English Dominates with Hat-Trick

What a difference a week makes! After the disappointment of last week’s rained-off meet, sixty-nine riders signed on at Preston Park for an action-packed evening of racing in fine, dry conditions.

SENIORS

There is no doubt who the senior rider of the meet was tonight. Felix English, still just 15, dominated the racing with a hat-trick of wins, one third place and one fourth spot. He gave a master-class of racing which showed just why he is currently top of the “A” league.

The 8-lap curtain-raiser was not slow to ignite, with Lee Povey breaking away on the very first circuit, with his new Team Terminator clubmate Mark Burgess controlling matters at the head of the bunch. The peloton didn’t like this arrangement, however, and one lap later Christian Yates had struck out alone in his inimitable style, quickly gaining a useful lead which reached 150 metres just before mid-race. Rob Fuller, Paul Gosling, Charlie Heffernan and Bruce English were all noted at the front of the bunch at this time. When the lap-board read 4, Christian’s advantage was beginning to fall ever-so-slightly, and youngsters Lewis Earthrowl-Gould and Adam Gent were chasing as if their lives depended on it. Felix had other ideas, though, and one lap later he had overhauled these two rivals and was heading towards Christian like an exocet missile. With two laps remaining, Lewis and Adam were back in the bunch, while Felix and Christian were the joint leaders and a quartet comprising Sean Yates, Charlie Sayer, Martyn Potter and Mark Burgess had detached itself from the bunch. With the bunch splintering neatly, the sighs of relief among the judges were almost audible. At the bell, Christian and Felix were safely ahead and could concentrate on their run-in to the line. Felix made a storming finish to take a great win ahead of Christian, the fast-improving Mark Burgess took third in front of Charlie, Martin and Sean, then it was the impressive B-league leader Charlie Heffernan who won the sprint from the remains of the bunch for seventh.

In an effort to give riders of all abilities the chance of a win or a placing, some of the senior B-league races were divided into two sub-categories. Charlie Heffernan won the B1 keirin ahead of Oliver Pepper and Andy Parle, while in the B2 race it was Graham Charlton who beat Mike Brampton and Martin O’Brien to the line. In the B1 3-lap dash, Oliver Pepper got the verdict in a dramatically tight sprint in front of Charlie Heffernan and Andy Parle. The equivalent B2 race saw a trio break away successfully, Paul Gosling scoring the victory with Graham Charlton second and George Webster third.

Fresh from clinching runner-up spot in the recent Welsh Open Sprint Championship, Lee Povey made no mistake in the A-cat keirin with a tremendous sprint to the line to take the win, holding off Adam Gent and Mark Burgess. In the elite 3-lapper, Felix escaped in style and maintained his advantage to the line. Behind, Mark Burgess underlined his return to top form with second place and Adam Gent took third.

The 8-lap block handicap saw half-a-lap advantage given to all the B-riders. They set to the task of staying away with determination, Charlie Heffernan, Andy Parle, Paul Gosling and Ben Miller being some of the prominent riders at the head of the pack. However, further back the A group was not slacking, driven along by a combination of youthful talent (notably Felix English, Adam Gent and Lewis Earthrowl-Gould) and experience and sheer speed (especially the Yates brothers, Martyn Potter, Lee Povey, Charlie Sayer and Mark Burgess). With three to go, the B riders’ fate was sealed. The top group caught up and there were still around 20 riders in contention. There was little messing around – if any – and the speed appeared to increase relentlessly on the run-in. Almost inevitably, Felix rocketed home first for his hat-trick on the night, followed by Adam Gent, Sean Yates, Lewis Earthrowl-Gould, Charlie Heffernan and Christian Yates.

Organiser Vern McClelland laid on an excellent finale to the meet with a successful longer-than-usual distance race, consisting of 15 laps, with three primes available, each worth £5 cash. Felix bagged the first bounty after just 2 laps, but two laps later it was a useful quartet of Sean and Christian Yates, Lewis Earthrowl-Gould and Adam Gent who went away. Young Felix was eager for more pocket-money, though, and he overtook the leaders in time to take the next pay-out with nine to go. Andy Parle and Paul Gosling had a dig soon afterwards, but it was Felix yet again who was then joined up front by Sean, Christian, Adam and Lewis. Surely these five would stay neatly together to the finish? Not a bit of it! Lewis took the final prime when the board showed 4, but immediately afterwards Sean Yates was gone like a bat out of hell. One lap later Adam succumbed to the speed and at the bell he was adrift of his previous race companions. Sean stayed away with a great demonstration of riding to take a well-deserved win, then on the last lap Adam made a tremendous recovery to take second, followed home by Felix, Christian and Lewis. Next in line – and top B – was again 14-year-old Charlie Heffernan in fifth, then there was a string of B riders who had ridden very well throughout to finish such a competitive race. In order, they were Paul Gosling, Oliver Pepper, Andy Parle, Daniel Clark, Bruce English, Anthony Rogers, Martin O’Brien, Tim Mustin, Tim Hill and Ben Sherwood.

YOUTHS

A total of 40 youngsters signed on tonight, all eager to get back into action after the disappointment of last week's cancellation. Competition was hot in all categories, and with the usual £10 AD Cycles voucher on offer for the most meritorious rider together with league points in every race, there was a lot to ride for.

U16/U14

A healthy field of 15 took to the start-line for the 4-lap opener for both categories. The tempo was dictated largely by the U16s, as expected, and at the end of a fast-run race it was Sam Cheesman who came home first, followed by Nick Smith and Tom Jamieson. Top U14 Ashley Dennis rode very well for fourth and Ben Gerrey and James McCarron filled the next placings.

The 2-lap dash races were enlivened by the offer of £5 AD Cycles vouchers at the end of the first circuit. In the U14 event, Jack Oliver-Blaney caught the others by surprise to take the award, and at the finish Ashley scored the win, followed by Sara Gent, Milo Burdeau, Amy Jacobs, Kim English, with Jack sixth. James McCarron sprinted well to scoop the U16 voucher at the bell, but by the finish it was Tom Goldsmith who triumphed from Sam Cheesman, Tom Jamieson, Nick Smith, James McCarron and Ben Gerrey.

Milo Burdeau used his allowance to great effect to win the joint handicap race, which was a closely-fought affair. The other points-scorers, in order, were Ashley, Sara, Kim, Amy and Jack.

The joint 5-lap points race was dominated by Nick Smith whose emphatic win was secured with two maximums and three second placings at the line. Tom Jamieson scored points on each occasion and bagged runner-up spot by the smallest of margins from Tom Goldsmith in third. Sam Cheesman rallied late on and came over the line ahead of the rest, his late surge taking him to fourth. Next in line were the top two U14s, Ashley Dennis and Sara Gent.

U12

The battles between the top U12 riders have to be seen to be believed. Gabriel Parle and Jake Marley were almost locked elbow-to-elbow in the final sprint of the 2-lap scratch race, Gabriel getting the verdict at the line. Not far behind were Jack Barnett, Harris Redgrove, William Duffin and Megan Lewis.

Gabriel made a storming charge in the handicap race, coming from the back of the whole field to take another win, this time ahead of Mark Jacobs, Megan, Jake, Harris and William.

Gabriel rounded of an amazingly successful evening with his third win on the night in the 4-lap points race, winning every sprint into the bargain and taking the AD Cycles £10 voucher. Jake and Jack were next, with Harris, William and Megan filling the next three placings.

U10/U8

Harry Stacey won the 1-lap U8 scratch race in style, preceding Cory Anderson, Bethany Lewis, Sian Carr and Tom Martin at the finish. In the equivalent U10 event it was Luke Stacey who prevailed, while Ted O’Brien, Joe Hill, Ben O’Brien, Douglas McCauley and Matthew Duffin were next in line.

The joint individual handicap was won by Luke Stacey in front of Ben, Harry, Joe, Ted and Douglas. The final race, the group handicap, saw another Stacey win, this time Harry, in front of Cory, Luke, Ted, Ben and Bethany.

Report by Gavin Smith, Photos by Sally Page/Daniel Bunbar