The opening round of the inaugural ACU British Flat Track Championship took place on Sunday 30 March at Scunthorpe Speedway’s Eddie Wright Raceway. A quality line-up of 17 riders – featuring many of the UK’s top talent – went bar-to-bar in one of the fastest-growing motorcycle disciplines in the country.
The sport’s growing popularity in Britain is largely down to the dedication and passion of key individuals such as Peter Boast (Champions Flat Track School), George Pickering (Greenfield Dirt Track), and the Dirt Track Riders Association. With Champions, Greenfield, and Scunthorpe all based in Lincolnshire, it made perfect sense to launch the championship in the county before moving on to rounds at Kings Lynn, Workington (hosting two rounds), and Leicester.
The event featured three riders who represented Great Britain in last year’s FIM World Championship – Lincolnshire locals Tim Neave and Jack Bell, alongside Gary Birtwistle from Herefordshire. Neave and Bell finished 4th and 10th in the world standings respectively, while Birtwistle was the only other Brit to take part in the 2024 series.
The field also included former world number two Tom Woolley, former speedway riders Mark Richardson and Dean Hancox, Scunthorpe track record holder Skye Adams, Leicestershire brothers Adam and Jacob James, and rising stars Thomas Hunt (17) and Freddy Trott.
The opening heat brought fireworks straight away, with all three World Championship riders on track together. Birtwistle made the most of his front-row start to take victory in 98.82 seconds – just 0.51 seconds off the track record. Bell fought his way through from the back row to finish second, followed by Hunt, Adam James, and Neave.
Birtwistle remained unbeaten in all three of his qualifying races, with Bell and the James brothers also putting in strong performances to secure top grid slots for the 12-rider, 12-lap final.Before the main event, the B Final decided the final four places, with Adams, Hancox, Neil McDermott, and Sean Seddon progressing. With limited experience of running a 12-lap final and riders generally preferring not to race after the track has been watered, it was agreed the watering done prior to the B Final would be sufficient. In hindsight, an extra round of watering or reducing the race to 8 laps might have been wise – but it didn’t stop the riders giving it their all over a little more than 200 seconds of hard-fought action.
In the end, Jack Bell came out on top, fending off Birtwistle and Adam James. Neave climbed to fourth after passing Jacob James on lap 8, while Trott edged past Woolley to claim sixth.
Support Classes Highlight Depth of Field
The day also featured eight support classes. 2022 World Flat Track competitor Tim Greig opted to skip the main flat track class, instead competing – and winning – in Motocross, Mini-Bike Stock, and Pit Bike. Despite tough competition from Layla Simpson in the Mini-Bike Stock class, Greig came out on top in all three.
Jack Bell made it a double by also winning the Twins class, once again beating Birtwistle to the line. Other support class winners included:
Scott Hodges – Vintage Class
Skye Adams – Women’s Class
Cody Asher – Youth Inters
Leon Hewson – Youth Juniors
Despite the day clashing with the final, double-points round of the Mablethorpe Beach Racing Series, the support classes still drew strong entries and competitive racing.
What’s Next?
The championship continues with the second round scheduled for 3–4 May at Kings Lynn, followed by two rounds in Workington on 28–29 June, before concluding at Leicester on 16 August.
Words and Images by ACU
