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.
National BMX Series 2010