The North Region Winter Series came to an end with Hartlepool seeing racers blast round the downhill track looking to gain the last points on offer.

It proved to be a good series for Manchester riders Spencer McLeod and Josh Nicholas with both crowned series champions.

Spence took the win on the day to make it three victories in a row in the series and the overall title in 12 Boys. Brandon Nolan rode consistently throughout the series to take 5th overall, with another MCR rider Ricardo Addymellor 7th overall. The Winter Seres has been excellent experience for these young riders, who have all improved and will be looking forward to the Summer Series and the prospect of Brits qualification.

The lone MCR representative in 13 Boys has been Redline sponsored Valerie Zebrokova, who will have enjoyed the challenge of racing the boys and getting some tough competition. She finsihed an excellent 3rd overall.

theridenation.com’s Josh (or Peebz as he’s better known) took the title in the very tough 16+ class, no other Manchester riders entered enough rounds to qualify for an overall ranking.

In 30-39 Cruiser, Andy Drelincourt finished tied on points with Preston’s Mark Egan, both on 236. Andy had two wins in the series, to Mark’s one, but lost out on the overall with a lower finish in the final round.

The Summer Series begins in Crewe on July 11th

This Sunday will see North East BMX Club hosting the final round of the North Region Winter Series at their Hartlepool track.

Hartelpool is a fast track, downhill and has more straights than most tracks,making it both exciting and testing to compete there.

Although the Winter Series doesn’t have the same prestige as the Summer Series, where Brits qualification is at stake, it has produced some great racing and we have a few classes where results in the final round may decide where trophies are heading!

Andy Drelincourt is in a close battle with Mark Egan at the top of the 30-39 Cruiser standings, Spence McLeod has a solid lead in 12 Boys, Valerie Zebrokova could clinch 13 Boys at H’pool, Peebz may deliver sponsors theridenation.com their first title as he has the lead in the tough 16+ class, where Jacob Roberts may take another win for Redline if he competes and rising star Joe Davenport could grab a top ten spot with another solid performance.

The address of the track is;

Summerhill Visitor Centre
Summerhill Lane
Hartlepool
TS25 4LL

Registration has been extended to 11am for this event.
Please register in the visitor centre before going on the track.
Lost or late 07885 875 213 (Tina Strickland)

Good luck to all riders racing on Sunday!

Time to focus on another of our club riders: it’s the turn of Sutty, Cruiser racer, expert wheel builder and BMX to the very core!

Age;33

Race category;30-34 Cruiser

How long have you been racing? Raced BMX from 87-91, MTB’s 91-99 then back to BMX 00-present.

How did you get started? 3 sisters race track on a borrowed Cruiser, hence the reason I’ve always ridden a Cruiser.

What has been your best memory from racing? Racing abroad is always a highlight, all of the Brits hang together and egg each other on. Just a feeling of togetherness.

Which racers do you admire? Any racer that makes moves and never gives up. Always looked up to the Strickland brothers. Dave Ives is a berm hero and Dylan Clayton for utter smoothness. Modern racers have to be Jacob Roberts and Kyle Evans, they never give up!

What are your racing aims? To try and have fun, there is no better feeling than being on the edge at full speed.

What has been the best advice you’ve been given in racing? Never really been given any words of wisdom, I always get told to lay off the brake. I’m a mid air braker!!!

What advice would you give to riders new to racing? Learn to do things slowly. If you can master stuff at a slower speed, you’ve got the best base to step it up. Always ride cleanly, nobody likes a take-out merchant!!

Bike; Cruiser
Frame; S&M custom 38.special (21.5″tt, 14″ rear end and AD brake mounts)
Forks; Odyssey 24″ Race forks
Wheels; Sun Rhino Light rims laced to a Profile rear hub and Ringle front hub (suttys hoops custom built)
Bars; S&M Race cruiser
Other trick parts: Union Jack print S&M stem with XLT front plate, Shimano cranks, Machined AD brake.

A much smaller group of Manchester riders made the trip to Leeds for the penultimate round of the North Region Winter Series.

With track work at Platt Fields taking up the time of a lot of riders, the task of representing the club in Leeds fell to some of our younger racers.

Spencer McLeod continued his stellar form this series by taking a great win in 12 Boys, with fellow MCR rider Brandan Nolan 6th. Spence is now in a commanding position atop the standings in this class with 238 points from 5 rounds. Although there is the final round in Hartlepool still to come, only 5 rounds will count towards the overall and by my mathematical calculations, Spence can’t be overtaken.

The next class that featured MCR riders was 16+ and there was similar success for the club, with Redline sponsored rider Jacob Roberts taking the win, his third win in three races this series. Matty Glynn took an excellent 3rd, Josh “Peebz” Nicholas, riding for sponsor theridenation.com took 5th and has a strong lead in the overall. Ryan Cagney continued his improvement and made the B final.

Roy Sutton was our lone rider in 30-39 Cruiser, which usually sees the most MCR riders competing. He took 4th on the day. Andy Drelincourt still sits atop the standings, but has a slim lead over Mark Egan of Preston and Bradford’s Nigel Smith. The Hartlepool round will be the decider!

In 40+ Cruiser, Gav Foster went one better than in Manchester and took the win.

Payback was as usual exciting, with Fastlane’s Cal Strickland getting the win comfortably ahead of Kyle Evans and Jordan Hayes.. Kyle still has the overall lead in the series though.

Go-Ride Coach Sam Foakes has started a blog about the goings on at Platt Fields BMX Track and his work with the Manchester BMX Youth Club.

Check it out at;

http://plattfieldsbmxtrack.blogspot.com/

Sam organised a Go-Ride race at the Manchester round of the  Regional Series and it was well attended, with 28 riders battling it out on the track. The Go-Ride inititative is British Cycling’s entry level program for children enabling them to get into cycling with instruction from qualified coaches. Sam is also qualified to coach BMX specific classes which means both novice and more experienced riders can benefit greatly from his sessions.

The Manchester BMX Youth Club runs on Thursdays from 5pm until the main club session begins at 6:15.