The newly formed Dragon Riders BMX club announced its arrival on the BMX racing stage in style last weekend when three of the six members who raced took victory in their age group finals at the 6th round of the North Region BMX Championships in Coppull, Mid Lancs.
Based at Marsh Track, Rhyl,Wales’ newest BMX club caters for riders of all levels and fielded five novices along with a seasoned racer in the 172 strong entry which included some of the best racing talent in theUK.
Club vice-chairman, Steve Ellis of Prestatyn said “Like all clubs, it’s been a battle getting it off the ground and letting everyone know what we are about, but just seeing what the youngsters achieved at the weekend makes it all worthwhile and we’re making good progress.
“It’s been fantastic experience for the kids to see first-hand what BMX racing is all about and they‘ll be able to put that into context when training back at Marsh Tracks, which is a purpose built National standard BMX track itself.”
Ellis hopes that the fledgling club will soon be hosting club level racing at Marsh Tracks and says that this could happen as soon as September, adding “We’ve been well received by the organisers and clubs in the North Region and encouraged to host a race ourselves which is something we’re working towards with senior members receiving training from Welsh Cycling on running competitions.”
Thirteen year old Iwan Brisbane of Prestatyn made a name for himself, racing for the first time and dominating each of the three qualifying motos to take three wins before taking an emphatic victory in the 13 year old category final with the opposition out of sight as he skilfully tore down the finish straight.
Racing in a highly competitive age group was 16 year old Jack Hall of Wrexham. The Ysgol Morgan Llwyd pupil is now in his third year of BMX racing and had mixed success in the motos even coming unclipped on the start gate in the 3rd moto, but he battled on to take 3rd place in that session, enough to land a place in the “B” final, just one point separating him from the “A” finalists.
Now in his third year of BMX racing, Hall had mixed success in the motos even coming unclipped on the start gate in the 3rd moto, but he battled on to take 3rd place, enough to land a place in the “B” final, just one point separating him from the “A” final.
In that final, Hall showed just how edgy, technical and high paced BMX racing can be as he took and lost the lead several times on the fast flowing track before edging over the line to claim victory.
Dragon Riders members (L-R): Louie Ellis, Ryan Evans, Jack Hall, Iwan Brisbane.
In the over 18 novices, Sion Growcott of Llandudno put in a stunning performance on his hardtail, romping over the line to victory in his first and third motos and battling back from last to fourth in the second moto when he was unseated exiting the berm going into the third straight.
In the final, Growcott went big with plenty of air on the jumps to take the win and said “It was a great introduction to racing and I thought if I can jump the rollers, I’d get ahead of the others so I just rode my own race.
Growcott, who works part-time at Marsh Tracks added “The BMX track at Rhyl is great preparation for races like this we’ll be looking to do some coaching for the kids to raise their skill levels to help with their racing.”
Also racing and in the 11 year old age group, were Ryan Evans of Colwyn Bay and Louie Ellis of Prestatyn, both putting in a great first-time performance to take mid place finishes in their respective motos as well as making the finals.
Vice Chairman Ellis took part in the father’s race and was lying in third place before being ejected from the saddle in the second berm, but said “It’s been a huge day for the Club and put Dragon Riders and Marsh Tracks firmly on the map which is great news all round.
“We’ll be building on the success of this race now, carrying on with start gate and sprint practice before the next race at the end of the month at Platt’s Field,Manchester.”
Dragon Riders BMX club is looking for new members and anyone interested in just getting into the sport or having a go at racing can go along to Marsh Tracks, Rhyl. The Club meets every Monday evening between 6 and 9pm and directions can be found at www.marshtracks.co.uk or further information can be had from John Evans on 07787557873.
