Stags’ Whitehead excels in Amateur Meeting

Scunthorpe Stags’ rider Luke Whitehead produced the display of his life to sweep to six race wins in last weekend’s amateur speedway meeting at Scunthorpe Speedway’s Eddie Wright Raceway. His form has improved significantly over the last year and it culminated in the domination of the Support Class with a new personal best of 61.9 seconds amongst his qualifying rides.

After the meeting the 18-year old declared “Today went very well. I started out when I was 12-years old because my dad rode and then I was suddenly the Leicester Lions mascot. I really enjoyed every minute of that but then I was advised I needed to come here because Scunthorpe has more track time available than any other club. I started doing the amateur meetings and I come as often as I can. Richard, Anne, Nigel and everyone at the club have played a big part in my progression”.

In response meeting organiser Richard Hollingsworth paid tribute to Whitehead “Luke is an excellent advert for the club. He has kept practicing, racing in the amateur meetings and riding for Nigel Hinchliffe’s MDL side and now he is ready for the National League. There were times when he struggled to get into the first corners with the other riders but his confidence has gradually improved and now he is once again taking his riding to the next level. It is only a matter of time before he starts getting rides in the National League and he fully deserves it for his commitment and perseverance.

In fairness the classes are littered with riders who are take their riding to the next level. We’ve got Mick Skinner who is 60 years old but in my eyes is the best British rider not to have ridden in any of the top three leagues. He dominated the Support Class and is now mixing it with some decent National League riders in the Open Class. Then there are the Spencer brothers who haven’t been riding many months but Tom is now in the Support Class and produced a winning time of 63.5 whilst his brother, James, won two races today, the ‘B’ Final and the ‘A’ Final in the Novice Class. In the youth classes Jordan Palin and Jacob Clayton are just completely different riders to twelve months ago. Jordan is already amongst the very best 250 riders in the country whilst Jacob didn’t look to be enjoying himself of the 125s but looks much, much happier and a lot more competitive on the 250. There are many others and it is certainly great to see so many progressing. With nearly two months before the next meeting I’m already looking forward to seeing who has progressed during that time”.

Aside from Luke Whitehead (Support Class) and James Spencer (Novice Class) the other class winners were David Wallinger (Open Class), Gary O’Hare (Upright Engine Class) Jordan Palin (Youth 250), Jack Bell (Youth 125 and Pit Bikes), Tim Henson (Flat Track), Scott Speed (Inappropriate Bikes), Teddy Wilkinson (Junior 110) and Joe Hodgson (Quads).

The next meeting is on Sunday 27th August and the club are considering trialling a new format for the day. The plan is to have five classes (Open, Support, Youth 500, Youth 250 and Quads) race from 11am. Then around 1.30pm the plan is to run the Flat Track, Inappropriate Bikes, Pit Bikes and Junior 110 classes before having the final three classes (Upright, Novice and Youth 125/150s) on a newly prepared track around 4pm. It is hoped that it will be easier to prepare the track for the three distinct groups whilst it is anticipated that riders and their families will step forward to help run one of the shorter sessions they aren’t racing in. The club continues to run the meetings with the bare minimum of helpers but with more assistance Hollingsworth believes they can be improved. “We can’t rest on our laurels. I know we run pretty decent meetings but we have to ensure we continue to run the best meetings possible so riders want to travel from all over the country and ride in them. To do that we have to run efficient meetings on the best tracks possible. That is why we’re probably going to trial the new format and see how it goes.

Anyone wanting to book places or help out at the meetings should, in the first instance, text Richard Hollingsworth on 07832-402167.

Open Class
Qualifying Scores: David Wallinger 14, Mick Skinner 8, Jamie Halder 5, Tom Young 3

A Final: Wallinger, Young, Skinner, Halder, 61.9

Summer Championship points: Wallinger 20, Young 19, Skinner 18, Halder 17 (first round with entries in this class)

Heat winning times: 5. Halder 62.9, 10. Wallinger 60.5, 16. Wallinger awarded, 23. Wallinger 61.6, 29. Wallinger 60.3

Support Class
Qualifying Scores: Luke Whitehead 15, Sam Chapman 9, Kieran Taylor 8 (4 rides), Tom Spencer 7, James Chattin 7, Sheldon Davies 4, Bartek Langner 3

B Final: Chattin, Davies, Langner, 64.8
A Final: Whitehead, Chapman, Chattin, Spencer (fell), 65.4

Summer Championship points: Whitehead 20, Chapman 19, Chattin 18, Spencer 17, Taylor 16, Davies 15, Langner 14

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): Tom Spencer 53 (18-18-17), Sheldon Davies 50 (19-16-15), Luke Whitehead 40 (20-20), Lloyd Ditchburn 34 (17-17), Bartek Langner 30 (16-14), Daniel Gilkes 20, Sam Chapman 19, James Chattin 18, Kieran Taylor 16.

Heat winning times: 2. Whitehead 71.2, 3. Taylor 68.8, 7. Whitehead 66.6, 12. Taylor 63.8, 17. Chapman 63.7, 22. Whitehead 61.9, 26. Spencer 63.5, 30. Whitehead 63.3, 34. Whitehead 62.9

Novice Class
Qualifying Scores: David Pye 15, Mick Sutton 13, Adam Barber 11, David Chiles 8, James Spencer 8, Stuart Foster 3, Simon Gale 2, Gareth Clough 0.

B Final: Spencer, Foster, Chiles, Gale, no time
A Final: Spencer, Barber, Sutton, Pye, 71.8

Summer Championship points: Spencer 20, Barber 19, Sutton 18, Pye 17, Foster 16, Chiles 15, Gale 14, Clough 13..

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): David Pye 56 (19-20-17), David Chiles 51 (18-18-15), Stuart Foster 47 (16-15-16), Simon Gale 45 (14-17-14), James Spencer 39 (19-20), Mick Sutton 35 (17-18), Gareth Clough 28 (15-13), Chris Timms 20, Adam Barber 19, James Jessop 16.

Heat winning times: 44. Sutton 77.0, 45. Pye 73.4, 51. Sutton 71.0, 56. Pye 72.5, 61. Pye 71.6, 66. Sutton 73.3, 70. Pye 72.3, 74. Chiles 74.1, 77. Pye 71.4, 82. Barber 71.9

Upright Class
Qualifying scores: Gary O’Hare 15, Lee Coleman 13, Phil Kynman 9, Shaun Bickley 7, Tim Curnock 7, Eddie Rouse 6, Ian Leverington 2, Graham Knowler 0 (2 rides).

B Final: Curnock, Rouse, 68.8
A Final: O’Hare, Coleman, Curnock, Bickley, 66.0

Summer Championship points: O’Hare 20, Coleman 19, Curnock 18, Bickley 17, Kynman 16, Rouse 15, Leverington 14, Knowler 13.

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): Gary O’Hare 60 (20-20-20), Shaun Bickley 49 (15-17-17), Graham Knowler 48 (16-19-13), Eddie Rouse 47 (14-18-15), Lee Coleman 37 (18-19), Phil Kynman 27 (11-16), Nathan Morton 19, Tim Curnock 18, Max Pankhurst 17, Rob Bradley 16, Trevor Bebbington 15, Ian Leverington 14, Paul Timms 13, Dave Patten 12, Glen Belcher 10, Adrian Harden 9, Mike Cowley 8.

Heat winning times: 48. Coleman 68.4, 49. O’Hare 64.6, 54. O’Hare 65.4, 58. Coleman 68.9, 62. O’Hare 66.3 68. Coleman 69.7, 71. Kynman 68.3, 75. O’Hare 66.4, 79. Curnock 68.3, 83. O’Hare 66.5

Youth 500 Class
No entries
Summer Championship standings (after 3 rounds): Holt 20

Youth 250 Class
Qualifying scores: Jordan Palin 15, Jacob Clayton 8

A Final: Palin, Clayton, 61.7

Summer Championship points: Palin 20, Clayton 19

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): Jordan Palin 58 (18-20-20), Jacob Clayton 52 (16-17-19), Leon Flint 20, Jason Edwards 19, Dan Thompson 19, Joe Thompson 18, Kean Dicken 17,

Heat winning times (all Palin): 4. 65.9, 11. 62.6, 18. 62.5, 24. 61.4, 31. 61.6

Youth 125/150 Class
Qualifying scores: Jack Bell 15, Mikey Robbins 12, Tjay Dunn 8, Bailey Fellows 6 (3 rides), Finley Dimmock 6, Danny Smith 4 (4 rides), Maddy Fellows 2.

B Final: Smith, Dimmock, M. Fellows, 76.4
A Final: Bell, Robbins, Smith, Dunn, 71.7

Summer Championship points: Bell 20, Robbins 19, Smith 18, Dunn 17, Dimmock 16, M. Fellows 15, B. Fellows 14

Summer Championship standings (after two rounds): Jack Bell 57 (20-17-20), Mikey Robbins 54 (19-16-19), Finley Dimmock 47 (18-13-16), Tjay Dunn 31 (14-17), Harry McGurk 20, Sam McGurk 19, Luke Harrison 18, Danny Smith 18, Jack Wright 15, Maddy Fellows 15, Bailey Fellows 14.

Heat winning times: 42. Bell 75.8, 43. B. Fellows 77.8, 50. Bell 70.6, 55. Robbins 79.3, 60. B. Fellows 73.5, 64. Bell 71.8, 69. Robbins 77.1, 78. Bell 71.5, 81. Bell 71.6

Flat Track/MX Class
Scores: Tim Henson 67, Joe Banks 63, Joe Burden 61, Peter Jordan 59, Matthew Walker 48, Richard Rowden 47, Luke Gardner 45, Odgie Danaan 34, Joe Mason 30, Tony Cummings 28, Skye Adams 21 (5 rides), Connor Meakin 16 (5 rides), John Boddy 7 (3 rides).

Summer Championship points: Henson 20, Banks 19, Burden 18, Jordan 17, Walker 16, Rowden 15, Gardner 14, Danaan 13, Mason 12, Cummings 11, Adams 10, Meakin 9, Boddy 8.

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): Joe Burden 55 (19-18-18), Odgie Danaan 50 (18-19-13), Luke Gardner 41 (16-11-14), Tim Henson 36 (16-20), Richard Rowden 35 (20-15), Aaron Tuttlebee 29 (20-9), Tony Cummings 21 (10-11), Joe Banks 19, Jack Pitt 17, Isaac Hunter 17, Peter Jordan 17, Matthew Walker 16, Nigel Wilson 15, Darren Mason 15, Thomas Wright 14, Ben Hunter 13, Ian Cramp 12, Joe Mason 12, Skye Adams 10, Connor Meakin 9, John Borry 8.

Heat winning times: 5. Henson 117.4, 10. Rowden 111.9, 16. Burden 111.3, 21. Rowden 107.4, 26. Rowden 104.6.

Inappropriate Bikes
Scores: Scott Speed 43, Lucia Aucott 37, Darren Mason 30, John Boddy 29 (4 rides), Mike Johnson 23, Ryan Davies 20, Denise Lawson 17, James Boddy 14 (3 rides)

Summer Championship points: Speed 20, Aucott 19, Mason 18, John Boddy 17, Johnson 16, Davies 15, Lawson 14, James Boddy 13

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): Scott Speed 59 (19-20-20), Lucia Aucott 48 (10-19-19), James Boddy 43 (13-17-13), Denise Lawson 39 (9-16-14), Mike Johnson 34 (18-16), Darren Brook 32 (14-18), Darren Mason 32 (14-18), Ryan Davies 30 (15-15), Tim Henson 20, Rob Gardner 17, John Boddy 17, Gary Clayton 16, Odgie Danaan 15, Luke Brackenbury 12, Jon Lawson 11,

Heat winning times: 6. Aucott 135.2, 13. Speed133.3, 19. James Boddy 116.5, 25. John Boddy 116.2, 32. John Boddy 116.3, 40. Speed 116.3

Quad Bikes
Scores: Chris Wright 19, Joe Hodgson 16, James Williamson 8, Ian Russell 0 ( 0 rides)
A Final: Hodgson, Wright, Williamson, 62.1

Summer Championship points: Hodgson 20, Wright 19, Williamson 18, Russell 17

Summer Championship standings (after 3 rounds): Joe Hodgson 59 (20-19-20), Chris Wright 58 (19-20-19), Ian Russell 52 (17-18-17), Mark Hooker 18, James Williamson 17, Ross Fullerton 16, Nick Wright 15, Sam Hodgson 14

Heat winning times: 1. Wright 68.6, 9. Wright 69.1, 15. Wright 63.3, 21. Wright 61.8, 28. Hodgson 61.3

Pit Bikes
Scores: Wayne Carter 77, Jack Bell 71, Stuart Foster 68, Lee Carter 56, Jeff Robinson 54, Lee Dicken 53, Stuart Avery 49, Tom Miles 47, Adam Shelton 43, Nick Thorp 41, Adam Waller 34, Kean Dicken 30, Adrian Snowden 29, Graham Sutton 24, Alex Render 20 (5 rides), Arron Brannan 12

A Final: Bell, W. Carter, Foster, L. Carter, Robinson, L. Dicken, Avery, Waller, Thorp, K. Dicken, Snowden, Brannan, Render (retired), 72.3

Summer Championship points: Bell 20, W. Carter 19, Foster 18, L. Carter 17, Robinson 16, L. Dicken 15, Avery 14, Waller 13, Thorp 12, K. Dicken 11, Snowden 10, Brannan 9, Render 8, Miles 7, Shelton 6, Sutton 5

Summer Championship standings (after three rounds): Wayne Carter 58 (19-20-19), Jack Bell 56 (20-16-20), Stuart Foster 52 (17-17-18), Lee Carter 51 (15-19-17), Jeff Robinson 48 (14-18-16), Stuart Avery 42 (13-15-14), Adam Waller 36 (10-13-13), Nick Thorp 35 (9-14-12), Lee Dicken 33 (8-10-15), Adrian Snowden 28 (7-11-10), Kean Dicken 27 (12-4-11), Alex Render 26 (6-12-8), Arran Brannan 21 (5-7-9), Alfie Collett 18, Tom Schmitt 16, Craig Nightingale 11, Tony Cummings 9, Graham Field 8, Tom Miles 7, Adam Shelton 6, Graham Sutton 5.

Race winning times: 46. Bell 80.8, 53. W. Carter 78.4, 57. L. Carter 78.4, 63. W. Carter 72.8, 67. W. Carter 73.4, 72. W. Carter 71.4, 76. Bell 75.3, 80. W. Carter 73.4

Junior 110
Scores: Teddy Wilkinson 42, Mikey Robbins 36, Ryan Ingram 28, Jack Franklin 26, Jay Ward 15, Louie Walker 12, Harry Banks 9.

Summer Championship points: Wilkinson 20, Robbins 19, Ingram 18, Franklin 17, Ward 16, Walker 15, Banks 14.

Summer Championship points: Mikey Robbins 58 (20-19-19), Ryan Ingram 54 (18-18-18), Jack Franklin 51 (17-17-17), Louie Walker 46 (16-15-15), Max McGurk 39 (19-20), Mya Harris 29 (15-14), Teddy Wilkinson 20, Lewis Fellows 16, Jay Ward 16, Kyron Worster 14, Harry Banks 14

Race winning times (all Wilkinson started from varying deficits): 47. 78.6, 52. 77.0, 59. 76.8, 65. 78.6, 73. 73.8, 90. 73.8