Gregory takes two
March 31, 2008
With Storm Emma whipping the country anyone arriving in Finningley paddock on Saturday could have been forgiven for expecting the worst come Sunday. The wind was howling and the rain started in the early hours, but everyone still got up to a fresh, sunny morning just perfect for racing. Obviously many agreed with the weather because 260 riders turned out to ride Finningley for the first race meeting there since 2007. The track looked perfect for riding on, and so it was.
This meeting saw the Autos take to the track for the first time with 90 Racing since October 2007, not that you could tell by the standard of riding. Christopher Mills came out of the start gate like the other riders were demons after him. He held that lead almost all day, only dropping one race to flying Oliver Consterdine. Ben Ruddick was up at the front all day with them, and they mixed the results, ending up Mills first overall, Ruddick second and Consterdine third overall. Ryan Garthwaite rode consistently, taking three fourth place finishes & ending fourth overall.
Next out went the Junior 65s. The Winter Challenge rested on today’s results, with three riders in the running for the coveted top spot. On the day, no-one could take Curtis Ferguson and Eddie Remmer who stormed all three races between them, enjoyed the sand at Finningley. Ferguson had the edge over Remmer & with two excellent race wins ended in a deserved first overall position for the day. A promising third place finish in the first race for Jake Biggs was spoiled by two poor finishes, costing him the Winter Challenge push. Max Griffin and Will Wall had it all to ride for still. Griffin and Wall rode neck and neck all day, with each finishing higher than the other in the first two races, so the results hung on the last race for these two riders. Griffin just had the edge on Wall, and took third place overall, leaving Wall in fourth.
Out next went the Small Wheels - 36 riders, and they hit the track like the proverbial bats. They produced a real mixed bag of results. The most consistent rider on the day was Connor Clarke taking the last two race wins, overcoming a disappointing first race to take overall first. Michael Eccles, after winning the first race, took a well earned second overall with two third place finishes. Rob Davidson came back from a poor second race to take third overall. Jack Heath, Jack Weaver and Sam Winterburn all enjoyed top 3 places during the days racing, but none could hold the position consistently enough to overcome the leaders. They finished Heath fouth, Weaver fifth and Winterburn just sixth.
Next up were the Big Wheels. Another big gate of 33 riders saw much more consistent riding from the leaders. Jake Page took the early lead, and never lost it. The maximum points on the day with all three race wins were well earned by Page as he was chased hard by the rest of the pack. Jake Millward and Lewis Parkinson rode hard to catch Page, but never quite made it. Millward took his second overall by way of three second placements, and Parkinson settled for all three third place spots. Callum Luxton looked promising in the first two races, but couldn’t finish the last race and dropped out of the results. Cole Hunter also looked promising, but his high place in the last race couldn’t overcome the second race finish for him and left him in fourth place, tied on points with Stacey Fisher in overall fifth.
Next out went the Novices, and yet again a full gate of Novices exploded onto the track from the first corner. The early lead was again taken by Liam Eddleston who rode like a dream again. He didn’t drop the lead all day despite constant challenging until a mistake in the last race saw him drop to second. It wasn’t enough to take a deserved first place overall from him again. Scott Matthews looked his closest challenger with two second place finishes, but mechanical failure left him unable to complete the last race and finish back in tenth. Second overall went to Ben Williams who improved all day to take the last race win with some exceptional riding. Linford Healey and Mike Thompson both raced hard, but poor finishes in the last race for both rider saw them settle for Healey In third overall, and Thompson in fourth.
Up next went 36 Youth 125 riders, and it was good to see so many 125’s on the same gate. There was some awesome riding in this group. Again a mixed bag of results, with the top four riders changing places all day. First overall with first-rate riding went to Ryan McClain with the last two race wins. Michael Hughes took second in the last race, and that was enough to see him finish second overall. Lewis Meadows, who took the first race win had a disasterous second race, but pulled back in the last race to finish third overall, just ahead of Levi Whiteoak. Whiteoak had been riding well until a poor last race left him in fourth overall. Some excellent consistent riding in a very fast group saw newly upgraded Luke Crowther finish fifth overall.
Out next went the Adult 125/250f, again with 37 on the gate. One look at the signing on sheets said this was a race not to be missed, and so it proved. Joe Gregory looked unstoppable for the first two races, but was just beaten in the last race. Gregory still took a justified first place overall. Scott Beevers was the one to beat him in the last race, earning himself second place overall with some tremendous riding. Both William Foster and Dean Houghton looked like they would be up with Gregory but both had catastrophic last races which left them trailing. Wayne Barker took third place overall, just before Dave Wall in overall fourth. Wall took third in the second race, but couldn’t hold the pace for the last race, with Barker overtaking him to get into the prize money spots by way of an excellent last race finish of fourth.
Last out went the Adult Open. Again looking at the sheet didn’t even prepare for the standard of riding out on the track. Maximum man Joe Gregory (coming straight off the track in the Adult 125/250f race onto the Open gate) again took first overall with some awe-inspiring riding. Not for one second did he show any hint of tiredness (which after the hard racing in the first group was surprising). He looked unstoppable, but Ashley Harland did not let him get away for a second. Harland took three second place finishes, and overall second, and every race saw him right behind Gregory. Not for one second did either of these riders ease the pressure on the throttle and each deserved their places. Gavin Crane looked clearly in third place until a disaster in the last race saw him drop into fifth overall. Sean Eckersley took a well raced third place overall, just ahead of Simon Harding. Harding improved all day to take third place in the last race, and a well earned fourth overall.
A smooth days riding for all concerned with no serious injuries, and only one short delay when the paramedic thought he would have a go at the Finningley track & thereby got his ambulance stuck! Soon resolved, and away we went. Every credit to Ed Bradley and his team for preparing a track which took a pounding all day, stood up to it perfectly, and was only just getting dusty by the end of the last block. It was also good to see Connor Field, who broke his femur at an earlier round, turn up with cards to say thanks to the club and all his friends for all their support since his accident. See you soon Connor, along with all our other riders.
Overalls:
Autos: 1. Christopher Mills 2. Ben Ruddick 3. Oliver Consterdine 4. Ryan Garthwaite 5. Charlie Allen 6. Thomas Holgate
Jnr 65: 1. Curtis Ferguson 2. Eddie Remmer 3. Max Griffin 4. Will Wall 5. Alfie Mountford 6. Luke Reading
SW 85: 1. Connor Clarke 2. Michael Eccles
3. Rob Davidson 4. Jack Heath 5. Jack Weaver 6. Sam Winterburn
BW 85: 1. Jake Page 2. Jake Millward
3. Lewis Parkinson 4. Cole Hunter
5. Stacey Fisher 6. Brett Sanderson
Novices 1. Liam Eddleston 2. Ben Williams
3. Linford Healey 4. Mike Thompson
5. Kyle Maxwell 6. Sam Chapman
Youth 125: 1. Ryan McClain 2. Michael Hughes
3. Lewis Meadows 4. Levi Whiteoak
5. Luke Crowther 6. Jake Whitby
Adult 125/250: 1. Joe Gregory 2. Scott Beevers
3. Wayne Barker 4. Dave Wall 5. Dean Houghton 6. Chris Hay
Adult Open: 1. Joe Gregory 2. Ashley Harland
3. Sean Eckersley 4. Simon Harding
5. Gavin Crane 6. Ben Dexter
Race Report by MOTO reporter Lynsey Hamer and image by DE Photo
Send this article to a friend
