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Braintree Bullets BMX Club played host to round 2 of the East Anglian Winter Regional Series 2011/12. As usual, the home club had prepped the raceway to near perfection and the visiting racers flocked to get part of the action. In total 136 riders entered across all classes from five years old to 40 years and over.
The day started off with dense fog obscuring the riders view through practice, but by race time the sun had started to show and the spectators were treated to some top notch racing.
The seven and unders were first out on the track and Adam Gilbert battled against more experienced riders to finish fourth in the A final. In the B final Eddie Cannons rode in his first ever race meeting to a super second place with Kai Judd not far behind in fourth. In the equivalent girl’s class, Chloe Read-Millard competed in her first race meeting and scored second place.
Stepping up to the 8-9 year olds, The Bullets took their first win of the day in the shape of Luke Shriever. Luke won all his heats and the final to go home unbeaten. Thomas Knight had some strong finishes and rode to fourth in the A final with Lewis Woolcott in eighth. Owen Vaughan won the B final by 10 bike lengths. A big crash in the third heat saw Tyler Carter down on the track in a neck brace until the ambulance arrived. He was taken to hospital but released a couple of hours later with some ligament damage.
The cruiser classes were slotted into the programme next and the 16 and unders was won by George Moret who traded blows with club-mate Shane Redgewell all day. Evan Tulloch and Noah Shriever finished third and fourth respectively. More class dominance came in the 17+ cruiser class as Olly Cutmore and Chris Potter went head to head from the gate and it was Olly who pipped Chris to the line. Jason Bridge was the oldest in the field and showed that it’s just a number to finish fourth ahead of Serge Lacoutre in fifth, Steve Gilbert in sixth, and Paul Woolcott in eighth. Daren Macal rode to fourth in the B final; Andy Carter scored seventh and Dan Sturgeon eighth.
The biggest class of the day was the 10-11 year olds with 24 riders. Eleven Braintree riders were in the mix and it was Olly Rowe who rose to the top to take the win in the class. Sydney Allen rode to fifth after some off track excursions in his motos. Tom Stokes finished seventh and Jake Coombs rounded off the A final in eighth. The B final saw Jake Newton finish second, Alfie Giles in seventh and Joe Carter take a leaf out of his brother’s book with a crash and a trip to the first aiders. Jamie Edwardes won the C final just ahead of Harry Collins in second, Tyler Judd in fifth and Max Giles in sixth.
One of only three girls to fight it out with the boys was Beth Shriever in the 12-13 year olds. Beth was unfazed and took control, riding to an unbeaten clean sheet and the class win. Jonathan Boreham rode a smooth lap to finish third ahead of a battle between Iwan Williams and Charlie Giles finishing fourth and fifth with Evan Tulloch in seventh. The B final was awash with Bullets riders covering most of the placings. Cam Short just missed out on the win finishing second and was chased to the line by Harry Carter in third, Jamie Collins in fourth, Dan Gilbert in fifth and Adam Ellis in sixth. In the 11-13 girls class Leah Clarke finished fifth and Isabelle Potter was seventh.
Onto the 14-16 year old class and again the home club riders took the top honours. Lee Golder rode with great style and control to take the win in this fast class. Josh Butson finished in fourth place after playing an early morning football match and George Moret finished fifth whilst riding in two classes with Sam Britton in seventh. In the B final Shane Redgewell was third.
Braintree girls filled the 17+ girls class and the youngest of the quartet; Kelsey Dixon dominated every lap to finish first. Lana Redgewell kept Kelsey honest in second, Tracey Clarke finished third and Hannah Whiteley was fourth.
The 30+ Masters class A final was an action packed affair. Milton Keynes riders lead the race from the gate with Braintree’s head coach; Julian Allen tucked in just behind in third going into the first berm. As they raced around the long sweeping turn, the Milton Keynes riders got in each other’s way leaving Allen a space to dive down the inside into the second straight, but then disaster struck when Allen went sideways over one of the jumps and had to eject right in front of the following riders, taking down half the field. Once the dust had settled in was the club’s vice chairman who was the first Braintree rider home in fourth with Allen in seventh. The B final was won by another of the club’s coaches, Stu Dixon, who is returning to racing after a year off with a badly broken leg. Tony Williams rode to third and Jason Bridge was fourth.
The last race of the day was the 17+ class A final which had an air of national quality about it. Local boy Chris Potter came out on top with an outstanding lap, leading from start to finish. Olly Cutmore secured third in fine style followed by Jake Britton in fifth. Taylor Andrews had to settle for eighth after going over the bars out of the gate and Tim Machin also rode in the class.
The Bullets next club race is on Saturday 3 December and the day will also include the Clubs Summer Presentation evening with a fireworks display. For more information or to contact the club, please visit www.braintreebmx.co.uk.
