Wilson Wins Ultimate Splashbac Winter Series
Birmingham Brummies’ rookie reserve Alex Wilson secured the Ultimate Splashbac Winter Series title run by Scunthorpe Speedway last weekend without a wheel being turned. Unfortunately the final round became victim to the weather but it didn’t stop Rotherham-based Wilson from following in the footsteps of Premier League riders Ashley Birks and Oliver Greenwood. He pipped Cradley Heathen Luke Harris, Rye House’s Sam Woods and Scarborough based Krystian Bialecki by just two points whilst other Winter Series winners were Jamie Halder (Support), Craig Hancock (Novice), Dave Harvey (Upright), Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (Youth 500), Kyle Bickley (Youth 250), Jolyon West (Youth 150), Ben Wells (Flat Track), Lee Carter (Adult Pit Bike), George Hopper (Youth Pit Bike).
One hundred and twenty-five different riders rode in the seventh season of winter racing at the Eddie Wright Raceway and the series just goes from strength to strength. With 75 riders set to race last weekend the total figure was set to rise considerably but event organiser Richard Hollingsworth said it wasn’t a difficult decision to cancel the final round.
“Obviously with that number of entries there was some valuable income due but the forecast on Saturday tea time wasn’t good and we just can’t risk our reputation by trying to run a meeting in terrible conditions, or worse still, by having to cancel a meeting on the day.
“After all these years running events we know that we almost always have to wait until the eve of the meeting before making a decision. By that point the forecasts being given out invariably become reality and we could see that through the middle of the day it was set to rain. That is exactly what it did. From 10am to 2pm it rained so we are pleased we stopped people from travelling on the day and wasting valuable time and money. We can’t say a same day cancellation is never going to happen but we do put a lot of effort in to try and prevent it. I can remember it happening once a few years back when we got it wrong but we learnt from that and hopefully it will be a very long time before it happens again.
“It is an anti-climax not to run the last round, especially when the weather starts to get a little milder but I think everyone involved with the running of these meetings is intensely proud of the racing opportunities we are providing riders of all abilities. We have expanded to ten classes this year with the addition of Winter Series’ titles for three adult classes. The Upright (engine configulation), Flat Track and Adult Pit Bike Classes all had their inaugural titles but what fill me will delight is to see the number of youth riders riding. After some fallow years every youth class had record entrants and there were forty youth riders in action this winter.
“It is fantastic to see and I’m sure the new openings for inexperienced riders in the National League have helped encourage young riders that there is a place for them in the sport. Of course there are also some great young riders riding in the adult classes too. You only have to look down the Open Class and virtually everyone is a league racer, or very close, this season.
“Of course demand meant we had to split the classes over two separate meetings during the winter months and I’d really like to thank all the volunteers who made that possible. They have been terrific, as have our sponsors Ultimate Splashbac. During the summer we can go back to running all classes on one day and we have five meetings that form the eighth Summer Championship. Of course we split the ten classes into two sessions so that each half takes around three hours. One starts at 11am and the other no earlier than 2pm. It ensures people don’t have a long wait between rides and the meetings aren’t taking six hours.
“Eveyone is welcome, whether the race once over the summer or in all five meetings. The Summer Championship allows one round to be dropped so if five rounds are completed then the top four scores count and if a round is lost to the weather then it is the top three rounds etc. etc. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the Upright Class grows through the summer and I have to thank Jeff Halford to switching me on to that requirement whilst the Novice Class is usually very strong through the season. That said, it was the strongest through the winter with 26 entrants so I might have to start thinking up another format.
The Summer Championship dates are Saturday 2nd May, Sunday 31st May, Sunday 17th July, Sunday 23rd August and Sunday 4th October. It is expected that the Open, Support, Youth 500, Youth 250, Flat Track and Youth Pit Bike classes will always start at 11am whilst the Novice, Youth 125/150, Upright and Adult Pit Bike Classes will compete in the afternoon (not earlier than 2pm). Anyone who is interested in being involved as a rider or with organising the meetings can contact Richard via email at richard@scunthorpespeedway.com, through the Scunthorpe Amateurs Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/scunnyamateurs/ or by texting or calling 07832-402167.
Open Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top three rounds count): 1st Alex Wilson 48 (15-19-14-10), 2nd Luke Harris 46 (19-15-12), 3rd Sam Woods 46 (17-13-16), Krystian Bialecki 46 (16-14-9-16), Danyon Hume 43 (11-15-17), Danny Ayres 37 (17-20), Robert Parker 36 (12-10-14), Danny Phillips 33 (18-15), Tom Woolley 30 (20-10), Arron Mogridge 27 (8-19), Nathan Greaves 19, Reece Downes 18, Lee Dicken 18, Nike Lunna 18, Robert Shuttleworth 17, Zach Wajtknecht 16, Martin Pearce 14, Tom Perry 13, Dan Greenwood 13, Paul Bowen 12, Adam Portwood 11, Tyler Govier 11, Michael Neale 9.
Roll of Honour:
2008/9 – 1st Richard Franklin, 2nd Adam Wrathall, 3rd James Sarjeant
2009/10 – 1st Ashley Birks, 2nd Luke Chessell, 3rd Steve Worrall
2010/11 – 1st David Holt, 2nd Adam Kirby, 3rd Shaun Tedham
2011/12 – 1st Tom Young, 2nd Stefan Nielsen, 3rd Oliver Greenwood
2012/13 – 1st Oliver Greenwood, 2nd Shane Waldron, 3rd Josh Bates
2013/14 – 1st Oliver Greenwood, 2nd Danny Phillips, 3rd Arron Mogridge
2014/15 – 1st Alex Wilson, 2nd Luke Harris, 3rd Sam Woods
Support Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top three rounds count): 1st Jamie Halder 57 (20-19-18), 2nd Sam Darroch 56 (19-13-18-19), 3rd George Rothery 48 (17-11-20), Matthew Sewell 46 (13-12-17-16), Luke Whitehead 45 (16-10-16-13), Bradley Seal 40 (17-14-9), Chris Bambury 39 (15-15-9), Mark Whitehead 32 (18-14), Ryan Kinsley 31 (12-19), Lewis Griggs 31 (15-16), Trevor Bebbington 28 (14-14), Connor Fletcher 22 (12-10), Dan Miles 22 (11-11), Danyon Hume 20, Alfie Bowtell 20, Ben Basford 18, Adrian Guest 13, David Morgan 10.
2008/9 – 1st Montana Jowett, 2nd Mark Whitehead, 3rd Sam Woods
2009/10 – 1st Andy Mountain, 2nd David Holt, 3rd Cameron Hoskins
2010/11 – 1st David Lidgett, Joint 2nd Montana Jowett and Liam Carr
2011/12 – 1st David Lidgett, 2nd Lee Springthorpe, 3rd Martin Wrathall
2012/13 – 1st Callum Harris
2013/14 – 1st Liam Sanderson, 2nd Alex Wilson, 3rd Sam Darroch
2014/15 – 1st Jamie Halder, 2nd Sam Darroch, 3rd George Rothery
Novice Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top three rounds count): 1st Craig Hancock 56 (10-19-17-20), 2nd Danny Wright 49 (15-18-16), 3rd John Gaskell 49 (17-13-14-18), Mike Hancock 49 (11-18-16-15), Luke McKenna 48 (15-14-19-12), David Morgan 36 (16-20), Kyle Roberts 36 (16-20), Damon Hall 36 (13-12-11),Jeff Robinson 36 (12-10-13-11), Lloyd Brown 27 (18-9), Dave Chiles 22 (9-13), Jake Isherwood 21 (11-10), George Rothery 20, Chris Bambury 19, Ross Wharton 19, Jack Flynn 17, Thomas Hewitt 17, Lee Baldwin 15, Stuart Freeman 14, Lloyd Ditchburn 14, Michael Baldwin 12, Nigel Limb 10, Derek Hunt 9, James Andrews 8, Lee Coates 8, Colin Clarke 7.
Roll of Honour:
2009/10 – Joint 1st Trevor Bebbington & Craig Whitehead, 3rd Ricky Anderson
2010/11 – 1st Mike Gittings, 2nd Sam Darroch, 3rd Sean Phillips
2011/12 – 1st Mike Russell, 2nd Ivan Howarth, 3rd Mick Keeling
2012/13 – 1st Ross Wharton, 2nd Ivan Howarth, 3rd Jamie Clapton
2013/14 – 1st Mick Keeling, 2nd Dan Miles, 3rd Jack Flynn
2014/15 – 1st Craig Hancock, 2nd Danny Wright, 3rd John Gaskell
Upright Class (for upright engines):
Final Winter Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st Dave Harvey 40 (20-20), 2nd Shaun Bickley 39 (19-20), 3rd Gary O’Hare 35 (18-17), Glen Belcher 19, Trevor Bebbington 18.
Roll of Honour:
2014/15 – 1st Dave Harvey, 2nd Shaun Bickley, 3rd Gary O’Hare
Youth 500 Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 40 (20-19-20), 2nd Eryk Borczuch 37 (20-17), 3rd Jamie Halder 37 (18-19), Sam Chapman 36 (19-17-15), Tom Miles 35 (17-15-18), Sam Woolley 34 (18-16-16), Mitchell Beckett 14.
Roll of Honour:
2008/9 – 1st Kyle Howarth, 2nd Josh Birkett, 3rd Tom Stoke
2013/14 – 1st Jack Parkinson-Blackburn, 2nd Luke Whitehead
2014/15 – 1st Jack Parkinson-Blackburn, 2nd Eryk Borczuch, 3rd Jamie Halder
Youth 250 Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st Kyle Bickley 40 (20-20-20), 2nd Kean Dicken 38 (19-16-19), 3rd Ben Woodhull 36 (18-18), Luke Woodhull 34 (17-17), Jordan Jenkins 19.
Roll of Honour:
2008/9 – 1st Reece Downes, 2nd Jack Cornes
2011/12 – 1st Dan Miles
2012/13 – 1st Luke Woodhull, 2nd Ben Woodhull
2013/14 – 1st Sam Chapman
2014/15 – 1st Kyle Bickley, 2nd Kean Dicken, 3rd Ben Woodhull
Youth 150cc Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st Jolyon West 40 (20-20), 2nd Harry McGurk 39 (16-19-20), 3rd Leon Flint 36 (19-17), Jack Shimelt 32 (12-14-18), Jordan Palin 31 (13-18), Jacob Clayton 31 (7-12-19), Mickie Simpson 30 (11-16-14), James Hitchen 29 (14-15), Danny Curl 28 (15-13), Carl Basford 25 (9-16), Taya Thirtle 22 (10-12), Ryan Morris 21 (8-13), Jason Edwards 18, Taylor Hampshire 17, Sam Stead 17, Jack Wright 15.
Roll of Honour:
2010/11 – 1st Josh Bailey, 2nd Kyle Bickley, 3rd Ben Woodhull
2011/12 – 1st Jack Parkinson-Blackburn, 2nd Ben Woodhull, 3rd Kyle Bickley
2012/13 – 1st Kyle Bickley, 2nd Jolyon West, 3rd Sam Stead
2013/14 – 1st Kyle Bickley, 2nd Jamie Halder, 3rd Harry McGurk
2014/15 – 1st Jolyon West, 2nd Harry McGurk, 3rd Leon Flint
Junior Pit Bike Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st George Hopper 40 (20-20-20), 2nd Bailey Fellows 38 (19-17-19), 3rd Leon Collier 37 (18-19-18), Jacob Fellows 35 (15-18-17), Kieran Holt 32 (9-16-16), Luke Harrison 31 (16-15-15), Stephanie Tovey 28 (14-14), Thomas Tovey 27 (11-13-14), Joe Farrugia-Howarth 24 (12-12), Maddy Fellows 23 (10-13), Kean Dicken 17, Thomas Towle 13.
Roll of Honour:
2013/14 – 1st Bailey Fellows, 2nd Keiran Holt, 3rd Leon Collier
2014/15 – 1st George Hopper, 2nd Bailey Fellows, 3rd Leon Collier
Adult Pit Bike Class:
Final Winter Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st Lee Carter 40 (20-20-20), 2nd Simon Ellis 37 (18-19), 3rd Jeff Howarth 36 (17-19), Craig Smith 33 (15-18), Colin Willerton 33 (16-17), Jamie Halder 19, Yazmin Burrows 18. Mike Smith 14.
Roll of Honour:
2014/15 – 1st Lee Carter, 2nd Simon Ellis, 3rd Jeff Howarth
Flat Track Class:
Final Series standings (top two rounds count): 1st Ben Wells 39 (20-18-19), 2nd Mike Johnson 37 (18-19-18), 3rd Peter Jordan 35 (15-20), Stuart Avery 30 (14-16), Adam Allott 20, Mike Hill 17, John Boddy 17, Jon Lawson 17, Andrew Murphy 16, Jim Boddy 15.
Roll of Honour:
2014/15 – 1st Ben Wells, 2nd Mike Johnson, 3rd Peter Jordan
