The 5th round of the formula Grasstrack association’s championship produced some fantastic racing across all 4 classes on Saturday, at the regular Rally site venue near Whitchurch, Shropshire.
Report and Feature image by Ross Wharton
Archie Whitelam returned to take his 2nd win of the FGA championship in the Auto Cadet class. But Whitelam didn’t have it all his own way with Charlie Fletcher giving him a run for his money. Despite having a fall in his opening ride on a slick track, Whitelam remounted to take a crucial 3rd place which would help him take the win. Fletcher has made big strides throughout the season as he looks favourite to take the championship title. AJ Bence gave a great account of himself, riding consistently and getting in the mix with the front two in some heats. One to watch for the future, Bence was on a new machine in only his 2nd meeting.
Ollie Binns once again dominated the Cub class. The Nantwich youngster was fast starting and was consistently at the front of the combined Cub and Junior Races. Former BMX racer Naythan Kukla rode to 2nd place overall.
Ethan Childe Dropped 2 points on his way to Junior Class victory. 4 wins and 2 2nd places was enough to see him beat championship contender Joe Crewe into 2nd place. William Childe would take 3rd with newcomer Max Broadhurst and Dylan Wassall tied for 4th. Broadhurst would beat Wassall in the final to take 4th place points for the championship. The Cubs & Juniors put on some fantastic racing in every race, a promising future lies ahead.
Dave Binns gave champion elect Wayne Broadhurst something to think about as they both tied for first place in the Senior class, Broadhurst would beat Binns in the 3rd leg of heats, but Binns would get revenge on his rival with a superb race win in the 6th leg. The Martin Parry memorial final would decide which one would take the 25 championship points. Shrewsbury’s Steve Mace took 3 race wins on his way to 3rd place overall. Jake Breeze would miss out on a top 3 finish with 4th place overall. The young Salopian took 2 race wins and would be in the mix come the final. Motocrosser Nick Bull continues to improve his Grasstrack skills, taking a race win and not finishing outside the top 3 in the heats to take a great 5th place. Hard charging Tom Crewe continued his return to FGA racing to finish 6th place. Andy Binns and Kevin Gwillam would complete the top 8 for the Grand Final.
A 6 Lap final for the Martin Parry Rosebowl lay before the top 8 senior riders. Broadhurst would make the start and storm away into turn one with Dave Binns and Jake Breeze in chase. Breeze would edge out Binns but couldn’t catch the former Telford Icespeedway champion who would take the prestigious Rosebowl home along with another 25 points. Disappointment for Tom Crewe, who pulled up with a puncture on turn one. Bull would take a fantastic 4th place in the final heading home Steve Mace and Andy Binns.
The Final FGA meeting takes place on 2nd October. A change to the fixture list due to the British Championships at Ledbury taking place on the original date for the season finale. The venue will be Alveley, near Bridgnorth.
Results
Auto cadets – 1st A. Whitelam 46pts, 2nd C. Fletcher 43, 3rd A. Bence 37.
Cubs – 1st O. Binns 48pts, 2nd N. Kukla 35
Juniors – 1st E. Childe 46pts, 2nd J. Crewe 41, 3rd W. Childe 33, 4th M. Broadhurst 28, 5th D. Wassall 28
Senior (top 10) – 1st W. Broadhurst 47pts, 2nd D. Binns 47, 3rd S. Mace 45. 4th J. Breeze 42, 5th N. Bull 41, 6th T. Crewe 41, 7th A. Binns 36, 8th K. Gwillam 32, 9th C. Timms 31, 10th A. Rowson 30
