Suffolk U9 & U11 Grand Prix

Wednesday (24th Aug) night saw the concluding 2011 Suffolk U9 & U11 Grand Prix take place at Gt. Blakenham.

The weather unlike the U13/U15 tournament the week before at Somersham was very kind to the riders and spectators alike, with a lovely sunny evening (Check out the photos) leading into racing under floodlights, which is something the juniors don’t often get.

First a quick word about ICSC member Richard Fellgett who was making his match debut as a referee (Under the tutelage of Mr Terry Ashford) rather than as a rider. Given that this was his debut he did extremely well, commanding respect from all riders and maintained control throughout the meeting, letting races carry on and only stopping when necessary. In fact other than for a couple of unsatisfactory starts and calling riders to the tapes, his whistle remained virtually silent throughout the evening. Always a good sign that the racing took precedent and that the riders rode within the law.

It is always nice to see our riders give something back to the sport, even more so when they are as young as Richard. Here’s to many more referee appointments Richard, you did yourself proud.

Racing on the night, although not as fast and furious as the U13/U15’s the week before was nonetheless exciting throughout the evening, with plenty of passing and re-passing going on. Some good wheel to wheel battles occurred, with plenty of leaning on each other in the bends as well as the straights giving the sizable crowd good entertainment. There was a run off for 4th spot in the U9’s between Alex Butcher (Ips) and Regan Repman (Col), and other than at the gate there was little between them throughout the race, with Alex just pipping Regan.

Congratulations to Lewis Brinkhoff (Kes) for becoming the Suffolk U9 GP winner and to Jack Chaplin (Ips) for becoming Suffolk U11 GP Winner. Both are certain to pick up more trophies as they progress through the ranks.

Well done to ICSC rider Alex Butcher in achieving his first trophy of his CS career. Hopefully it will be the first of many and Mum and Dad will have to build/buy a cabinet to fit them all in.

Special mention for who I believe to have been the Rider of the Night and certainly one to watch in the future is young Ben Read (Kes). This season I’ve watched him improve race on race and is showing real grit and determination against some of the top riders in his age group. With Paul Brinkhoff now a member of Kesgrave, the juniors have a good coach to learn from.

Suffolk U9 GP Overall result

1st – Lewis Brinkhoff (Kes)
2nd – Gemma Hill (Ips)
3rd – Oliver Wright (Kes)
4th – Alex Butcher (Ips) after runoff with Regan Repman (Col)

Suffolk U11 GP Overall result

1st – Jack Chaplin (Ips)
2nd – Sam Warner (Ips)
3rd – Harrison Bacon (Kes)
4th – Stefan Farthing (GB)