fast, entertaining and well worth the trip.

Starting with Cruisers, we had Love Not Money’s Matty Glynn take the win in the 17-29 B Final on Saturday and better that with 7th in the A on Sunday. Matty is 7th overall and keen to hold that or improve as we head into the final rounds in Bournemouth on August bank holiday weekend.

What can you say about Neil Harbour’s performance in 30-34  this season?

How about superb? Or Consistent?

Dominating sums it up I think. The Dialled Bikes Factory Team rider has won every round of the National Series so far which is incredible in itself, but he’s done it on very different tracks.

Cheddar is steep, with big challenging jumps, Derby is the longest track in the UK and a real test of stamina. Braintree was fast, Manchester is technical and Gosport was a mix of fast and challenging with tight berms and not much opportunity to pass.

Neil had already wrapped up the series overall after Braintree, but with 10 rounds counting, wanted to go for 10 wins.

Job done.

Also racing in 30-34 Cruiser at Gosport were Andy Drelincourt, Mark Ferguson and James Tresman.  Dreli has had some impressive results this season and has pushed Neil hard at every round. Taking 4th and 2nd at Gosport he sits in 2nd place in the overall standings.

Mark has improved steadily throughout the season; after a nasty crash in round 1 at Cheddar where he hurt his back, he’s had good results at Braintree and Manchester before bagging 7th and 6th at Gosport. James has also had injuries this year but a 7th on Sunday marks his best result at Nationals.

Intense’s Tony Fleming has had a great season so far, ”Flemdog” doubled up at Gosport and took 3rd and 2nd in 35-39 plus 5th and 4th in Masters. Not too shabby.

Flem is currently 4th overall in Masters, which has been a very tough class this year! He’s one place ahead of Marco Dell’isola, recently crowned Masters World Champion!

Harrison Drelincourt continues to improve (he no lonnger looks round when you cheer for him on the track!) but didn’t make it past the motos at Gosport.

Matthew Saunders did the rest of the club and his Love Not Money team-mates proud by making the 14 Boys A Final on Saturday finishing 7th. On Sun he couldn’t repeat the performance but came away with a solid 3rd in the B. Younger brother Joe fought hard in 11 Boys but couldn’t get out of motos.

Manchester and Redline share two riders who have enjoyed success this year;

Jacob Roberts has dominated 16 Boys this year, despite tough competition from Jordan Perry and Mike Hawker. Jordan took the win on day one with Jacob 2nd, but the Redline rider made up for the defeat by winning on Sunday.

Jacob has secured the overall title for 2010, marking the 4th year in a row he has been crowned National Series Champion!

Valerie Zebrokova is a rising star; she’s always been good, but has begun to translate promise into top results on the track. Val took 3rd in 13-14 Girls on Saturday, but in a nail biter that left her parents and the rest of the crowd breathless, she pipped Jenny Noble to the line on Sunday to take her second National round victory of the year.

Her win puts her in 2nd overall heading into the final rounds in Bournemouth, in a race for the title that couldn’t be more tense; current leader Angelica Orena has 433.5 points, Val lies second with 430.5, Jenny is third with 429.5 and Bethany Campbell is returning from an injury and sits in 4th with 426.0. With the best 10 rounds from 12 to count, there’s all to ride for in Bournemouth!

Can any of them afford to make a mistake? Will it all come down to the last round?

What’s certain is that it’ll be a fantastic race! Good luck to Valerie from all at Manchester.

 In 17-24, The Ride Nation’s Josh Nicholas aquitted himself well with two B Final appearances, taking 6th on Sat and 8th on Sun. Love Not Money’s Andy Clucas was disappointed to miss out on the A on Sat, but won the B to get some valuable points. After a night’s sleep, it was back to work and a fantastic 2nd place in the Main on Sunday.

In Elite, Fastlane’s Cal Strickland looked good in motos but couldn’t fight through the pack in Saturday’s final, finishing 8th. Sunday saw Cal skillfully negotiate his way around a crash to take 4th.

North Region Summer Series

The final round of the Summer Series hit Leeds the week after the Gosport Nationals and with titles on the line as well as qualification for the British Championships, the racing was intense! The track is fast, with a pedally first straight and a rather confusing first corner; is it a berm at all? It’s straight…

With Regional Champs getting the 1.4 plate for their class, lots was at stake…

Ethan Duffy led the way for Manchester with yet another win in 6 and Under Boys, taking the overall title as well!

Harrison Drelincourt and Zack Harrop both secured qualification for the Brits with a 5th and 6th on the day in 7 Boys.

Joe Saunders had a brilliant day on his bike to take 3rd in 11 Boys, a great result for a steadily improving rider.

Spencer McLeod looked to have the victory sewn up in the 12 Boys final, but was overtaken on the last straight by two riders to finish third. He’s booked his place at Cheddar though with some good performances this year.

Valerie Zebrokova races the boys at Regionals for the added competition and got 3rd in Leeds which is also where she finishes in the overall Regional standings.

Matthew Saunders had a nasty crash at Leeds and injured his thumb, but had done enough to qualify for the Brits in 14 Boys and finishes an impressive 2nd overall. Jake Downend has progressed from Novice to Expert and looks to be a rider with potential.

Jake Roberts secured his Brits spot with a win in 16 Boys, also sewing up the Regional title too. Josh Nicholas was an impressive 2nd in Leeds and takes the 4.4 plate to Cheddar.  In his first full season of Regionals, Ross Gill took the win in Leeds to take the overall title in 25-29 too. A great performance.

Matty Glynn is another rider getting the 1.4 plate, with yet another victory in 17-29 Cruiser giving him the overall win.

Roy Sutton relegated National Series Champ Neil Harbour to third overall in 30-34 by winning in Leeds to qualify for the Brits and take the overall, with James Tresman 5th on the day and 2nd overall. Mark Ferguson put in another impressive ride to claim 3rd on the day, securing 4th overall.

In 35-39, Jamie Duffy got 4th on the day, but won’t be at the Brits due to a well deserved holiday! Andy Drelincourt didn’t race in Leeds but has done enough to take the 2.4 plate to the Brits.

In Payback, Cal Strickland took the Regional title with a storming win. Joe Davenport, another rider in his first season of a full Regional schedule, took 5th on the day to secure 3rd overall.

The Platt Fields track in Manchester has seen a lot of riders grace it’s surface since it was built, from first-timers braving a BMX track for the first time, to World Champions blasting round at blisteringly fast speeds. The track has hosted fun-days, birthday parties and all manner of groups, but Platt Fields isn’t a play park, it’s a race track and the biggest events have been National Series races, drawing the best riders in the UK and huge crowds to the track.

The first weekend in July saw the 2010 National Series come to Manchester for rounds 7&8, with expectations high after winning “Best Nationals” in 2009, around 450 riders made the trip to the North’s rounds of the Nationals.

With event infrastructure by EA Access, the track looked superb; two large spectator gantries and plenty of fencing for sponsor’s banners gave the race a real pro feel. Carhartt were once again onboard as event sponsor with event support from O’Neal and Electric.

Manchester BMX Club has grown considerably in the year since we last hosted the National Series; with an influx of new riders of all ages and more volunteers to aid in the running of events.

First up for the club were our stars of the future - with Oliver Cope impressing in 7 Boys by getting 5th and 7th in A-Finals over the weekend. Harrison Drelincourt taking 7th and 6th in the B’s. In 8 Boys, Josh Bardsley was racing Nationals for the first time and although he got moto’d looked at home racing a tough class.

Joe Saunders just missed out on the B Final on both days in 11 Boys, on Sunday Haroun Al Jeddal bagged 8th in the B to give the club two more promising riders for the future.

Ricardo Addymellor has been showing his skill off at the track for as long as it’s been open; he can jump, manual and do most things on a BMX, but had yet to find the race mentality needed to take his results up a step. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, as one of the most popular riders at the club took a fantastic 4th in the 12 Boys A Final on Saturday and followed it up with another appearance in the A, taking 8th, on Sun.

In 14 Boys, Matthew Saunders faces some very tough competition, with Quillan isidore running away with the series and a stacked gate in most motos. Matty did well to make it through to the B Final on both days, with 4th and 6th. Jake Downend and Nathan Slamon were in their first Nationals and didn’t make it out of motos but should be happy with their performance in this hard class.

Redline’s Valerie Zebrokova has been a star since she took to the track, with a steadily improving set of results only missing a Nationals win. Not anymore! Valerie crossed the line first in 13-14 Girls on Saturday and was promptly mobbed by her parents and Manchester club-mates. She followed it up with a 2nd place on Sunday to round out a fantastic weekend.

Jacob Roberts has proved himself to be the best in the 16 Boys class time and time again; in Manchester he took the win on both days, defeating the opposition, the pressure and any doubters. That opposition shouldn’t be dismissed, with Jordan Perry, Mike Hawker and Michael “Flip” Cummins all excellent riders. These guys could be battling it out at the top in the future. Manchester’s Ryan Cagney was in action on Sat, returning from a broken ankle, and Mario Boreman also got his feet wet in Nationals racing. Both got moto’d but have bags of skill and will be keen to improve.

Andy Clucas is determined to perform well in the tough 17-24 class in his first year of a full Nationals schedule. He’s been impressing in the series so far and was keen to do well on his home track. A huge crash in practice on Saturday looked to have derailed his attempt though, with Andy requiring medical attention on the track and spending time in the ambulance. Despite medical advice to go to hospital, Andy raced and produced a gutsy performance over the weekend, taking 3rd and 2nd in the Mains. Andy’s Love Not Money team-mate Joe Davenport made it through to the B Final on both days, with 2nd and 4th for his efforts. theridenation.com’s Josh Peeebz Nicholas finished a spot behind Joe on Saturday but got moto’d on Sunday.

Ross Gill’s competition in the 25-29 B Final didn’t take the gate on Sat, so he did his lap solo to the delight of the crowd. On Sunday he took 2nd in the B in another solid performance.

Masters has been one of the toughest classes this season, but Tony Fleming has shown he’s tougher than most he’s faced with a string of good results, however a crash at Braintree when the gate failed has had lingering effects and Flemdog is still a little way off top form. B Final on Sat with a crash in the Main on Sun finishing his weekend.

To some people, Cruisers aren’t “cool” but to be frank, those people are just plain wrong. The guys on the big rigs get those 24″ wheels rolling fast and the racing is intense. Matty Glynn won the B Final in 17-29 on Sat and went better on Sun with 5th in the Main.

30-34 has been all about Manchester this year, with 6 riders in the class. Dialled Bikes Factory Team rider Neil Harbour came into the weekend having won every round of the series so far, and left with that record intact. 8 wins out of 8 for Neil. A fantastic performance. Roy Sutton got an excellent 2nd for Love Not Money on Sat, with Andy Drelincourt 4th, Mark Ferguson 5th, Jamie Duffy 8th and James Tresman just missing out on the main. On Sun, Dreli was 3rd, Dufskins took 5th, Sutty 6th, Ferg 7th and Rooster was 8th.

Roger Wilbraham is the face of BMXat BC  to many people, but don’t overlook the fact he’s a good racer and is always worth watching for a good performance. He’ll be disappointed with his 3rd place in 40-44 on Sun, but it’s a tough class!

Elite saw all the top riders in attendance and had racing that electrified the crowd; home rider Cal Strickland took 4th on Sat behind Liam Phillips, marcus Bloomfield and Kyle Evans and was aiming to improve that on Sun but got tangled when Liam Phillips crashed on the first straight and finished 6th. Marcus took the win, with Kyle Evans an excellent 2nd and Dan Whyte 3rd.

Pictures by Luke Webber/British Cycling

Thank you to the volunteers from Manchester BMX Club who give many hours of work to maintain the track and run events. We are also grateful for the support of Mid Lancs BMX Club at the Nationals and all our event sponsors.

The recent rounds of the National BMX Series at the Platt Fields BMX track were a huge success, with just shy of 500 riders competing each day and good weather throughout the weekend.

Manchester won the best National award in 2009 and this year the standard of events has really gone up, so the club were keen to show we can live up to expectations.

A report an dpictures will follow shortly

Thanks to Shiner who distribute Redline in the UK, we have a fantastic Flight Junior to give away at the Manchester rounds of the Nationals!

Manchester riders Jacob Roberts and Valerie Zebrokova are both sponsored by Redline and will be keen to impress their Team Manager Jai Kemp at their home National. 

The Redline Flight range is the top level of bikes offered by the company, with a fantastic frame, they’re race ready right out of the box!