Report: BMX National Series Round 3 & 4
Series Rankings: | Riders | Clubs | Teams
Photographer Richard Robotham was at Burnham-on-Sea to capture the action from two full days of racing as the 2009 National Series continued with rounds three and four. There's a selection of the great images that Richard captured below and many more in the Galleries linked above.
REPORT: Richard Eames runs an expert eye over the two day's of sun-drenched racing.
Rounds 3 and 4 saw us head to the sunny climes of Burnham on Sea, and sunny it was!! Plenty warm on day one and scorchio on day two! The racing was set to be just as hot on a revamped track complete with steep and deep last straight (euro stylee!) Races would be won and lost there, that was a certainty.
The 6 and unders went to Alex Brookes on both days but Travis Wilson and Owen Camm were right on his tail and ready to strike at the slightest hint of a mistake, it didn't happen though. Matthew Hutt got over his Derby disappointment in the 7's by taking the win on both days from Ryan O'Loughlin and Matthew Harman, a great performance by the Hawks youngster to double up for the weekend.
Another rider to double up was Finn Hall in the 8's, Preston's rising star saw off all comers including Josh Coppin, Lochlan Dudley and club mate Ross Cullen. Can anyone get near Finn? It's not looking likely the way things are going?
Saturday's final in the 9's went to EA/Pure's Ethan Vernon but he had to switch places on Sunday as Gideon took the win. Jamie Norris Still was third on Saturday but caught up in a first straight crash with Shay Casey on Sunday which left him seventh. The 9's is a competitive class and great to watch, keep it up guys.
The 10's had Ben Turner out in front on day one from Louis Gray Blest and Haydon Green. All the action was on Sunday as Ben and Harley Taylor got caught up in a crash entering turn one, leaving Harley down for a while but thankfully he got up and walked away. Eddie Moore took the narrowest of wins from Aaron Dalleywater who crashed himself on Saturday.
11/12's was eventful on Saturday, but not how you'd think. Paddy Sharrock and Kye White were off having fun with friends but neglected to show up for their quarter finals. The gate dropped without them and valuable points were thrown away - imagine those points costing you a title at the end of the year? Jordan Hatcher turned up on time and walked away with a win on Saturday (his first), much to the delight of the Bournemouth massive, from Jimmy Orena and Dan Butterfield in two and three. Paddy Sharrock's Sunday gate was less than stellar but his smoothness and pack riding reigned supreme as he sliced through the competition but he could only get a second behind Orena on the day
13/14 saw the return of Jacob Roberts from a knee injury: could he pick up where he left off last year? Dan Pullen was looking quick and Michael Hawker has certainly been putting in the work over winter and that's before you get to Quillan Isadore, Cameron Howard, Cemil Sabri and Ryan Stack!! Pullen was certainly quickest down the first straight but Jacob has the smoothness down the second and third straights. Michael Hawker ran Jacob so close on Saturday but only managed a 4th on Sunday with Cameron Howard and Dan Pullen taking second and third behind the SE rider.
15/16 is even more nuts than 13/14: to give you an example of how tight it is, Robert Hawker was in a qualifying position in Saturday's semi and had the smallest loss of momentum out of a turn. It cost him a place in the final as other riders streaked past to take the spot. It's that tight! Robert made the final on Sunday and took a sixth. Out front was North East battle for the top spot (unlike the football..haaa!) but Jack Hall showed he had the horsepower to get the job done to win both days. Route 55 training obviously works then! Adam Smith was right behind him but not close enough with Jordan Perry (another KB protñ) and Jordan Smith in close proximity too. This class is amazing though, a real treat to watch.
Turning to the Girls' classes, Darcie won the 7-9's both days but Trinity Camm had a sterling final lap on Sunday. 8-9 went to Olivia Howard on Saturday but Mid Lancs' Kim Baptista was the winner on Sunday (her first win), Lasharn Whyte took two thirds with Keavi Taylor getting two 4th's. 10-12 saw Jenny Noble on her new Supercross supplied by AlansBMX.com take 2 wins from local rider Lauren Stack with Chloe Taylor and Natasha Bradley trading third places over the two days.
The 13-15 girls is super close between Ayesha McLelland and Amelia Silvestre but Ayesha had the edge with Izzy Ferrada taking two thirds. Bethany Campbell's bike is still cool!! Get well soon to Kia Parker as well, that crash was harsh! The Cruiser women saw Nikki Spiers take two wins. Rumour has it the rest of the class want her back on the Silk Cuts, but we can't see it happening somehow!!
Junior Female was gonna be a cracker and could Lauren Smith repeat her Derby win? She stuck the elbow in on Charlotte Green on Saturday but it was just too much and Lauren went down hard. Sunday saw Charlotte get her jump on into turn one and that made the difference and it was two from two for the weekend. Emily James's student beer/Facebook training regime is paying off: a second and a third for Posh, go Emily!!
In the Cruisers, 12 and Under went to Tom Novis and 13-15 to Ben Clarkson with Cam Howard and Toby Bearne on his back wheel. 16-29 was Jake Cheetham's class this weekend with Ryan Vinyard getting two seconds and Pro-J being King of the B final. Where was Wan? No sign of our blogging buddy this weekend, maybe next time eh?
30-39 is straight up crazy as always: TJ's nose diving antics continue, Hilly got serious with two wins and Daz Reidy got a second and a third. Paul Eccles got a mint gate in the final on Sunday but had to settle for 4th. Get well soon to Roy Sutton whose weekend was spoiled by a trip to A&E to see if his wrist was broken?bummer!
40-44 is just as bonkers as 30-39 with Messrs Moore and Stockwell battling with Bof right there with them. Mark Leach has been flat out flying with a 4th on Saturday. The downer was Marvin O'Brien's Sunday faceplant, that must have hurt!! 45 and over was missing Antony Parry (pork pies on offer at Sayers) but Ady Warden tried his best to square his wheels over the doubles with Herman, Beer and Dayson crossing the line pretty much together on Sunday. I love the oldies, we just need more of them on the gate!!
Masters: Brutus Jessop was all over the first straight at Burnham: it suits him down to the ground. Unfortunately the last straight doesn't have quite the same appeal as Jason got bitten by it not once but twice!! Matt Barnard didn't need a second invitation as he took two wins. Paul Cope's comeback is gaining momentum with a second and a fourth with BB Ives getting a third and a fourth. Still no Warlock and no Miles Kirby - send out the search parties!!
19 and over: good grief! Where do I start? Andy Clucas and his last straight explosion? Billy Luckhurst's flat out speed and dreadful luck? Alix Deakin's crash that left him limping? Jonathan Hastings horror crash? (get well soon mate!) Matty Mitchell's return to racing? Lee Baker took his pink bike to two wins with Andy Shaw getting a second and a third. 19 and over is an amazing category and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season with these guys on the track.
Junior Male is exactly like 19 and over - completely amazing! Adam Brazil just has the edge over everyone else at the moment thanks to the Bloomy training plan but it could be anyone else in for the win with the slightest slip from the man at the front. Dan McBride continues to impress me as always with Evans, Straker, Tipton, Whyte et al all there as well. Its fantastic racing, long may it continue!!
And finally, Elite Men. Bloomy had the advantage, local knowledge of a tech track and the opportunity to train full time, as does Liam Phillips. Then there's Kelvin Batey with his raw desire and will to win. It makes for an interesting mix with the likes of Mappy, Cal Strick and the steadily improving Tom Palmer. Lewis Lacey and Mappy took big crashes and walked away thankfully. In the end, Bloomy took two wins with LP sitting out Sunday after a second turn crash on Saturday. Kelvin was right there with him though. I'm just happy the class is expanding again after the last two years of frankly boring racing. Can we get Shanaze Reade in there as well? That would make it really interesting!
So that was Burnham, the sun shone and the racing was hot too. See you at Peterborough!!
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