The final race of the East Anglian BMX summer season was held at Braintree with the East Anglian Championships. The one-off race meeting to decide the fastest on the day was attended by 198 riders from across the region. The club had worked hard to get the track in tip-top condition and apart from a brief rain shower the riders and spectators alike were treated to a fine days racing.
The micro minis of the 6 and under's class got things underway and it was Peterborough’s Owen Putland who hit the front from the start to lead out the pack for the win. Second place went to Ewan Munday from Dagenham and Milan Machacek from Braintree fought hard to come through to a solid 3rd place finish.
The 7 year olds were on track next and the home club celebrated their first win of the day as Eddie Cannons romped home to victory in fine style. The Peterborough pair of Joseph Carey and Aston Chapman had their own battle going on for the remaining podium spots with Braintree’s Joseph Harris narrowly missing out in 4th. Girl Power dominated the 8 year old boy’s class as Royston’s National Champ Emily Hutt added the East Anglian Champs trophy to her haul. Adam Gilbert gave chase for Braintree in 2nd and Josh Abbott rounded out the podium for Royston in 3rd.In the girls class Lucy Munday from Dagenham had all the moves as she took a clean sheet throughout the day ahead of Norwich’s Eden Dorrell and Evie Harding.
The 30+ ladies cruisers got the big wheel classes off the ground and Norwich’s Abi Hill took charge with a great display of track craft. Sarah Fuller kept Abi honest in 2nd place and Tracy Clarke had a great day out on her home track in 3rd. Braintree’s Shane Redgewell added the East Anglian Champions trophy to his British Champions trophy in the 16 and under class as he lead out Runnymede Rocket’s Will Smith and club mate Charlie Giles. The 17-39s class was all about Braintree again as the host club took all the podium positions. Oli Cutmore also added the East Anglian title to his National Champions title as he styled his way to victory ahead of Chris Potter and Julian Allen. The veterans of the 40+ class saw Norwich’s Adrian Warden set the pace with a blistering lap to take the win ahead of Billy Stupple from Dagenham. The remaining podium spot saw a great tussle that was won by Spencer Cremin from Milton Keynes.
Back to the challenge classes and the 9 year olds had Alec Munday from Dagenham charging ahead of the pack for the win as Braintree’s Sebastian Pantlin dug deep behind him for 2nd with Royston’s Elliot Bowyer back on track in 3rd. Matt Hutt from Royston had things all his own way in the 10’s as he romped home to victory. The best of the rest was Dagenham’s Zac Massey and Owen Vaughan charged hard for Braintree in 3rd. The 9-10 girls had Abi Pike from Ipswich in charge at the front of the field with Drew Raven from Peterborough doing the business in 2nd and Milton Keynes’ Zara Lachlan in 3rd.
Onto the combined classes and the 11-12s had deep competition as the riders hit the gate for the final. From the start Charlie O‘Grady hit the front for Braintree with Royston’s James King in hot pursuit. Meanwhile Sydney Allen jumped past Braintree Club mate Tom Stokes for 3rd and that was the way they went to the line. It was Braintree again who took the win in the 13-14s as Shane Redgewell carried momentum from his cruiser class victory to claim another title. Brandon Fermor took 2nd for the host club after a tussle with Evan Tulloch in the 2nd straight which saw Tulloch go down and Ollie Rowe made some moves to take 3rd.
The 15-16s saw some great racing throughout the day and Nathan Hastings from Peterborough came out on top with a solid lap in the final. Braintree’s Josh Butson narrowly avoided some carnage on the second straight to claim 2nd with Will Smith holding on tight for a fine 3rd place finish for Runnymede. In the girls class Beth Campbell was unbeaten all day to claim victory from Braintree’s trio of Kelsey Dixon, Lana Redgewell and Isabel Potter.
The curtain was brought down on the day with the 17+ payback class and it was the elder statesman of the field Alan Hill from Norwich who rode a smart lap to take the win. Peterborough’s Jonny Hastings came from behind in the last corner to claim 2nd with John Lillingstone from Ipswich keepings things clean in 3rd.
Once the points were tallied it was Braintree who won the club team challenge points with 480 from Peterborough on 442, just one point ahead of Royston in 3rd on 441. In the EA relay Royston Harriers claimed a well deserved victory.
The East Anglian Winter series commences on 29th September at Milton Keynes and the Braintree BMX Club winter series gets underway on October 6th. For more information please visit www.braintreebmx.com
