Lilly Bence continued to dominate the E-Bikes at Formula Grasstrack Association Championship Round 5, sponsored by H and N Supplies Ltd.
Report and Images by Ross Wharton
Bence took 7 wins for 7 rides and continued to rack up the championship points to lead at the halfway stage of the season. Kobi Gutteridge has stepped up the pace to close the gap to Bence after making alterations to his machine before the meeting, whilst Noah Bakewell took a solid third ahead of Birmingham mascot JJ Falconer.
Dakota Wright got his mojo back by taking 7 wins from 7 in the Autos, Wright stepped down to the class having started the year on his cadet machine. He had some epic battles which cadet leader Charlie Dowf whilst Dalton Wright took 2nd in the Autos, Darcy Lewis-Powell was a consistent 2nd place in the Cadets.
Archie Whitelam would dominate the heats in the Cub class, with Kaylem Bourne looking good to take 2nd place overall. Chloe Davis managed 3rd despite struggling to start in 4 rides, she managed to claw her way back through to gain valuable points. Lucas Astley made his return to racing after his awful spill at Bewdley to take 4th, with AJ Bence taking 5th. Disaster would strike for Whitelam in the final when he stalled, leaving Davis and Bourne to battle it out for the win, which Davis took. AJ Bence would get the better of Astley for 3rd.
The Seniors once again put on some amazing battles, and the lineup was strengthened when Max Broadhurst was a Late entrant. He was returning to racing after breaking his scaphoid in June.
Broadhurst would, in fact, finish the heats as joint top scorer with his dad, Wayne and championship leader Graham Thomas. The top three dropped 3 points each. Adam Hawker would carry on his consistency to qualify 4th alongside Colin How, who has found some mid-season form. Phil Thomas continued his recovery from injury to take 6th spot in the final, with the Rowson Brothers rounding out the top 8.
The final was for championship points but, more importantly, the Jonathon Rodgers Memorial trophy. As expected, the top 3 got away with Graham Thomas leading the Broadhurst duo with Wayne leading Max for the majority until the returning youngster got by on the final lap. Colin How was a safe 4th whilst Hawker and Phil Thomas were barely separated, Thomas just getting the better of the Malvern man. Whilst midland missile Andy Rowsoncheld off his brother for 7th.
The next Round takes place on 10th August at Malpas, Cheshire. 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
Autos
1st Dakota Wright 48, 2nd Dalton Wright 42
Cadets
1st C. Dowd 48, 2nd D. Lewis-Powell 28
Cubs
1st A. Whitlam 48, 2nd K. Bourne 40, 3rd C. Davis 37, 4th L. Astley 30, 5th AJ. Bence 21
Seniors
1st G. Thomas 45, 2nd M. Broadhurst 45, 3rd W. Broadhurst 45, 4th C. How 43, 5th P. Thomas 42, 6th A. Hawker 43, 7th Andrew Rowson 35, 8th Anthony Rowson 37, 9th D. Edwards 34, 10th M. Crutchington 27
