Gosport BMX   12-14/08/11

The British Cycling BMX National Series moved to the south coast track of the Gosport BMX Racing Club last weekend and the club had pulled out all the stops to make this the event of the year. With around 550 competitors waiting their turn to try out the track that was hosting its second year of national racing the weather stayed dry but the blustery wind all weekend made the conditions difficult for the riders on the twisting, demanding track that the club had prepared for the event. 

The races cover all ages and the Royston Rockets had 12 riders registered over the weekend and getting the weekend off to a flying start was Elliott Bowyer made the main A final on both days starting with a 3rd and then a 4^th place on Sunday to leave him in 6^th place overall in the national rankings. The 10 year class saw James King also make the main finals on both days with 8^th and 5^th places moving him into touching distance of a top 10 ranking with Ted Dalleywater in the same class making the B finals on Saturday finishing in 6^th whilst on Sunday he just failed to make the semi finals. In the 11 yr class, where the club had another two riders trying to out do each other, the results were all good with Myles Fisher taking 4^th on Saturday and then the win in the B final on Sunday and team mate Daniel Blanche making the A finals on both days taking 5^th and 7^th places to move him into 6^th in the series rankings just one place ahead of Myles. Maintaining Royston’s run of good results the 12yr class saw Aaron Dalleywater take a fine win on Saturday and then a hard fought 2nd on the Sunday which was enough to maintain his number one ranking with two rounds to go. The 15yr class saw James Handleigh qualifying for the semi finals on both days whilst in the 16 year class, Shane Mills had a poor weekend by his own standards with heavy falls on both days and he was unable to qualify for the semis. In the Masters category (30+) Richard Townsend had a great day on Saturday as he eased into the A final where he finished in 3^rd and nearly repeated the feat on Sunday but had to settle for 6^th which was enough to move him into the podium positions in the series rankings and in the Veteran class the clubs coach, Lee Alexander, showed he is still one of the most competitive riders as he looked for a gap which hardly existed in the main final on Saturday only to end up in a heap in the last corner but bounced back with a 5th on Sunday to protect his 5^th place in the series rankings. The final classes of the day were the riders on the 24” wheeled “Cruisers” and the ladies 17-29 class saw 3^rd and 5^th place go to Helen Nicholl to maintain her 5^th place in the rankings with just two rounds of the series to go. 

The next event on the BMX race calendar is the ninth and penultimate round of the East Anglia Series which is being hosted by the Peterborough club on 28^th August 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.