Coventry Cycle Speedway team rounded off their Midland League senior campaign at Leicester last Sunday afternoon – and they continued to build for the future by handing 2016 debuts to three senior riders.
They went down 103 – 75 to their oldest rivals in an entertaining encounter but finished the season on a high with Steve Stewart, Kyle Barlow and Sam Hardie all earning a late season call-up by team boss Lee Marsh.
The trio injected fierce passion and enthusiasm into the Coventry side which has struggled in the current Midland League season at senior level through their inability to consistently track anything like their strongest combination on a regular basis.
Stewart, robust and super fit, more than made up for his lack of experience by completing all his five rides by hard chasing his opponents in all his outings in a highly encouraging debut performance.
Barlow and Hardie have both returned to action recently after a ten year break from racing. Now both in their mid-twenties, and already mounted on new bikes to underline their new found commitment, they both were in the thick of the action on Sunday.
An ex Motorbike Speedway rider, Barlow has progressed back to Cycle Speedway as the pedal sport continues to thrive in Coventry. Hardie, a former British junior finalist, excels at team riding and looks set to win a regular first team spot next season.
Coventry soon fell behind in the early stages at Leicester and it fell to flying Pole Dominik Ryacharski to land their first blow, with the long serving rider brilliantly winning heat 3.
British number two Myke Grimes also was in winning form, taking heats 5 and 8 as he and Rycharski mounted fierce resistance to the Leicester attack. By the half way stage, heat 9, Coventry trailed by 56-34 points.
Ollie Morris took a well ridden second place in heat 10 and the fast improving youngster, becoming more a ccustomed at senior level, then won heat 14 to underline his rich promise for the future.
Other than Rycharski, Grimes and Morris, Coventry struggled to beat their powerful Leicester counter-parts, although the Dan Drewett/Joe McLaughlin pairing combined well to Leicester counter-parts, although the Dan Drewett/Joe McLaughlin pairing combined well to share heat 15.
Team manager Marsh said: “There’s no denying we have been seriously handicapped this year at senior regional level by not tracking our best side. However, we have managed to plug the gaps and we have been competitive, if not winning opponents, in all our matches”.
Coventry points scorers:
Dominik Rycharski 16, Myke Grimes 16, Kyle Barlow 10, Steve Stewart 9, Dan Drewett 8, Ollie Morris 8, Sam Hardie 4 and Joe McLaughlin 4.
Coventry maintained their Midland League division two challenge by winning 81-69 at Leicester, again underlining their emerging prominence at second team and junior level.
Coventry points scorers:
Josh Marsh 18, Ben Wells 18, Cameron Gill 16, Sammi Marsh 14, Ollie Morris 10 and Heather Smith 4.
A young Coventry side also won the Midland Land League division three encounter by 42-38, with the flying Ben Wells returning a 16-point maximum score.
Coventry point scorers:
Ben Wells 16, Lewis Fry 12, James Morris 8 and Jude Willcockson 6.
To complete a successful weekend for the Coventry juniors, they travelled to the big East Park track in Wolverhampton last Saturday for an under 16s challenge, and returned home with a 103-76 success.
Both James Bridge-Wilkinson and Jacob Clifford made their Coventry debuts. They both won at least one race each in yet another sign of Coventry`s justification of their relentless recruitment and youth policy.
Coventry point scorers:
Wyatt Jacobs 16, James Bridge-Wilkinson 15, Harry Hibbert 14, Jack Reynolds 14, Jacob Slezak 12, Jacob Clifford 10, James Morris 9 and Lewis Fry 7.
The next local Cycle Speedway action is on Sunday 16th October 2016, when the Coventry club promote the annual Chris Allen Memorial Trophy at Hearsall Common, commencing at 1pm.
BEES STORM TO FIRST AWAY WI
The fledgling new Brandon Bees Cycle Speedway junior team were back in action last Saturday – and again performed way above expectations by winning their first away match outside the local Coventry and Rugby area.
The newly reformed team – made up of new talent from the popular Saturday morning `Dirt Bike Club` - triumphed by 101 to 78 at the big East Park Wolves track in Wolverhampton in a match affected by continuous heavy rain.
Managed for the first time by newly appointed team boss Mark Savage, one of the many new parents of the new found riders who have volunteered to assist the exciting young team, the Bees fell behind in heat 1.
However, their enthusiasm and increasingly evident skills soon propelled the Bees team in front, thanks to fine riding from Cameron Gill and emerging girl racer Amy Baynes in heats 2 and 3.
Two shared heats followed, before hot teenage prospect Gill teamed-up with Owen Gregory to take full points in heat 6. Further wins to the fast improving Gregory and rising star Tom Savage ensured the Bees reached the half way mark, heat 9, 51-39 in front.
Further heavy showers greeted the riders as the second half got under way but there was a further ray of sunshine for the rampant Bees as super keen Joseph Augustus romped home for his first ever race win in heat 10.
The young East Park side – like the Bees fielding a new and inexperienced team – hit back to score two successive heat wins to narrow the deficit.
Brandon regained the upper hand when the Lee Gregory/Savage pair took maximum points in heat 13 as the Bees edged closer to a remarkable maiden away win outside of Coventry.
Baynes, showing tremendous improvement, surged to her second win of the day in heat 15, as she was guided home by the dashing Jony Middleton, the Coventry under 11s individual champion.
Late wins, in the final three heats, to big guns Savage, Gill and Owen Gregory wrapped up the match for the Bees as they topped the magic 100 points mark in the final heat.
The Bees contingent of riders and parents, together with supporters from sister club Coventry, were jubilant after the match. Less than three months after seeing a track for the first time at the Dirt Bike Club, the Bees were winning on the road.
Team manager Savage said: “The match was a great experience for all our young riders today and I must thank the East Past officials for making us so welcome at their very impressive track. Like us, they fielded a young team and gave youngsters a chance against our brand new team.
“It was great to see all the enthusiasm of everyone today, they were all helping and it was great to see all the enthusiasm of everyone today, they were all helping and supporting each other. Both Lee and Owen Gregory were on brand new bikes and they can only get better on them.
“Special mention must be made of Thomas Pearson, who rode in his very first team match and to Amy Baynes and Joseph Augustus, who both recorded their first race wins”.
Brandon Bees scorers: Cameron Gill 18 Tom Savage 17 Amy Baynes 15 Owen Gregory 14 Joseph Augustus 11 Lee Gregory 10 Jony Middleton 9 Thomas Pearson 7
The Brandon Bees are next in team action on Tuesday 18th October (7.30pm), when they travel to Glover Park to race against Leicester juniors for the first time ever. The match will be under floodlights at the impressive Leicester track, which also boasts changing rooms and a grandstand.
Meanwhile, the ever popular `Dirt Bike Club`, which has ignited the astonishing revival of the sport in the Rugby and district area, continues this Saturday (8th October) at Bretford Playing Fields (CV23 0LA), from 10am to 11.30am.
For more information on the Brandon Bees Cycle Speedway club and the Dirt Bike Club, please ring: 07400 993999.