Braintree BMX   1-3/07/11

 The British Cycling BMX National Series moved to the Braintree BMX track last weekend and the club had pulled out all the stops to make this the event of the year. With over 600 competitors waiting their turn to try out the track that was hosting its second year of national racing the weather duly obliged with dry sunny conditions made for great conditions for the riders on the demanding, exciting track that the club had prepared for the event. 

National races cover all ages and the Royston Rockets had 17 riders registered over the weekend and straight in the deep end having only just moved into the “expert” classes was Joshua Abbott in the Under 6 year class where he took 7^th in Saturdays B final and then improved to 4^th for the Sunday round whilst in the 7yr class the more experienced Elliott Bowyer made the main A final on both days starting with a great 2nd and then a 5^th place on Sunday. The 9 year class saw Alfie Salmon, who was only riding one day, miss out on a semi final place by just a few points from the qualifying rounds on Saturday whilst in the 10 year class James King took another series of tumbles but was still able to make the semi finals but was able to make the top 4 so had to settle for 4^th  and then 2^nd in the class B final with Ted Dalleywater in the same class also making the B finals with 3^rd in Saturdays event and 6^th on Sunday. Royston third rider in the 10 year class, Marmaduke Birt, had a frustrating weekend as he just failed to qualify for the semi finals by the narrowest of margins on both days whilst in the 11 yr class, where the club had another 3 riders trying to out do each other, the results were all good with Ethan Vernon taking 2^nd place in both his A finals and Myles Fisher taking 2^nd and then the win in the B final with Daniel Blanche taking the B final win on Saturday and then a great semi ride on Sunday left him battling in the pack of the A final to take 6^th place on the line. Maintaining Royston’s run of good results the 12yr class saw Aaron Dalleywater take 2nd on Saturday and then the class win on the Sunday. The 15yr class saw James Handleigh just failing to qualify for the semi finals through the “run off” process on both days – a situation where more than one rider has tied for points from the qualifying round for the last few places in the semis and the run off is the decider! In the 16 year class, Shane Mills had a variable weekend and made his way into Saturdays main final where he took 8^th but on Sunday it all went wrong in the qualifying rounds and he was unable to make it into the semis. In the Masters category (30+) Richard Townsend, who was only able to compete on the Saturday made it through to the A final where he finished in 3^rd and in the Veteran class the clubs newly qualified coach, Lee Alexander, showed he is still one of the UK’s top rider with two 2^nd places. The final classes of the day were the riders on the 24” wheeled “Cruisers” and the ladies 17-29 class saw 5^th place go to Helen Nicholl on both days and in the 45+ class, Carl Birt took 8^th in the main final on Saturday and then 3^rd in the B final on the Sunday to round off another fine weekends racing for the Rockets. 

The next event on the BMX race calendar is the seventh round of the East Anglia Series which is being hosted by the Royston club on July 10^th at their track in Burns Road with rider registration closing at 11.00am and racing due to start at 12.30pm 

Royston’s own clubs nights are in full swing, alternating between coaching one week and racing the next with the gates opening at 6.00pm. See more about the club and BMX racing in the region at www.roystonrockets.co.uk and the BMX East Regional site on www.bmxeast.com  or ring 01763 260959 for more information on BMX racing.