Saturday’s H&N Supplies Ltd. Formula Grasstrack Association round 4 was a testing day for the rider’s and organisers.
Report and Images by Ross Wharton
A heavy rain shower during the morning could have put the event in jeopardy of being cancelled before a wheel was turned but the rain clouds finally cleared in time for signing on and technical examination, leaving the track in perfect condition for racing.
Disaster struck in the opening cadet race of the day when 2023 auto cadet champion Dakota Wright fell heavily from his machine on the first lap. Wright required a county ambulance to take him to the local hospital for a checkup, and thankfully, Wright was released without any breaks or injuries.
Racing recommenced at 3.20pm and the organisers would go through the race card without any intervals. Running 50 races in 2 hours and 10 minutes!
In the E-bike class, once again, Lilly Bence took top honours and never looked like being beaten. Kobi Gutteridge came home in a comfortable second place ahead of good friend and Grasstrack newcomer Noah Bakewell, who enjoyed his first Grasstrack experience. Birmingham Brummies mascot JJ falconer continued his first season in Grasstrack, finishing fourth.
Charlie Dowd would take victory in the Cadet class ahead of the returning Amelia Cross. The Auto/ Cadet class was obviously marred with the withdrawn Dakota and Dalton Wright, who we hope to see back on track soon.
Archie Whitelam came out on top in the Cub class after scoring a 7-ride maximum and taking home the Tom Thomas Memorial shield for the Cubs. The Sheffield Speedway mascot thrilled the crowd with his leg trailing riding style, using the outside line to take victory in all his races. 2nd place went to Roman Ratcliffe, who got quicker as the afternoon went on, pushing Whitelam a little bit in the final few races. Runcorn’s Jessica Cox came home in 3rd place after racing consistently all afternoon. Cox and Whitelam would be making the long trip to Glasgow the following day for the Youth Speedway Championships. Kaylem Bourne finished 4th despite some mechanical gremlins, and AJ Bence took 5th place after 1 ride.
Isaac Collins-Bullock was the lone Junior after Charlotte Arthur was forced to withdraw due to illness. Isaac finished all his rides to claim the Tom Thomas memorial shield for the Juniors.
It was the usual protagonists taking the top spots in the Senior class. Graham Thomas would storm to 6 race wins, giving him the top spot before the grand final. Multi Senior champion Wayne Broadhurst dropped one point in the opening heat to Thomas and would have 2nd pick of gates, with son Max having 3rd pick after finishing level on points with local man Colin How. Andrew Rowson continued his superb start to the FGA season by finishing the heats in 5th spot whilst Whitchurch star Sam Hall finished level on points with Malvern’s Adam Hawker. Anthony Rowson enjoyed his home track enough to clinch the final spot in the top 8.
As the top 8 left the pit boxes to head to the start line, the heavens opened enough to dampen the Pontesbury circuit once again. It was Broadhurst junior that made the start and lead the older statesmen into turn one. Max would hold onto the lead ahead of maximum man Thomas and the older Broadhurst for two laps before Thomas found a gap exiting turn 2 on the 3rd lap to take the lead. The Broadhurst duo would have to settle for 2nd and 3rd, whilst Andrew Rowson took 4th ahead of Hawker, Anthony Rowson, How and Hall, respectively.
The next Instalment of FGA action takes place on 6th July when Helsby & District Club run the re-staging of Round 1.
The FGA sends its well wishes to Dakota Wright, and we hope to see him back racing again soon.
More information at www.formulagrasstrack.com
Results
E-Bikes – 1st L. Bence 48, 2nd K. Gutteridge 42, 3rd N. Bakewell 36, 4th JJ. Falconer 30
Cadets – 1st C. Dowd 48, 2nd A. Cross 42
Cubs – 1st A. Whitelam 48, 2nd R. Ratcliffe 42, 3rd J. Cox 36, 4th K. Bourne 15, 5th AJ Bence 4
Juniors – 1st I. Collins-Bullock 48
Seniors (Top 10) – 1st G. Thomas 48, 2nd M. Broadhurst 46, 3rd W. Broadhurst 47, 4th Andrew Rowson 45, 5th A. Hawker 43, 6th Anthony Rowson 42, 7th C. How 46, 8th S. Hall 43, 9th D. Edwards 31, 10th M. Furley 36
