Braintree Bullets BMX Club hosted round 3 of the East Anglian BMX winter race series which was well attended by 108 riders from across the region. The sun shone on the well maintained track which had been covered in snow just 10 days previous.
The racing got underway with the 17+ Cruiser class and it was Norwich Flyer’s Paul Barnard who took control of the class winning every race of the day. Braintree’s Steve Gilbert battled hard to take 2nd in the final with Sam King from Royston Rockets in 3rd. Having their own battle in 4th and 5th were the Braintree duo of Paul Woolcott and Gav Stokes who traded places throughout the final.
In the 7 and under's A final it was the young pair of Owen Putland and Joseph Carey from Peterborough Phantoms who lead out the pack from the first straight to cross the line in that order. Stanley Allen from Braintree worked his way through the field to make his first regional podium in 3rd after being stuck in 6th around the first corner.
Onto the 8-9 year olds and riders from outside the region made their travels worthwhile with a clean sweep of the podium. Oscar Ricketts from Runnymede Rockets put on a great show to win the final after a battle with Dagenham’s Alec Munday. Keeping the boys honest was Emily Hutt also from Runnymede in 3rd and Seb Pantlin was the best of the Bullets as he made his way through to 4th.
The host club took a stranglehold of the 10-11 year olds and it was Tyler Carter who dug deep to come from behind for the win on the last straight. Christian White held on for 2nd and Tom Stokes rounded out the top three. More Bullets followed them home as Joseph Carter rode to 4th, Harry Collins 6th, Jamie Edwardes 7th and Thomas Knight 8th. Joe Walters rode in the B final to a 2nd place finish.
In the 12-13 year olds the racing was tight at the front of the pack as Royston’s Brandan Fermor and Braintree’s Charlie O’Grady duked it out for the top spot with Fermor taking the victory. Behind them was another battle royale as Kyle Gladwell from Ipswich fended off a big challenge from Royston’s James King to hang on for 3rd. Riding up in the class was the 10 year olds British Champ from Runnymede Matt Hutt who jumped his way into 5th with Braintree’s Sydney Allen, also only 10 hot on his wheel in 6th.
Another class win for the Bullets came from Sam Britton who dominated the 14-16s class on his home track. Working hard behind him was Will Smith from Runnymede who made up for a fall in his first race of the day and rounding out the podium was Braintree’s Evan Tulloch in 3rd who narrowly beat club mates Shane Redgewell in 4th and Ollie Rowe in 5th. The girl’s class was won in a commanding fashion by Braintree’s Kelsey Dixon from Peterborough’s Amy Morris as Hannah Whiteley took 3rd and Isabel Potter 4th both from Braintree. There was yet more Essex girl power from Lana Redgewell in the 17+ ladies who finished with a clean sheet for the day from club mate Tracey Clark in 2nd, Ipswich’s Megan Grant in 3rd and Jen Cannons in 4th.
The fast and furious 17+ class concluded the days racing in fine style as Braintree’s Chris Potter styled his way home for the win ahead of club mates Bradley Watts in 2nd and Lee Golder in 3rd. Disaster struck for another Braintree rider though when Jake Britton went down on the third straight as he diced for position with Peterborough’s Ryan Hutchinson. Jake had to have some treatment by the first aid but was able to leave under his own steam. Braintree’s Head Coach Julian Allen rode in the B final to 2nd place after some trademark cornering moves.
