Last year Horspath were found guilty of using an ineligible rider.  On that occasion the club was disqualified from the competition and their score removed from the record books, although interestingly it is still published on British Cycling's website.

POOLE RETAIN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP - posted 1 August 2011

Members of the Poole club celebrate their success in the 2011 British club championship 

Poole wrapped up their British Club title for the second consecutive season thanks to the 24 points picked up by their Girls and Senior teams at Sheffield at the weekend.  With victories in the U19 and U16 competitions and runners-up for their U10's and 40+ teams, the Dorset club had done all the hard work prior to the double header at Sheffield where they became became the only club ti field teams in all the seven event series.

Second place in the 2011 series went to Leicester on 108 points, just two points ahead of third placed Horspath.  The top ten clubs were:

1st Poole 128 points, 2nd Leicester 108, 3rd Horspath 106, 4th Ipswich 86, 5th Wednesfield 84, 6th East Newport 66, 7th    Sheffield 56, 8th Stockport 2006 48, 9th Hull 46, 10th Kesgrave 43

21 of the sport's 28 clubs contested the Club Championship in one form or another.

	CLUB 2011	U 10s	U 13s	U 16s	U 19s	Open	Vets	Women
1	Poole	20	14	25	25	12	20	12	128
2	Leicester		14	12	14	18	25	25	108
3	Horspath		25	16	18	25	8	14	106
4	Ipswich	18	10	18	10	10		20	86
5	Wednesfield	16		14	12	14	12	16	84
6	East Newport	14	20	12	20				66
7	Sheffield		12		10	16		18	56
8	Stockport 2006			20	16	12			48
9	Hull		12		10	10	14		46
10	Kesgrave	25					18		43
11	Birmingham					20	16		36
12	Newport			14	14				28
13	Hethersett				12		12		24
14	Astley & Tyldesley		18						18
15	Bretford		16						16
16	Norwich						14		14
17	Swindon					14			14
18	Sandwell				12				12
19	East London						10		10
20	Edinburgh						10		10
21	East Park				8				8

HORSPATH ALWAYS IN CONTROL DESPITE LAST HEAT DECIDER - posted 31 July 2011

The national Open Club Fours produced some brilliant racing in a match that went down to the wire, Horspath pipping Birmingham in a last heat decider.  Meanwhile Leicester and Sheffield were enjoying a real scrap as they battled in out for third place, the Midland club easing out their Northern rivals by just a single point.

Like all fours matches, the early races were cautious affairs.  No one wanted to give anything away as races largely went to form and gate positions.  Enter Jono Birks (pictured below).  Never one to race by convention, the all-action Sheffield star had the home crowd on their feet as be brilliantly swept inside Marcus Wadhams in a wonderfully entertaining heat four.  

















At that stage, taking advantage of their inside gates, Birmingham led on 14 points, followed by Horspath with a workmanlike 11 points from their grid threes, Sheffield on nine and Leicester trailiing on six from the outside start lane.

In the second quarter, Horspath moved into the inside grids.  They quickly reeled in Birmingham, going in front in heat six.  It was a lead they never relinquished or really looked like losing.  Heat eight was a magnificent all-action gem of a race (pictured below), the four riders going at it hammer-and-tongs.  The lead changed virtually down every straight before resolute Lewis Osborne pinched the four points.  At the halfway stage the scores stood Horspath 26, Birmingham 23, Sheffield 16 and Leicester 15.

Heat ten proved to be the turning point.  Needing a win to close the gap on Horspath, Chris Timms, sitting second and with Horspath's Mark Carmichael adrift in third, challenged Craig Marchant for the lead.  It was a valiant, some would say ambitious manoeuvre that went horribiliy wrong as the pair clashed, gifting a smiling Mark Carmichael for the easiest of wins.

Going into the last four races Horspath were looking good on 38, Birmingham 33, Leicester 26 and Sheffield 23.  Once they get their noses infront, the Oxford outfit are notoriously difficult to dislodge. Birmingham finished in style, taking a hat-trick of wins in the last three races but with Horspath slotting into the minor positions and British number one Mark Boaler happy to poodle round in third in the final heat, the result was never in doubt.

Horspath were solid throughout.  Like the Three Musketeers they stamped their "One For All" philosophy from the very first race, often sacrificing personal glory for the greater collective good, sitting positions where necessary and only going for rock-solid gaps.

Birmingham, the club not good enough for the Premier League with a team capable of beating any in the land, will probably be disappointed, not with their display which couldn't be faltered but that they didn't get in the rub of the green.  

Their ace card was simply sensational. Time after time Paul Heard (pictured) left quality riders floundering in his wake as he sped to four classic victories.  Certainly the young man from the Midlands puts his physical characteristics to good effect especially on the first turn.  He has an uncanny knack of being able to stretch his long legs over an opponent's wheel without impeding the opposition but at the same time certainly distracting them.  It's called skill.

Leicester battled hard with little reward.  Their riders were always in thick of the action but only one, Carl Jarvis in race 11, managed a heat win.  It was a tough day at the office.  Similarly Sheffield found the going tough.  Birks apart, they struggled  to make any real impact, a win for Jamie Brown in heat 13 proved to be their best effort.

British Open Club Championship at Sheffield
Final
Horspath 48
Mark Carmichael 13, Mark Boaler 12, Steve Harris 12, Lewis Osborne 11, George Horsley dnr
Birmingham 47
Paul Heard 16, Chris Timm 13, Marcus Wadhams 10, Nathan Groves 5, Mark Winwood 3
Leicester 33
Jason Ashford 10, Leon Yelland 8, Carl Jarvis 8, Craig Marchant 7, Kevin Burns dnr
Sheffield 32
Jono Birks 16, Jamie Brown 7, Ryan Hoyland 6, Chris Turner 4, Aiden Owen 1
Referee: Wayne Aris (West Midlands)

Semi Final 1
Horspath 52, Leicester 44, Swindon 35, Poole 35, Ipswich 32
Semi Final 2
Sheffield 50, Birmingham 46, Wednesfield 38, Stockport 33, Hull 30

LEICESTER LADIES MAKE IT SIX IN A ROW - posted 31 July 2011

Leicester Ladies' magnificent run in the Women's Club Fours goes on an on.  On a sun-kissed afternoon in Sheffield, the girls from the East Midlands were in scorching form, racing to their most emphatetic victory yet as they took the title for the sixth successive year, a truly remarkable feat. 

To be truthful you can't see Leicester being beaten for years and years to come.  Such was their dominance that they demolished the opposition, a chasm of 15 points separating the champions from their nearest rivals.  And it could have been more, much more.  Team manager Nicky Whitehead, unheralded as his girls wrote the headlines, drafted in reserve Chloe Whitehead on a couple of occasions towards the end of the day.  Other than that Leicester provided 13 race winners and five seconds from their remaining outings, a statistic which undermines their class and superiority against some of the best women racers in the game.

Fielding four of the team that won last year, Jenna Whitehead who is expecting a baby later in the year was missing, the Leicester quartet were in scintillating form none more so than the impressive Lauren Davies (pictured below) who was virtually unbeatable, losing out only to women-of-the-match Ipswich's Lauren Jacobs in heat 24.  Davies, who is just 14, only started racing last year and looks a real prospect for the future.

Jacobs, so often the bridesmaid in the national individuals, was simply superb.  Ooozing class and confidence, her unbeaten 20 point maximum was cornerstone to Ipswich taking overall second place.

Women's racing is making great strides but this match underlined the divide between the best and the rest.  Many of the 30 races developed into two races, the likes of Jacobs, Davies, Brindley, Brown, Crouch and the Whiteheads battling it out at the front while the younger, less experienced riders fought tooth-and-nail at the back.  

It provided plenty of exciting racing, epitomised by the wonderfully entertaining heat 23 battle between Ipswich's Gemma Hill (pictured below) and Sheffield's Billie Owen, an exciting and committed race as you'd ever wish to see which brought warm appluase from the good sized crowd - and that was just for third place!

It was that resolve that proved crucial to Ipswich.  While Lauren Jacobs and Laura Dale were winning races for fun, Gemma Hill and Abigail Brooke were quietly picking up the crucial second and thirds as Ipswich edged ahead of home team Sheffield  in the closing stages after it had been nip-and-tuck throughout the match.

The Sheffield girls enjoyed their day, especially Vicky Brown (pictured centre above) who was celebrating her 18th birthday.  The crowd entered in spirit of the occasion as the post-match presentation strains of "Happy Birthday" could be heard melodoulsy coming from the back straight. But if Vicky was having a good time, Emily Birks was having a ball!  Never will you see a rider so pleased to win a race!  Spurred on by the noisey and encouraging Sheffield contingent, Emily was beaming all through her final race, saluting the crowd with a raised arm as she crossed the finishing line.  Everyone smiled!

It was a nice moment but shouldn't distract from some serious racing. Other memorable moments included a superb pass by Wednesfield's Reanna Brindley over Amy Crouch in race three, a battle royale between Charlie-Jane Herbert and Vicky Brown which ended with both riders on the deck and a disappointing re-run as Herbert's chain re-railed at the gate, a determined pass by Emily Birks on Kayleigh Stiggants  and of course the race-of-the day when tiny Gemma Hill beat Billie Owen to the line in that fantastic race 23.

But the day belongs collectively to Leicester and individually to Lauren Jacobs.  Both were simply magnificent. Putting such things as pregnancy aside (three top stars who are expecting were sidelined today), you really can see Leicester dominating this event for years to come.  At the moment they are simply in a league of their own - so ten back-to-back victories is not beyond possibility. What an unbelievable achievement that would be.  And talking of unbelievable, it seems
inconceivable that such an outstanding racer like Lauren Jacobs has never been national champion.  Perhaps 2011 will be her year.
.
Bring on Hethersett in August.  The Women's final is one match you won't want to miss.

British Women's Club Championship at Sheffield
Final
Leicester 69
Michelle Whitehead 19, Lauren Davies 19, Lucy Whitehead 15, Amy Crouch 14, Chloe Whitehead 1
Ipswich 54
Lauren Jacobs 20, Laura Dale 17, Gemma Hill 9, Abigail Brooke 8
Sheffield 52
Vicky Brown 16, Emily Birks 14, Laura Watson 13, Billie Owen 9, Kirby Freeman dnr
Wednesfield 44
Reanna Brindley 16, Courtney Aris 12, Sharna Cox 11, Alex Cox 3, Kylie Cook 2
Horspath 38
Livvi Horsley 15, Charlie-Jane Herbert 13, Georgia Horsley 6, Emile Carter 3
Poole 35
Kristian Mines 13, Holly Morgan 8, Kayleigh Stiggants 7, Katie Metalli 7
Referee: Mike Hack (Greater Manchester)

EAST PARK SAY SORRY - posted 12 July 2011

East Park chairman Al Bentley has made a public apology following the late posting of results from the under-19 British Club championship held on Saturday 2 July.

"This was my fault" he explained.  "Due to the Post Office not delivering the official score sheets to the club secretary on time, on match day I was going to use the official programme and send that in.  However, as it was such a long day after clearing up when every one had left,  I realised that I had forgotten to collect a programme that had been completely filled in. I then called various club members and set about putting the mistake right.  This however did take some time.

"I did notify British Cycling and the competition manager of my mistake and corrected it as soon as possible.  Sorry.  Will do better next time.  From the comments on the day the meeting was enjoyed by all.  I hope the failure of the results being posted did not change this" added Bentley.

HORSPATH TOPS IN UNDER-13 THRILLER - posted 10 July 2011

A bright sunny afternoon greeted the nine teams competing in the
Cooperative Funeralcare British-Under 13 Club Championship at Hull's Hessle Raceway.

The first semi final of the day brought together East Newport, Astley
& Tyldesley, Poole, Ipswich, and the home club Hull. After 20 heats of all-out action from the young stars of the future,

Astley emerged victorious after reeling off three straight heat wins in their final threeraces. A heat 16 disqualification left East Newport tied with Poole on 49 points for the last final spot. The Welsh side's Ethan Greenslade duly won the run-off ahead of  Dorset's Jordan
Ritzburger to make it Astley and East Newport progressing to the coveted 4 o'clock final.  Hull did well to finish not to far behind on 37 points with a team full of relative inexperience at competitions of this level, while Ipswich's efforts weren't reflected in their resulting 25 points.

















Semi-Final One
Astley & Tyldesley 49
Adam Phillips 16, Freddie Hewitt 13, Reece Pollitt 13, Ross Green 7
East Newport 44
Ethan Greenslade 15, Adam Bennett 13, Ethan Lewis 8, Tudor Coombes 7, Sean Bennett 1
Poole 44
Callum Albin 14, Jordon Fitzburger 14, George Newman 9, Frazer Hoare 5
Hull 37
Sam Schofield 13, Andy Cooper 10, Rob Davies 7, Nathan Everett 6, Joe Sewell 1
Ipswich 25
Jack Chaplin 10, Alex Harvey 6, Ben Harvey 5, Tom Martin 2, Brandon Gilbert-Rolfe 2
Referee: Darren Kent (Yorkshire)

The second semi final then brought together Midlanders Bretford
and Leicester, Oxford's Horspath, and South Yorkshire's Sheffield. Leicester, Bretford and Horspath could not be separated after heat four, but then Horspath slowly edged away into the lead to take the semi on 46 points. A final heat win by Bretford's Lee Kemp over Leicesters Liam Doughty then handed them the last final place after the scores been level at the heat 15 mark. Sheffield finished the match with 27 after a couple of good outings from the South Yorkshire side.

Semi-Final Two
Horspath 46
Jake Neighbour 15, George Horsley 13, Jordon Richardson 12, Alfie Wakefield 5, Alice Neighbour 1
Bretford 44
Lee Kemp 15, Niall Cleaver 10, Kyle Roberts 10, Matt Humbridge 5, Daniel Price 4
Leicester 43
Liam Davies 14, Liam Doughty 12, Charlie Shutt 8, Liam Wood 6, Max Barrett 3
Sheffield 27
Adam Watson 11, Amber Webster 6, Ed Morton 4, Jake Millington 3, Ellie Sullivan 3
Referee: Andy Moody (Humberside)

The final brought together Astley, Bretford, East Newport, and Horspath. Horspath established an early lead from their inside grid
positions before East Newport reeled them back in to take the lead at the halfway stage. Five points split all the teams after heat 12 with the Welsh club just holding onto their lead ahead of a determined Horspath outfit.  Horspath then used their grid twos to great effect in the final set of races to pull ahead of East Newport and take the overall victory.  The end results finished with Horspath on 44, East Newport 40, Astley & Tyldesley 39, and Bretford 35.

Final
Horspath 44
Jordon Richardson 15, George Horsley 13, Jake Neighbour 12, Alice Neighbour 2, Alfiie Wakerfield 2
East Newport 40
Ethan Greenslade 14, Tudor Coombes 10, Adam Bennett 9, Ethan Lewis 7, Sean Bennett dnr
Astley & Tyldesley 39
Adam Phillips 16, Reece Pollitt 14, Freddie Hewitt 5, Ross Green 4
Bretford 35
Lee Kemp 14, Kyle Roberts 8, Niall Cleaver 6, Daniel Price 4, Matt Humbridge 3
Referee: Darren Kent (Yorkshire)  

A great days racing was had by all and hopefully all riders enjoyed their trip up to the Hessle Raceway.  Congratulations go to all the riders involved and the Hull club look forward to welcoming them back sometime in the future.

With three of the seven contributing classes now completed, defending champions Poole are well on the way to retaining the British Club Championship they won in style last year.

The Dorset side are reaping the rewards of their vigourous recruitment campaign across all the age categories and have made no secret that the Club Championship is one of their principal goals this year.

Surprisingly only one other club, Wednesfield, have entered all three categories which sees them in overall third place behind Kesgrave who have shot into second place in the league table, thanks to their excellent displays from both ends of the spectrum, victory in the under-10s and runner-up in the Veterans.

Despite Poole's dominance, fittingly the honours have been shared around, a continuing trend from last year, with the three championships so far each producing a different winner.

Disappointingly, it is looking as if the Club Championship is losing some of its gloss as clubs target specific events rather than aim for the overall title. Several well known clubs have yet to enter the competition including Astley & Tyldesley, Great Blakenham and Premier League Sandwell but the most glaring ommission is Sheffield, the sport's biggest club, who have keenly supported the competitions in the past but have yet to make their 2011 debut.

Having said that, Sheffield and Sandwell together with East Park are all due to compete in the well-supported under-19 club championship which takes place at Wolverhampton's East Park on Saturday 2 July.

All of this suggests that a combination of a crowded fixture list and difficult economic climate are having an impact on this year's Club Championship with clubs targetting only those events they feel they can justifiably support both competitively and financially.

LEICESTER DOMINATE VETERANS CLUB - posted 5 June 2011 

Home team Leicester dominated the British Over-40s Club championship at Glover Park to win the trophy for the first time.

With their twin spearhead, newly crowned Veterans champion Jason Ashford and resilient 54-year-old Mick Skinner, in unbeatable form, the powerful East Midlands outfit won 10 of the 16 races to finish on 54 points, well ahead of Poole and Kesgrave (41) and Birmingham (22).

Dave Murphy opens Poole's account in the Veterans Club final as Norman Venson recovers from last place to go on to notch and important second place




Leicester's hopes of winning the title suffered a set-back before the match started with the news that star rider Mark Newey had failed to recover from an injury sustained while riding for his second claim club Sandwell. According to the match day programme, Newey's absence had forced Dave Frith to step up his training ahead of the Veterans Club.

It proved crucial as Frith, a truly unheralded servant to the sport in the Midlands, was in superb form, notching an impressive 14 points from his four starts. Popular skipper Norman Venson was always in the thick of the action, returning 11 points from his four outings. Reserve Colin Pole, a former Monarchs' heat-leader making his return to the saddle after a break of 30 years, also featured, coming in for Mick Skinner in heat 15.

Poole, their eyes firmly focused on retaining the overall club championship they won last season, had an indifferent start, suffering two exclusions in the opening four races but with Rob Haywood and Dave Murphy orchestrating up front and Pete Young and the impresnatinal indoorsive Chris Shylock providing valuable support, the Dorset side fought they way back into contention to force a tie-break for overall second.

Surprise package Kesgrave really caught the imagination, not only for their spirited performance but for the unconventional bike two of their riders were using.


Kesgrave's Daniel Zagni, the first national indoor champion in 1987, was clearly relishing his return to the national cycle speedway scene




Daniel Zagni's return to the national stage was simply remarkable. Looking fit and still sporting his trademark smile, the 1987 national indoor champion turned back the years with a dazzling performance to finish on 13 points.

Zagni, together with Peter Ingram, have been carving out something of a reputation for themselves on the regional cycling scene, regularly featuring in cycle races around East Anglia.



Zagni's and Ingram's unconventional bikes with their 'strange' gears and ultra short wheelbase.






Leaning on their technical expertise and the pioneering work of innovative Andy Moody, they both rode extraordinary bicycles. Instead of the conventional freewheel, the exciting new machines use a fixed rear sprocket but a variable crankset which in effect acts as a freewheel. As a result, instead of the traditional 33/18 gearing, they used 22/12 gear, making the bike considerably lighter and quicker from the gate. It seemed to work!

The final score suggests that Birmingham were not at the races. Nothing could be further from the truth. They battled hard in every heat and gave it their all but somehow it didn't come together on the day, a single second place by Bob Prince in heat four being the highlight of 15 races punctuated with third and fourth placings.

While Leicester were ploughing a lone furrow at the head of the field, Poole and Kesgrave were involved in a battle-royal for the silver medal. For most of the match only a point or two separated the sides and in the end it needed a tie-break to split them. And what a great race it was. Poole's Rob Haywood and Kesgrave's Gary Brown served up a tremendous spectacle to end a wonderful day's racing, Haywood managing to hold off attack after attack from spirited Brown, the Poole rider almost collapsing over the line with sheer joy or plummeting fatigue. It was thrilling stuff.




East London's Les Stevens takes a heavy fall while Wednesfield's Mick Aris nicks his gloves!





Veterans racing is wonderfully competitive. Not one of the riders was prepared to settle for second best as race after race they served up some superbly entertaining racing.

Several were in the wars. Pete Young, Phil Widdas, Les Stevens (pictured above), Roger Carter amongst others will be feeling the after-affects of their exploits over the next couple of days.

The match was presented in the style we have come to expect of Leicester - polished and slick on a beautifully prepared surface. In the pits, smiling faces through grimacing lips, slaps on the back bent double with effort, breathless jokes and greying hair slicked down with sweat - wonderful, wonderful stuff.

As the thoroughly entertained crowd left Glover Park, no one summed up the day better that one of the sport's biggest sponsors.

"Racing was great today. Leicester deserved the win. They were on the ball. What a great show of Vets racing for cycle speedway. Everyone who rode should be proud of themselves. Also Leicester put on a great show."

Well said Steve Mullinder - that sums it up nicely!

British Over-40s Club Championship at Leicester
Leicester 54
Jason Ashford 16, Dave Frith 14, Mick Skinner 12, Norman Venson 11, Colin Pole 1
Poole 41
Rob Haywood 12, Dave Murphy 11, Pete Young 9, Chris Shylock 9
Kesgrave 41
Daneil Zagni 13, Gary Brown 11, Peter Ingram 9, Paul Brinkhoff 7, Neil Cutting 1
Birmingham 22
Phil Widdas 6, Paul Timms 6, Bob Prince 6, Nick Rowe 4
Referee: Wayne Aris (West Midlands)

DEPLETED CHAMPIONS CRASH OUT

The quality of racing was not restricted to the final. The qualifying rounds were equally competitive. Six teams contested the first semi-final, unquestionably the most difficult of the two.


This pic captures the determination of Gary Brown and Mick Aris as they battle for the bend, with Steve Woodruff and Alan Parkins ready to "pick up the pieces"



While Leicester were head and shoulders above the rest, Kesgrave had to see off a spirited challenge from Norwich. Wednesfield and East London were also in the mix early on but trailed off halfway through the 30 heat marathon. Fielding only one rider, Mark Janes, from their championship-winning team last year and with Steve Harris racing in Poland, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for defending champions Horspath.

Semi Final A
Leicester 68
Jason Ashford 20, Mick Skinner 16, Norman Venson 15, Dave Frith 15, Colin Pole 2
Kesgrave 56
Gary Brown 16, Peter Ingram 15, Daniel Zagni 14, Paul Brinkhoff 7, Neil Cutting 4
Norwich 51
Gary Colby 15, Alan Parkins 14, Chris Cullum 13, Russell Parkins 9
Wednesfield 45
Mark Griffiths 15, Mick Aris 13, Paul Green 10, Steve Mullinder 5, Kevin Turley 2
East London 40
Steve Woodruff 14, Denis Hubble 13, Dave Tulloch 7, Les Stevens 5, Kevin Smith 1
Horspath 34
Paul Gibbs 12, Mark Janes 10, Martin Glover 7, Rob Carter 5
Referee: Mark Winwood (West Midlands)

SCOTTISH SPIRIT LIVES ON

The second semi also produced some quality racing. For a time it looked as if Hull could wrestle the final qualifying pace from Birmingham but with Bob Prince and Paul Timms regularly winning races, Brum were in no mood the relinquish second place. Hethersett battled hard, a win for Dave Chambers in the final race being scant rewards for their efforts.



Poole's Pete Young and Birmingham's paul Timm do battle in the second semi final






And what can you say about Edinburgh? With a combined age of 195 glorious years between their three representatives and robbed of the services of their most experienced rider, 73-year-old Chic Mackie who had to attend a funeral at short notice, John Murphy, Dave Baxter and Ian McKinlay did themselves and the sport proud.

Was it worth it? Getting up at 4.30am and leaving Edinburgh before dawn to make the six hour journey South?

"Toooo trueeee - just a wee trip" beamed John Murphy. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Pity we didn't have Chic though. If the wee man had been here we could have done something today" said cycle speedway's most enthusiastic youngster!

Semi Final B
Poole 61
Chris Shylock 16, Pete Young 16, Rob Haywood 15, Dave Murphy 14,
Birmingham 40
Bob Prince 14, Paul Timms 14, Phil Widdas 7, Nick Rowe 5
Hull 36
Ian Swanborough 11, Rich Pawson 11, Andy Moody 11, Barry Ashton 5
Hethersett 33
Dave Chambers 11, Roger Carter 10, Mel Perkins 8, Tim Grimes 4
Edinburgh 23
John Murphy 12, Dave Baxter 7, Ian McKinlay 4
Referee: Wayne Aris (West Midlands)

POOLE CROWNED BRITISH U16 CLUB CHAMPIONS - posted 29 May 2011

The sucessful Poole team after their fine win in the British under 16s club championships at Newport CSC, pictured with match sponsor Pete Soper of Global Radiodata Communications of Hereford.

Poole CSC clinched the British Under-16’s Club Championships this afternoon at windswept Newport defeating runners up Stockport CSC by five points with Ipswich clinching third and Horspath finishing in fourth place.

Semi final one saw Stockport ease through to the final amassing 52 points with the team of five first past the post in ten of the heats, reserve Joe Pickford getting three rides to score 11 points. Also through to the final were Horspath. They finished on 42 points, Zak Payne and Lee Clarke scoring the bulk of their points.

Third place on 34 points were Wednesfield who, up until heat fourteen, were still in with a shout for second place until two exclusions in heats 15 and 16 put paid their chances. They were well led by the impressive Matt Haddock. Fourth place went to Leicester. They scored 26 points with Lauren Davies scoring eight points.

Semi Final A
Stockport 54
Ali Lam 12, Matt Lush 12, Joe Pickford 11, Jack Lush 11, Jake Read 8.
Horspath 42
Zak Payne 14, Lee Clarke 10, Livvy Horsley 7, Jordan Richardson 7, Jake Neighbour 4.
Wednesfield 34
Matt Haddock 14, Troy Allen 9, Jordon Holdcroft 8, Rhianna Brindley 2, Aarron O’Brien 1.
Leicester 26
Lauren Davies 8, Charlie Cooper 6, Luke Hartshorn 5, Liam Davies 5, Liam Doughty 2.

Semi final two saw eventual winners Poole score 51 points, Matt Mildon looking quick and Arron Smith helping himself to 12 points. Also through to the final went Ipswich, after a titanic battle with home side Newport, that never saw any more than three points between the sides.
Ashley Hill and Charlie Rumbold starred for the East Anglians, Jack Harrold was unbeaten for the Welsh side ably supported by Oli Sidwick. East Newport finished fourth. Fielding an inexperienced side, it was always going to be a tough task, but each rider gave their best and the experience gained today can only benefit them in future years.

Semi Final B
Poole 51
Matt Mildon 15, Aaron Morgan 12, Arron Smith 12, Will Bristowe 9, Alex Lane 3.
Ipswich 46
Ashley Hill 13, Charlie Rumbold 11, Richard Fellgate 8, Lewis Roberts 8, Will Clarke 6.
Newport 44
Jack Harrold 16, Oli Sidwick 12, Jacob Soper 8, Dan Denny 6, Matt Trechmann 2.
East Newport 19
Josh Davies 6, Ethan Greenslade 5, Ieuan Payne 4, Tudor Coombs 4.

There was plenty of tension as the final got underway. Heat one had to be re run twice due to a tape exclusion for Rumbold and a racing exclusion for Jack Lush. Mildon got the win for Poole. Hill then got a win for Ipswich before Morgan won for Poole and then Fellgate got another win for Ipswich. A quarter of the way through and Poole held a single point advantage over surprise packets Ipswich, Horspath on eight points and Stockport on six.

By the half way stage it was getting very tight. Stockport got their act together scoring three wins and a second to be tying with Poole on 21 points. Ipswich were just one behind with Horspath dropping off the pace. The next block of heats saw the South Coast side taking grid one and they responded with three heat wins and a third. Stockport consolidated with four second places, Ipswich dropped off the pace a little, three third place finishes affecting their challenge.

Horspath scored a heat win in race thirteen, Lee Clarke posting the win, but by heat fifteen the victory had all but been secured as Will Bristowe got an important second place ahead of Ali Lam to see Poole leading by three points. The last heat saw Arron Morgan complete his four ride maximum to lead the Seasiders to a five point win over second placed Stockport with impressive Ipswich third and Horspath finishing in fourth.

British Under-16 Club Championship Final
Poole 47
Aaron Morgan 16, Matt Mildon 14, Arron Smith 10, Will Bristowe 7, Alex Lane dnr.
Stockport 42
Matt Lush 12, Jake Read 12, Jack Lush 9, Ali Lam 9, Joe Pickford dnr.
Ipswich 40
Ashley Hill 14, Lewis Roberts 9, Charlie Rumbold 8, Richard Fellgate 6, Will Clarke 3.
Horspath 26
Lee Clarke 10, Zak Payne 6, Livvy Horsley 4, Jordan Richardson 3, Jake Neighbour 3

PEERLESS KESGRAVE - posted 7 May 2011

Event favourites, Suffolk-based Kesgrave, lived up to their pre-match billing with a peerless display of junior racing to win the British Under-10's team title, nine points ahead of the rest of the field. They
provided the winner of nine of the 20 races and took second in the remainder. Local rivals Ipswich had outstanding individuals in Jack Chaplin and Sam Warner with Chaplin the only rider to score a maximum. In the battle for runners-up spot however, hosts Poole packed the greater strength in depth and finished just ahead for the silver position.
 
In the early heats Poole and Kesgrave were neck and neck on 17 apiece after seven races but wins from the Brinkoff brothers,  Tyler and Lewis set their team up for a three point interval advantage which had
extended to seven by the three-quarter mark. Considering age of the riders, racing was highly entertaining in front of an appreciative crowd. A win from Harrison Bacon in heat 18 made the result a mathematical
certainty and netted Kesgrave 25 points to open their BCC account. Poole would have been content with their 20 point return as they set off in defence of the title they won in 2010 while Ipswich and Wednesfield
are sure to be front runners as the other six events unfold.


The youngsters of Kesgrave, Poole, Ipswich, Wednesfield and East Newport line-up the the camera at this afternoon's British Under-10 Club Championship at Poole

British Under-10 Club Championship at Poole
Kesgrave 57
Lewis Brinkoff 15, Harrison Bacon 15, Tyler Brinkoff 14, Ben Read 10 Charlie Long 3
Poole 48
Kieran Hoare 14, Kobi Joyce 11, Callum Smith 9, Jack Kennedy 8, Hayden Rowles 6
Ipswich 44
Jack Chaplin 16, Sam Warner 15, Gemma Hill 7, Charlie Brook 6
Wednesfield 28
Liam Fogg 8, Kyle Bell 7, Kane Brown 7, Myckel Betty 6
East Newport 23
Rich Morrison 8, Jack Richards 5, Bradley Davies 4, Miles Thomas 3, Mark Roberts 3
Referee: Dave Dart (Devon)