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.

225 riders signed up to race the latest round of the North Region Summer Series at Manchester, with many looking ahead to the forthcoming National Series rounds at Platt Fields the Regional represented a great chance to race the track.

Sunshine greeted the racers, with a well groomed track riding fast the stage was set for a good day’s competition.

For the home club, success came early in the shape of Ethan Duffy racing in 6 Boys. Ethan is new to the sport and dad Jamie races in 35-39 Cruiser. Ethan won on Sunday to make it three wins in the last three rounds!

In 7 Boys, Oliver Cope continued his improvement with a great 3rd place, joined in the final by Harrison Drelincourt who got 6th and also looks to be improving.

We’ve got an embarrassment of riches in the next two classes, with Haroun Al Jeddal taking 3rd in 11 Boys, Callum McDonald 4th and Joe Saunders just missing the final. In 12 Boys we had Spencer McLeod an excellent 2nd, Riccardo Addymellor another Manchester rider showing great progress with 3rd and Brandan Nolan unlucky not to make the main.

Redline’s Valerie Zebrokova is looking in fine form for the Nationals as she took 5th in 13 Boys at the Regional.

In 14 Boys, Matthew Saunders was racing for new team, Love Not Money, for the first time. He didn’t seem under any pressure though, as he took his second win of the Summer Series and was promptly mobbed as he crossed the line by his LNM team-mates. Nathan Slamon made the move up to Expert for the first time and got stuck in, a few more races at this level should see his confidence grow.

Conner Hanmer got 2nd in 15 Boys, and  in 16’s we had Jacob Roberts getting the win, Sabian Brown looking fast in 3rd, Mario Boreman in 6th and Ryan Cagney back from a broken ankle in 7th. Great results for the riders, but brilliant for the club to have so much young talent coming through.

Ross Gill added to Love Not Money’s win total, getting it donw in 25-29. In Masters, Stuart Hanmer sits in 2nd overall after a string of solid performances this series.

In 17-29 Cruiser, Matty Glynn took 2nd extending his lead in the overall. 30-34 is close, with Dialled Bikes Factory Team rider Neil Harbour having won all three rounds he’s entered but 2nd overall as he’s done one less round than leader Nigel Smith of Bradford. On Sunday, Neil was followed across the line by Nigel, with Mark Ferguson 3rd and Roy Sutton 4th,

Andy Drelincourt took 3rd in 35-39, with Jamie Duffy a place behind. Mark Huddart was injured, hopefully he’ll recover for Goldcoast. Roger Wilbraham didn’t make the main in 40-44, but is saving himself for the Brits. You have been warned!

In Payback, Cal Strickland was inches away from the win, with Andy Clucas in 6th. Pete Hosker and Joe davenport didn’t make the main but battled well all day.

The next round of the Regionals is at Goldcoast on June 27th, with Manchester hosting the next rounds of the Nationals on the weekend of July 3rd & 4th.

The latest rounds of the Monster Energy British BMX Series hit Braintree , with just shy of 500 riders making the trip to grab precious points towards the National title.

First up for Manchester were Harrison Drelincourt and Oliver Cope in 7 Boys. Harrison didn’t make it out of motos in this tough class, but Oliver fared better, with two B Final appearances, netting 6th on Sat and 4th on Sun.

Joe Saunders had a great ride on Saturday to 7th in the 11 Boys B Final, but couldn’t match it on Sunday ending up moto’d.  Joe’s elder brother Matt had a tough time in 14 Boys, narrowly missing out on the B Final both days.

Redline’s Jacob Roberts is that rare beast: a talented athlete who isn’t arrogant along with it. Once again, Jake doubled up with wins in 16 Boys and was still there cheering his clubmates on (when not chatting to the girls….)

Jake’s fellow Redline rider Valerie Zebrokova had a nasty crash in the final of 13-14 Girls on Saturday, but recovered enought to make the final on Sunday and avoided a similar crash to take an excellent 2nd place.

Love Not Money’s Andy Clucas was impressive again, with 2nd on Saturday and 4th on Sunday in 17-24. He’s closing in on a Nationals win and is fired up for Manchester.

The Flemdog, Tony Fleming, continued to show he is still one of the best in the business on Saturday, taking 4th in Masters, but he was one of the riders caught out by the drop of the gate on Sunday and came away with a very nasty bruise after nearly skewering himself on his bars.

Matty Glynn, another of the Love Not Money Brotherhood, took 3rd in the 17-29 Cruiser B Final on Saturday, but to the delight of everyone in the Manchester tent (especially Matt’s girlfriend Jo) he was 6th in the main on Sunday.

Dialled Bikes Factory Team rider Neil Harbour continues to dominate 30-34 Cruiser; he took the win on both days in Braintree, making it 6 wins from 6 rounds of the Nationals this year. Andy Drelincourt was 2nd on Sat and 3rd on Sun, with Love Not Money’s Roy Sutton bravely riding with a badly injured elbow to take 4th on Sunday. Mark Ferguson continues his improvement, looking on fine form in his motos and taking 7th in the main on Sun. James Tresman reinjured his back in practice and after rolling round the track in moto 1, was done for the day.

Roger Wilbraham made a rare appearance at a National, but showed everyone who thinks he’s just a BC official that he’s all about racing with a fiery performance resulting in 3rd in 40-44 Cruiser.

Kev Blackman races for the Ghost Riders out of Crewe, but we’ve adopted him anyway. Kev had a nasty crash and broke his wrist - we wish him a full and fast recovery.

The Elite racing was its usual fast and dramatic self, with Cal Strickland suffering bad luck on Sat and unclipping in the main finishing 8th. On Sunday he was on fire, blasting around the Braintree track to 2nd place, equalling his best ever Nationals result. Cal now sits in 3rd place in the National Series overall standings.

The next rounds of the National Series take place in Manchester….

No, I’m not about to burst into song with lines from Bon Jovi… The Monster Energy British BMX Series is now at the Halfway point of the season, with rounds 5 & 6 at Braintree in the bag.

A reduced Manchester contingent made the long trip down south for the host club’s first crack at hosting a National and everyone came away very impressed with the whole event.

Before diving into the racing from the weekend however, I’ve been promising a write up of the first rounds of the Nats so far and it’s high time I got stuck in;

Cheddar

The venue hosted the Brits last year and saw 700 riders take part in what, at the time, was viewed as a fantastic event. Holding a National there though was considered by some to be too much, as the track is fast and demands full committment from riders on the third straight with some huge jumps. Then again, the whole point of National racing is that it’s a step up in competition!

First up are our youngest racers, with Harrison “will race for Transformers” Drelincourt improving all the time in 7 Boys, moto’d both days but close to making it through. Joe “Lil’ Factory” Saunders got stuck in in 11 Boys but couldn’t make it beyond the motos either.

12 Boys saw Spencer McLeod doing very well; Spence had a great winter at Regional level and has carried that form through into the 2010 Summer Series in the North. At the Nationals, he got 2nd in the B Final on Sat and a fantastic 7th in the A Final on Sunday.

Matthew “Factory” Saunders made a solid start to his 2010 campaign with a pair of B Final appearances in 14 Boys; Matt took 3rd on Sat and 2nd on Sun.

Redline’s Valerie Zebrokova is riding up in 13-14 Girls and will be tested as it’s a tough class. Our own mini Shanaze did well at Cheddar, with an 8th on day one and 5th on day two.

Jacob Roberts also rides for Redline and makes that signing look like a great idea everytime he gets on a bike. He’s the class act in 16 Boys, which isn’t to say the other riders are no good, quite the opposite, it’s a class with some real talent in it, but it’s fair to say Jacob has an edge over his rivals. At Cheddar, Jake was his usual blisteringly fast self and doubled up with wins.

In 17-24 Love Not Money’s Andy Clucas (technically not riding for Manchester at this point but, but we’ve “aquired” him since!) showed he’s serious about contending for the title this season with a 6th and a 4th over the weekend. Andy’s LNM team and now club-mate Joe “Average” Davenport made his Nationals debut in 17-24 but it was a tough intro and he didn’t get beyond motos.

“Pistol” Pete Hosker managed to ride in a straight line (anyone who’s seen Pete sometimes go left, waaaaaay left off the gate will know what I mean) and win the B Final in 25-29, but his presence was required at a wedding that night (not his!) so he missed sun.  Love Not Money’s Ross Gill netted 3rd in the B on sat and 2nd in the B on sun. A solid start to the season for both riders.

Masters has gone super hard this year, with the re-alignment of age classes dropping a lot of top riders from 19+ into Masters. Newly signed to Manchester, Tony “Flemdog” Fleming showed the young pups how it’s done with a brilliant performance over the weekend; 3rd on sat and 2nd on sun. I had a lovely view of the action from waay back and got moto’d.

Matty Glynn races in Royal and 661 kit, but is on Love Not Money and gets it done in 17-29 Cruiser. He got 5th in the B on sat and 2nd on sun.  In 30-34, it’s all about Manchester! There’s Andy Drelincourt (ok, so he’s older, but riding down is allowed!) Mark Ferguson, Roy “Sutty” Sutton and myself (both on Love Not Money) and then there’s Dialled Bikes Factory Team rider Neil Harbour. Neil has been racing for 27 years but has never won a National. At Cheddar, he put that right in a big way taking the win both days.   

Elite was stacked, there was more talent than a Simon Cowell special and it didn’t disappoint; Cal Strickland has been looking to firmly establish himself as one of the top riders in the UK and his B Final win on sat followed by a fantastic 3rd on sunday should help his cause. He’s gone from being known as the rider on a steel frame and flat pedals who does well, to being mentioned in the same breath as the other top riders; as a contender.

Derby

From one of the fastest tracks in the country to the longest, the 3rd and 4th rounds of the Nationals hit Derby, with it’s super long first straight it was a real test of fitness!

I’ll start with the Cruisers this time, as we always kick off the racing anyway! Matty Glynn opened the weekend with a B Final win in 17-29 and backed that up with a 3rd in the B on sunday. 30-34 was the Neil Harbour show again, with the Dialled rider taking his win total to 4 from 4.

Back to 20″ and the 7 Boys class. Oliver Cope is new to the club and Nationals racing, but looked very comfortable at Derby, with a 6th in the A on sat and 2nd in the B on sun. Harrison Drelincourt made the B on sat but couldn’t match it on sun. Another newcomer, Zack Harrop, was in the mix as well but got moto’d. With 3 riders now in the class, Manchester has started building for the future! (2024 Olympic team?)

Spence McLeod continued to impress in Derby, with two further A Final appearances in 12 Boys; 7th and 5th are great performances and should do his confidence the world of good.

In 13-14 Girls, Valerie had a great weekend with a pair of 3rd places.

Matt Saunders got to the B Finals both days in Derby in 14 Boys, another weekend of solid riding, taking 7th and 3rd.

Another weekend of Nationals, another weekend of wins for Jacob Roberts in 16 Boys. Pure class.

17-24 saw Andy Clucas take 2nd on sat, with a 4th on sun; proof he’s consistently one of the best in class. Joe Davenport showed he’s rapidly improving on the race track with an impressive 3rd and 6th in B Finals over the weekend.

Pete Hosker won the B Final in 25-29 on sat and free from any other social engagements, made the main on sun, taking 7th. On sat, the term “Hoskered” entered the BMX Racing lexicon, as Pete went waaaay left (again) off the snap leading commentator Rich Eames to coin the term he’s “Hoskered” the snap…Ross Gill mnade the B both days and took 3rd on sat and 2nd on sun.

In Masters, Flemdog was again on form, getting 2nd and 5th over the weekend. Age hasn’t caught up with Flem, he’s got too good a snap!

Cal was getting it done again in Elite; although the saturday bloc racing took its toll on such a long track. 7th and 5th were solid results from Derby, but in such a tough class he’ll be looking for better results.