BRITISH INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

UNDER-10

BRETFORD OFFICIALS DELIGHTED – posted 28 August 2013

 

Bretford officials were delighted following the staging of the British under-10 boys and girls championship at their track.

 

“The day went extremely well” club secretary Bernie Kemp told Spokesman.  “The racing hardly ever stopped and run really close to time.  It was a great day for all the children.

 

Bretford CSC would like to thank all the competitors and the cycle speedway family for coming to visit and watch the amazing racing.

 

Congratulations to Alice Neighbour and Lewis Brinkoff, the under-10 champions.”

BRINKHOFF UNBEATABLE – AGAIN! – posted 27 August 2013

 

It was a proud day for Bretford and a proud day for Kesgrave, with the tiny Suffolk town's riders claiming four of the top eight positions in the national boys under-10 final.  Congratulations to the top two, both from Kesgrave, Lewis Brinkhoff for retaining his gold and Oliver Wright on his silver. Third placed bronze medal, after a run-off,

went to Exeter's Ben Stanbury (pictured below).

 

Brinkhoff had no problems mastering the unconventional Bretford track on his first visit, to remain unbeaten throughout the day’s racing, with nobody able to trouble him. However it was the minor placings on the rostrum that realistically any one of five were chasing.

 

On an interesting track that couldn't be watered, until later in the day, due to the heavy rains that surrounded the area, several riders were caught out by the tight first and second bends and long straights, particularly with the slight decline of the home straight. Many came unstuck on the second bend, finding that they had run out of track.

 

It must be said that success was achieved by those riders with fast gating and technical abilities as well as of course a bit of luck on the day. Referee Ralph Doughty adopted a more lenient interpretation of the rules for the under-10's, where fallers were generally, but not consistently, allowed back for a re-run. Great for those that fell and stayed down, but certainly not for those that are used to

stricter rules and automatically get back on the bike to get their point.

 

The qualifying system was required to reduce the field down to 16 and two reserves. This didn't cause too many surprises, but turned into a bit of a marathon effort for Ipswich's Charlie Johnson and the only Bretford qualifier, Scott Price. He took part in six gruelling races in order to gain the 16th spot to please the home supporters. Other locals Charlie Bracken, Owen Ford and Sam Slatter were the unlucky three to miss out, but a nice touch - they were given a bag of sweets for their efforts.

 

The 18 qualifiers, including the two reserves were presented with finalists medals by the mayor of Rugby and ex-Coventry rider Tony Gillias, who also had a few laps of reminiscence in his suit! It was something to be treasured by all the youngsters and another nice touch by the promoting club.

 

Heat one of the final saw a clash of the eventual top three. It turned out rather Uneventful.  Lewis Brinkhoff gated around Ben Stanbury, with Ollie Wright and Scott Price following for the three lap race. Heat three saw the coming together of three Kesgrave riders as well as Poole's Nathan Gouldon. Jake Vincent used his gate one to good

effect to win ahead of Kai McGuire but it was disaster for Alfie Steward after he made a slight mistake going too wide around the bend to finish in fourth.

 

Another fancied rider, Kesgrave's Jake Vincent while making a move on Ben Clarke slipped and fell in heat six. Sam Turney managed to stay on despite riding over the bike with nowhere else to go. Jake then picked himself up to finish the race with a point.

 

After two races each it was Brinkhoff and Bury's Tom Whitwam leading on eight each.  Exeter's Ben Stanbury and Underwood's Dan Wright were in joint third position, at this early stage, both on seven.

  

After the next round of races it was the same two leading the pack and looking untouchable, with the chasing Stanbury and the two Wright's (unrelated!) on 10 and Vincent on nine.

 

Heat 13 was a difficult one for Dan Wright where he finished in fourth and heat 15 was not good for Whitwam. He dropped his first points of the meeting to Ollie Wright, making the most of his gate one.  Whitwam was also picked off by the chasing Vincent.

 

With all the other front runners scoring well, with one race left each, Brinkhoff was still on a maximum, Stanbury, Whitwam and O.Wright were all on 14 and Vincent, Steward and D.Wright the only others on double points.

 

In the final set of heats, Vincent won his race ahead of Stanbury but unfortunately missed out on a top three run-off by a single point. Brinkhoff completed his maximum in a tough race, ahead of Tom Whitwam, Dan Wright and Alfie Steward. By this point Ollie Wright knew that a win would give him 18 points and the runners-up position.

He shot away from gate four like a greyhound out of a trap to reach the finish line ahead of Sheffield's Sam Turney. 

In heat 20, Ipswich's Ben Clarke finished with a win to finish on a very creditable joint sixth position with Dan Wright.  With Whitwam and Stanbury both finishing on 17 points a run off was in order.

Whitwam picked the inside gate position and took the lead, despite a nudge onto the centre green going into the first bend. Under pressure from Stanbury he picked up too much speed down the home straight and came to grief, falling on the second bend.  With no re-run called, Stanbury claimed third position.

 

An exciting meeting with favourite Brinkhoff again proving what an accomplished rider he is. However it was Oliver Wright that caught the eye with his 16 point maximum after his difficult heat one was out of the way. Ben Stanbury rode consistently but was drawn outside top riders Tom Whitwam and Jake Vincent, making it very difficult for him to score any more than he did.

Tom Whitwam rode very strong to not drop a point from his first three outings and looked destined for a top three place until his luck changed for the worse. Jake Vincent had one unlucky ride that prevented him scoring more and finishing on the rostrum.


Photo:
The Mayor of Rugby greets the riders






British Under-10 Boys Championship Final

Lewis Brinkhoff (Kesgrave) 20, Oliver Wright (Kesgrave) 18, Ben Stanbury (Exeter) 17, Thomas Whitwam (Bury) 17, Jake Vincent (Kesgrave) 16, Ben Clarke (Ipswich) 13, Dan Wright (Underwood) 13, Alfie Steward (Kesgrave) 12, Nathan Gouldon (Poole) 11, Kai McGuire (Kesgrave) 11, Charlie Wade (Hull) 10, Charlie Johnson (Ipswich) 9, Harry Stanbury (Exeter) 9, Sam Turney (Sheffield) 9, Regan Repman (Kesgrave) 8, Scott Price (Bretford) 7

Reserves: Ryan Winwood (Birmingham) and Scott Pierce (Poole)

Referee: Ralph Doughty (West Midlands) 

 

GOOD NEIGHBOUR – posted 27 August 2013

 

The girls final was contested by eight riders. Reigning champion Ipswich's Gemma Hill was fully aware of her main challenger in Swindon's Alice Neighbour. So it was to be heat nine that was the one not to miss. 

 

Neighbour was on the favourable inside gate, with Hill on four and Ipswich's Abi Warner in-between. After a couple of restarts due to an unsatisfactory first bend, Alice held her position, to ride a steady line ahead of a visibly disappointed Gemma to the chequered flag. She completed her final ride on a maximum to take this well deserved title and jersey, with Gemma watching in anticipation, knowing that she had completed her rides, only dropping the one point.

 

Third place went to Poole's Jasmine Oddie, dropping her points to the top two. Daisy Steward came fourth but perhaps should have been on the rostrum. The track caught her out with the tricky turns one and two causing her to fall in heat three. This totally knocked her confidence of the track and meant that she was also beaten by the three riders to finish above her.

 

British Under-10 Girls Championship Final

Alice Neighbour (Swindon) 16, Gemma Hill (Ipswich) 15, Jasmine Oddie (Poole) 14, Daisy Steward (Kesgrave) 13, Abigail Warner (Ipswich) 12, Georgia Burt (Wednesfield) 11, Aimee Porter (Kesgrave) 10, Lucy Clarke (Ipswich) 9

Referee: Al Bentley (West Midlands)

BRETFORD READY FOR THE BIG DAY – posted 23 August 2013

 

Bretford CSC have spent all week getting ready for the British under-10s’ championship. With the new boarding and new chain-link fencing installed, the circuit has been revamped and by all accounts is looking great.

 

“The flags are ready, new banners have been put up, everything has painted. All we need is fine weather and a full field of competitors” hard working club secretary Bernie Kemp told Spokesman.

 

“Just to let everyone know.  For those that have never been to our track, if you look for the Bretford 2013 banner you will see a small track.  Please go up the track and you will see our village circuit” explained Bernie.

NATIONAL UNDER-10 DRAW – posted 29 July 2013

 

22 riders have entered the under-10 Boys championship and nine girls which takes place at Bretford on Saturday 24 August.  The boys event begins at 1pm with the pre-qualifying rounds to reduce the field to the final 16.  The girls’ final starts at 2.30 pm and the boys’ final at 3.30pm.  The draws are

Boys 

1 Ryan Winwood (Birmingham), 2 Scott Pierce (Poole), 3 Owen Ford (Bretford), 4 Harry Stanbury (Exeter), 5 Jake Vincent (Kesgrave), 6 Scott Price (Bretford), 7 Charlie Bracken (Bretford), 8 Sam Slatter (Coventry), 9 Matthew Snell (Astley & Tyldesley), 10 Charlie Johnson (Ipswich), 11 Regan Repman (Kesgrave), 12 Charlie Wade (Hull), 13 Sam Turney (Sheffield), 14 Alfie Steward (Kesgrave), 15 Daniel Wright (Underwood), 16 Lewis Brinkhoff (Kesgrave), 17 Oliver Wright (Kesgrave), 18 Ben Stanbury (Exeter), 19 Ben Stanbury (Exeter) ???, 20 Ben Clarke (Ipswich), 21 Thomas Whitwam (Bury), 22 Nathan Goulden (Poole)

 

Girls

1 Lucy Clarke (Ipswich), 2 Aimee Porter (Kesgrave), 3 Alice Neighbour (Swindon), 4 Abigail Warner (Ipswich), 5 Georgia Burt (Wednesfield), 6 Honey Whitehead (Leicester), 7 Jasmine Oddie (Poole), 8 Gemma Hill (Ipswich), 9 Daisy Steward (Kesgrave)

BRETFORD GEAR UP FOR HISTORIC DAY – posted 18 July 2013

 

Members of one of cycle speedway’s youngest clubs are gearing up for the most important event in their short history.

 

Bretford host the British under-10 British individual championships at their picturesque playing field location on Saturday 24 August and are hoping for a bumper crowd to cheer the youngsters on, despite the open national qualifying rounds being held at Birmingham on the same day.

 

Despite the counter-attraction, Bretford have been busy preparing for their big day.

 

“We’ve had several working parties” club spokesman Darren Price told Spokesman.  “We re-layed the track last year, replaced the perimeter fence, re-painted all the track curbs and produced new signage in readiness for this showcase junior event.

 

“Food and drink will be available on the day from 11 o'clock and we hope to have bouncy castles and other attractions to keep the crowd entertained both on and off the track” added Darren.