The South and South West took the men’s Battle of Britain Series victory after beating out The Midlands in Round 4, while the women’s third round saw the South and South Wales clinch the win.
Men’s Battle of Britain Round 4
The South and South West rounded up the Battle of Britain Series with a fine win on Saturday to take the 2022 title after a tough rivalry against The Midlands at East Park.
The South East and Eastern region, who were sitting one point behind the eventual winners in the league, were unable to field a team, and with a reduced North and Scotland side, the title was all but secured.
The North’s Reece Pollitt opened the match with his first win of the day but with only four riders taking to the grid, they would always be on the back foot despite taking 12 heat wins between them.
Ben Mould (South and South West) opened up his match with a win in heat two – his first from four rides – while Midlands’ Craig Guy was unable to worry the World Champion, crossing the line for second.
Heat six saw the North take their first 7-3 of the match, with Pawel Idziorek taking the win as the experienced Steve Harris kept the South and South West pair of Steve Beasley and Jack Ellis at bay to claim second.
Nathan Groves took the win in heat seven to ease The Midlands into the lead with 27 points after a race long tussle with Owen Johnson (South and South West).
Mould and teammate Will Jeffery took their first 7-3 of the match against Idziorek in heat nine.
With points shared across the next five heats going into the interval, the South & South West had rallied and were sitting two points ahead of The Midlands who were on 48 points.
The match picked up in the opening heat of the second half, with Jeffery holding off Paul Heard to take the win.
It was Adam Bennett who in the 19th heat showed some excellent team riding to make a gap for teammate Johnson to slip through to take second behind Pollitt.
Heard’s win in heat 23 kept The Midlands in with a shout of the match, trailing by nine points. In the penultimate heat, it was the pairing of Chris Jewkes and Brendon Sidebottom who took a 7-3 from the match leaders, and second in the final heat against a match tired Idziorek. Idziorek didn’t play into the Midlands hands and held onto second place behind Heard to spoil the Midlands party.
- South & South West - 91 Points
- The Midlands - 90 Points
- The North & Scotland - 77 points
Series results
- South & South West - 13 Points
- North & Scotland - 9 Points
- South East & Eastern - 8 Points
- The Midlands - 6 Points
Women’s Battle of Britain Round 3
Round 3 and the penultimate round of the women’s Battle of Britain didn’t disappoint the crowd at Leicester’s Slater Street track on Sunday, with fast, close racing from the first to the final heat.
The South and South Wales took their second win of the series with an overall solid performance, finishing the day with 65 points from 24 heats. Laura Watson was the sole rider representing the North & Scotland – the rest of the team injured meant Watson took to the grid in twelve heats and won eight of them.
As in previous rounds, it was the team from the South East and Eastern region that impressed, finishing with a credible 58 points with the young team punching well above their size. Lily Parr took three wins from five outings and, although there were strong rides from the rest of the team, the end result didn’t reflect their efforts.
Lucy Whitehead made use of her home track knowledge, taking four heat wins from six rides to set The Midlands up for a good match and with Bekka Humphries returning a solid score of 19 points, the home side finished equal second with the South East.
The South and South Wales took to the grid with a full team of four and two reserves which played to their advantage. A returning Jamie-Lee Walters took second place in the opening heat to Whitehead, but a crash in heat five all but ended her match. Lauren Hookway put in a dependable performance and, with Rachel Lammin adding her experience, it was just a matter of slowly adding to the points tally to take the match win and the lead in the series.
- South & South Wales - 65 Points
- The Midlands - 58 Points
- South East & Eastern - 58 Points
- The North & Scotland - 41 Points
Women’s Elite Grand Prix
In the Grand Prix, it was Lily Parr who took the win in the advanced A final after drawing grid one. Progressing through an eight-heat qualifier, Parr finished on 13 points along with Lauren Hookway and Chloe Pearce, while Lucy Whitehead completed the four riders a point adrift.
Grid one would always be favourite, and Parr capitalised on the draw to take the lead from Whitehead early on.
A match-tired Laura Watson took the B final win.
- Lily Parr
- Lucy Whitehead
- Lauren Hookway
- Chloe Pearce
- Laura Watson (B Final)
In the Intermediate A final, it was Ella Case who took the win from Charlotte Geach. Amberley Gant hit the deck on the second lap that ended her chance of the win but got back on the bike to take fourth and a podium place. Demi Blu Harris came in third, while Emma Johnson took to the grid in the B final to claim her trophy.
- Ella Case
- Charlotte Geach
- Demi Blu Harris
- Amberley Gant
- Emma Johnson (B Final)
