Last night saw the conclusion of the 2011 Suffolk U15 & U13 Individual championships held at Somersham.

The weather was very gloomy and overcast as riders and parents turned up for the final round and just as rider warm ups finished the rain steadily fell, however, this wasn’t allowed to dampen the event with some fantastic racing from both the U15 and U13 age groups.

Terry Ashford refereed and didn’t have much to do all evening, with all riders providing good clean , exciting racing, with plenty of moves on each lap from all quarters as they battled it out for the remaining points on offer.

The U13’s rode very well, with some new comers to the sport having ago in competition for the first time, which is always good to see. Brandon Gilbert Rolfe seemed to relish the track putting in good performances in every heat. Jack Chaplin kept up with the pace of the senior riders to finish 3rd overall in the series. Consistent riding from Pierce Bacon (Kes) and Matt Gifkins (Kes) saw them through their events with Ben (Ips) and Alex (Ips) Harvey proving to be as reliable as ever as well.

Highlight of the evening was the U15 Racing, which provided some action packed thrills (All Riders), spills (Richard Fellgett and Charlie Rumbold the most notable) and some bad luck (Fraser’s Harris’s front puncture, Terry Gilbert-Rolfe’s Peddle slip at a crucial moment)  and throughout the heats, with the title being hotly contested by Richard Fellgett, Charlie Rumbold and Will Clarke for the top three places. However after all heats were run, it left Will and Charlie tied on points and a run off ensued.

Will called as the coin was flipped and picked In’s leaving Charlie to try from the Outside. As the tapes went up, Will and Charlie both went into the first bend side by side, with Will emerging slightly in front. Throughout the four laps Charlie looked inside and outside, but Will rode well enough to hold him off until the last lap when with a sudden last effort burst of pace off the second bend, Charlie managed to squeeze inside of Will to take the flag.

All present appreciated the race they’d seen and it was a fitting end to a this years competition, with all those taking part providing good racing action throughout the series.

Final standings

U13

1st Pierce Bacon (Kes), 2nd Matt Gifkins (Kes), 3rd Jack Chaplin (Ips) and 4th Ben Harvey (Ips).

U15

1st Charlie Rumbold (Ips), 2nd Will Clark (Ips) and 3rd Richard Fellgett (Ips).

Well done to all riders who took part and thank you to the Suffolk CS committee for supporting the event.

The U9’s and U11’s is being held next Wednesday at Gt. Blakenham. So come along and support the boys and girls taking part.