Reports and results week ending 24th July 2011
Sandwell v Ipswich
Event: 24th July 2011
Event Details
At last the sun came out on a Sunday of a Sandwell home match, and this showed in the size of the crowd. But on the track there was almost no meeting as the match referee failed to turn up. Some quick talking between the two teams and Roger Dainty stepped in and save the day and the match.
Lewis Bates shot out of the tapes in the first heat as he did in his next four rides to take a well deserved maximum, and with Jamie Ball taking third the Lion were away to a 6-4 win. But the next heat Lee Smith was excluded for moving at the tapes, and although Errol Thaw won the heat, Ipswich pulled a point back. In the third heat Ipswich moved in front with a 6-4, heat 4 and Sandwell took a step in front only for Ipswich to pull the points level before Jack Harrold was excluded, at the interval Sandwell had move back into a two point lead.
In the Interval Jamie Ball had to pull out of meeting after a fall in his third ride, with back and knee problems. In the first heat after the break Sandwell moved into a seven point lead, with Ipswich's Josh Brookes being excluded. In heat 12 David Ball found himself out of the race, after also being excluded. Onto heat 13 where the visitors pulled three points back with Jack Harrod again being pulled out by the ref.
Heat 14 saw Jordan Stant being excluded with the Lions six points in front, with Errol Thaw moving at the tapes in heat 17, the last started with Sandwell two points up, and everything to ride for in the last heat for both sides. But Lee Smith got away and try as Ipswich did he stayed in front and the Lions were home to claim their first double of the season.
A great afternoon's racing with plenty of talking points.
Result
Sandwell 88: Lewis Bates 20, Scott Millward 15, Errol Thaw 14, Lee Smith 12, David Ball 9+1, Jack Harrold 8, Leighton Bates 6+1, Jamie Ball 4.
Ipswich 85: Dan Chambers 14+2, Leon Mower 14+1, Jamie Chittock 13+1, Richard Williamson 13+3,
Jose Brookes 11+1, Dan Pike 10, Jordan Stant 5, George Solomon 5+1
Referee: Roger Dainty
The Combination Match saw Ipswich take some revenge by beating the home team by 73 points to 53. The visitors were really up for this match and were quicker away from the tapes, and looked far more match fit than the home side.
Apart from Ricky Johnson, who was excluded in his first race, and came a fighting second in his next too Ashley Hill before finishing with three wins, the Sandwell side were very much of the pace, but another day another battle, and it may go the other way.
Combination Result
Sandwell 53: Ricki Johnson 15, Phil Hemming 10, Steve Brooks 7,
Harley Grosvenor 7+1, Ryan Guest 7, Josh Hill 7.
Ipswich 73: Richard Felget 11, Matt Hill 11+1, Charlie Rumbold 10, Will Clark 9+2, Ashley Hill 9, Lewis Roberts 9+2, Barry Copping 7+1, Lauren Jacobs 7.
Referee: Roger Dainty
Norwich v Hethersett Hawks
South East League Division 1
24th July 2011
Event Details
Hethersett Hawks/Swinton & Co visited Harford Park to take on local rivals and league leaders Norwich in South East League Division 1. Both teams were near full strength but the Hawks had a couple of riders lacking recent match action and this showed in the first half.
Norwich built up a 17-point lead by the interval and skipper Dave Martin had to rally the troops. A tactical change had the desired effect and some spirited riding left him singing their praises at the end with the second half only going to Norwich by two points. In fact Hethersett only lost two races in the second period, and in one of those Martin fell off. Phil Adams had some notable scalps in his two heat wins and Scott Grimes was worth more than he scored as he almost pulled off some great passing movements.
Result
Norwich 98
Hethersett 79: P.Adams 15, S.Grimes 13, O.Buxton 13, B.Collins 11, D.Martin 11, H.Hamill 7, A.Johnson 6, R.Carter 3.
Adams was also in good form at the British U19 Championships held in Ipswich. He finished joint fifth despite a total of just 12 points, reflecting how close the field was matched apart from the top three. Ben Collins finished joint seventh on 11 points after a lengthy process to qualify for the final.
At the same venue Carly Grimes and Tiffany Collins scored 13 points each in the Eastern Region team's 75-45 win over the North in the British Women's League. Collins was still suffering from a wrist injury sustained at Swndon the previous week and only made the B Final in the Over-16 Grand Prix. She won that final but Grimes did well to make the A Final and finished fourth.
The Hawks finally made an appearance in the South-East U10 and U14 Leagues having pulled out of the first matches. They gave debuts to four new recruits at Ipswich so they did not threaten the top Suffolk sides but there were good performances, especially from Katie Adams and Luca Pinheiro.
Result
U10 - Kesgrave A 53 Ipswich 49 Kesgrave B 39 Hethersett 15
(Tye Bunn 5 Troy Bunn 5 T.Matthews 5)
U14 - Ipswich 64 Kesgrave 46 Hethersett 32 Gt.Blakenham 6
(K.Adams 10 L.Pinheioro 8 J.Matthews 7 J.Lane 7)
The club held a special reception at the Hethersett Social Club to celebrate the upgrade of their track by British Cycling to National standard. This follows the erection of a safety fence by members, described by the National body as "probably the best in the country" after their inspection. A special presentation was made to Tim Grimes who master-minded the whole project which was grant-aided by Hethersett Parish Council.
A & T Go-Ride Racing League
21st July 2011
Astley & Tyldesley hosted Round 5 of the A & T Go-Ride Racing League at Gin Pit on Thursday evening. On a damp, grippy track a close match took place, despite the low numbers participating. Walkden just edged out Hindsford by one point, with Blackmoor a further point behind. Reece Pollitt was the lone Gin Pit rider and he overcame a handicap each race to record a fine 16 points maximum score.
Results
Walkden 26 Hindsford 25 Blackmoor 24 Gin Pit 16.
Walkden: Stefan Whitelegg 13, Tyler Koch 13.
Hindsford: Adam Turnbull 15, Charlotte Gilmore 10.
Blackmoor: Max Evans 13, Thomas Whitwam 11.
Gin Pit: Reece Pollitt 16.
Referee - Bill Phillips.
League positions after 5 rounds - Gin Pit 11, Walkden 10.5, Blackmoor 9.5, Hindsford 9, Lowton 1.
A & T hosted Round 5 of the A & T Go-Ride Racing Grand Prix series at Gin Pit on Sunday afternoon. Track conditions on a warm, sunny afternoon were dry and dusty. A & T welcomed 21 riders from the Lionheart Explorer scouts and guides group from Dunstable, Bedfordshire as part of a week's activity camp in the North West. Riders were split into two groups, the scouts as their four teams for the week's activity in one group, with just four A & T riders in the other group.
There were plenty of spills as the Explorer Scouts eagerly got into their match, after a practice session beforehand. There was plenty of competitive racing, as they enjoyed their 24 qualifying heats, before moving onto the five Grand Prix Finals. Morgan O'Connell won the 'A' Final, in the fastest time of the match, 49.82 seconds, from Ben Johnson, Alex Nilson and Johnny Berry. Blue and Green teams tied for first place with 62 points apiece, from Yellow team on 51 and Red team on 43. All riders received a commemorative prize, with awards to the top three riders in the 'A' Final.
A handicapping system was used to cater for the range of ages in the A & T group match. Reece Pollitt once again underlined his impressive speed by making light of his handicap to record a 16 points maximum.
Explorer scouts group results:
Qualifying scores: Johnny Berry R 15, Morgan O'Connell B 15, Alex Nilson B 15, Ben Johnson G 14, David Griffiths B 14, Will Saunders G 13, Sam Rushmer G 13, Sam Blumson G 12, Seb Calloway Y 12, Elliott Janes Y 12, Scott Mercer Y 11, Emma Fry G 10, Lucy Featherstone B 10, Jasmine O'Connell Y 10, James Sayer B 8, Ollie Carter R 8, Alex Matthews R 7, Coral Rushmer R 7, Emma Jones Y 6, Alex Mustoe R 6, Daniel Evans ns.
'E' Final: E. Jones, C. Rushmer, A. Matthews, A. Mustoe ns.
'D' Final: L. Featherstone, J. O'Connell, J. Sayer, O. Carter.
'C' Final: E. Janes, S. Calloway, S. Mercer, E. Fry.
'B' Final: D. Griffiths, W. Saunders, S. Blumson, S. Rushmer exc.
'A' Final: M. O'Connell, B. Johnson, A. Nilson, J. Berry.
A & T riders group results:
Reece Pollitt 16, Adam Turnbull 12, Max Evans 7, Thomas Whitwam 5.
Referee - Bill Phillips
Leading positions after 5 rounds - Adam Phillips 88, Adam Turnbull 83, Max Evans 79, Thomas Whitwam 76, Reece Pollitt 50, Stefan Whitelegg 48.
