Monday 02.06.08
BRIXTON REGIONAL REPORT
Twenty-two riders represented East Kent BMX Club at Round 4 of the South BMX Summer Series held in Brockwell Park, Herne Hill by the Brixton BMX Club on Sunday 1st June. An interesting track, that had not previously been used for a Regional event, met the riders and there were various concerns about how well it would be for racing. As it was the racing proved to be very entertaining with over 170 entrants and some close finishes and plenty of spills with thankfully no serious injuries and yet another indication of the popularity of this forthcoming Olympic sport.
Broomfield’s Joel Lockhart won the first race of the day for Novices 7 and Under and continued his success throughout the afternoon with two other moto wins and a convincing win in the A Final. Jack Scott and Louie Bottali represented the Club in Novice 11-14 with Jack winning a moto and gaining a couple of 2nd places to put him into the A Final in which he came 2nd whilst Louie finished 2nd in the B Final. George Mummery and Lewis Dackombe did battle in the Novice 15+ group with George finishing 3rd place overall and Lewis 5th.
Maidstone’s Luc Baxter was the youngest rider in Expert 6 and Under but rode well to finish 6th overall. Canterbury’s Matthew Pullen struggled in a closely fought group of Expert 8 year olds and was 3rd in the B Final. Owen Baxter best placed 2nd in a moto to finish his Expert 11 group in 5th place. Matthew’s brother Daniel, riding for Tibbs Cycles of Canterbury, was in his usual stunning form in the Expert 16 group and jumping well and, whilst he won his three motos, he fought hard in the A Final with Bournemouth’s Jack Smallpeice but conceded defeat on the last straight. James Humphrey also rode this group and finished 7th in the A Final after winning a run-off to qualify for it.
The Humphrey brothers, Matt & James, were out in the Cruiser class with James winning the 13–15 year old group and Matt 5th in 16-29. In the 40+ Cruiser class Darren Boughton finished the A Final in 3rd after a previous moto win in the largest group of the day. Folkestone’s Phil Beer from Tibbs Cycles of Canterbury won a run-off to qualify into the A Final in which he finished 5th whilst Lee Allen had a second place in an earlier moto but was 8th in the A Final.
The Old School class saw Canterbury Cycle Life’s Simon Barnes win two motos but he was pipped to the line in the A Final to finish the group in 2nd place overall. Sturry’s Chris Bushell hasn’t ridden BMX for a while but put in some good performances in Junior Male to finish 6th overall. Herne Bay’s Nick Cox was styling over the jumps in Male 19+ and had a 2nd place in a moto, finishing 6th place overall. And so to the ‘big boys’ of the 20”-wheeled class racing in 30+, or Masters as the class is best known, in which Herne’s Russ Parsons and Whitstable’s Roy Binks were competing along with Ben Wharton from Ashford. Wharton raced to 4th place in the A Final on the heels of Binks who had earlier won a pair of motos. Star of the meeting was Herne’s Russ Parsons, co-founder of East Kent BMX Club, who took wins in all his motos and battled in the A Final with Peckham’s Nigel Whyte to just beat him on the final straight.
The South Summer Series moves to Hayes, Middlesex on June 22nd for an inter-regional and what promises to be a spectacular event involving the best riders from the South of England and those from East Anglia.
Written By Alan Humphrey | Photos By John De Clerck
posted by Steve
Wednesday 14.05.08
MANSFIELD NATIONAL REPORT
For British Cycling Report, Photographs & Results - Click Here
Two days of BMX racing was the prospect for the seven riders representing East Kent BMX Club over the weekend of 17th & 18th May when they went to Mansfield for Rounds 4 and 5 of the National Series. Young Lauren Richardson in Female 10 – 12 was riding here first National and best placed a 7th in the B Final on day one. Her older brother Sam rode well but failed to make a Final placing on either day.
Maidstone’s Owen Baxter rode two classes and was in a group of over thirty riders in the Exper 11/12 class and unfortunately didn’t make a Final either but on his 24” Cruiser in the 12 and Under group he finished a creditable 4th in the A Final on day 2. Scott Waterhouse retained his over lead in the 19+ category despite poor placings over the weekend albeit he made the A Finals on each day but he couldn’t better a 7th place.
The stars of the weekend for East Kent were the three riders representing Tibbs Cycles of Canterbury with team manager Phil Beer from Folkestone collecting a 2nd in the B Final of Cruiser 40+on day one and bettering that with a B Final win on the Sunday. Pete Lavender took a superb 2nd place in the Saturday A Final with 8th in the A Final the following day.
Canterbury’s Dan Pullen in Expert 13/14 was in one of the largest groups of the weekend with well over thirty riders battling for glory. He rose to the occasion, netting two stunning 3rd places in the A Finals to put him into 6th place in the National rankings to date. The National riders go to Chesterfield on 8th June for the next round in the Series.
Written By Alan Humphrey | Photos By Simon Lavender
posted by Steve
Monday 26.05.08
HERNE BAY REGIONAL REPORT
Steve Hale Photos | Simon Lavender Photos
After all the hype of last weeks’ official opening of the track at Ford Road, Broomfield it was time to put it to the ultimate test with a full blown race meeting. Coming so soon after the opener it was going to be interesting to see how many local riders would brave racing for the first time at a prestigious event. With 184 entrants it was remarkable that 34 of them represented the newly formed Club including 10 riders who had never raced before. Entrants came from all over the south of England from as far away as Bournemouth with a good contingent of riders from Peckham, Dagenham and Brixton clubs representing London and a handful from the neighbouring East Anglia Region. The perfect weather produced some fantastic, fast and furious racing with numerous spectacular crashes, but thankfully no injuries.
First race of the day was for Novice riders aged 8 – 10 and it was local lad Oscar Wood on a borrowed race bike who stormed to victory and the honour of being the first race winner at the new track. And as if to prove his supremacy Oscar went on to win all his motos and the Final. In Novice 11-14 it was the turn of Henry Woods to show his riding ability with a moto win and 2nd place in the A Final. A pair of East Kent riders shared places in Novice 15+ culminating in a 3rd place in the A Final for Herne Bay’s George Mummery and Chris Scholes behind him. Joel Lockhart from Broomfield was the only entry in Novice 7 and Under and found himself pitched in with the more experienced riders of the Expert 6 and Under class but undaunted he won every race by a considerable margin to prove his local track knowledge paid off. A couple of local girls, Charley and Alaska Bassom also found themselves in with the experienced female riders in Female 7 to 9 but acquitted themselves well with 5th and 8th respectively.
Daniel Pullen from Canterbury riding for Tibbs Cycles was in fine form riding up three age groups in with the Male 16 years group and winning two motos with a couple of seconds to gain overall group victory. Peter Lavender, also riding for Tibbs Cycles of Canterbury, stamped his mark on the Junior Male class with three well deserved wins to get top points from the group.
The older riders produced some of the best races of the day and also some of the most spectacular action. Simon Barnes from Cyclelife of Canterbury had mixed fortunes in his Old School motos with a fall in his first and a win in his second. But it was the A Final which went right to the finish line as he battled through the turns against Dagenham’s Gary Porter and had to concede defeat by about half a bikes’ wheel. Whitstable’s Roy Binks faced tough opposition in the 30+ Masters class with a pair of second places, a moto win and 3rd in the A Final in what was arguably the most amazing race seen in a long while. Herne’s Russ Parsons, heavily instrumental in getting the track and the Club underway, was also having mixed fortunes and was in the thick of things in that Masters A Final. Having been bundled off track in his first moto and having won another, he started the A Final as firm favourite and was leading the pack into the second berm when all hell let loose. Battling with Brixton’s Jason Lewis they made contact and Lewis went flying, collecting the hard-charging Peckham rider Nigel Whyte and the following pack. Russ avoided the carnage and rode home to a popular win ahead of Dagenham’s Martin Parker and East Kent’s Roy Binks.
Written By Alan Humphrey | Photos By Steve Hale
posted by Steve
Friday 09.05.08
HERNE BAY REGIONAL RACE - THIS SUNDAY
South region BMX series Round 3 – Herne Bay 11th May
East Kent BMX is proud to be hosting our first race, which will be round 3 of the South regional series on May 11th. It will be on our brand new track built by Phil “Hudu” Chanley, which has had nothing but good praise by everyone who has ridden it so far. Seven straights of pure jump and berm radness. Come along and get rad!
Event Info
Registration: 09.30am-11.00am (NO LATE REGISTRATIONS ACCEPTED)
Racing starts: 12.30pm approx
Race Fees: Novice £5 - Expert £10
All expert riders will need a minimum BC Bronze Licence to compete. We would also encourage all riders to get a British Cycling membership.
The track is on Ford Road, Broomfield, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 7AD. It’s only 2mins from A299 (main dual carriage way) and will be sign posted. See the Kent Tracks page for a map of the track's location.
Please Note: We will be marshalling the car park and will direct you were to park, We will also be using the field above the track if the weather is dry. There is loads of room there for parking, but unless its an emergency anyone who parks up there will be there for the duration of the event due to access being very close to the track. Your co-operation will be greatly appreciated.
For more info please email us on eastkentbmx@hotmail.com.
Hope to see you all at one of the raddest tracks in the UK.
posted by Steve
Monday 07.04.08
HERSDEN SUMMER SERIES ROUND 1
Results | Photos 1 | Photos 2 (Photos by Simon Lavender)
Fifty two riders of all ages descended on Hersden for another year of four -man racing on the outskirts of Canterbury. Many more would have come had it not been for terrible weather conditions further up the line, had those conditions been the same at the track , the meeting would surely not have gone ahead.
What was encouraging was plenty of new faces to the track, especially in Old Skool, where out of the thirteen riders , four were making their track debuts.
The Old Skool racing itself, though had a familiar look on the results sheet with defending champion Simon Barnes , going through the meeting unbeaten to carry on where he left off last year. Matt Humphrey had a busy day and his hard work paid off with a great ride for second in the A final, while Dagenham's own Tony "Ratty" Waye came home in third, and the A final result was filled by one of the newcomers Darryl Mason in fourth.
A huge turnout for the 17 years plus group, which from now on will be known as the Hersden Masters, where you wont have to be 17 or over to take part. This method was proven by Dan Pullen who went three out three in the motos , outdoing Russ Parsons, although the Whitstable rider would have the last laugh in the A final by winning with Bexhill's Pete Lavender second and Pullen in third. Cruiser class only raised three riders and James Humphrey came out beat in the final from Lee Allen second and Alan Humphrey third. The youngsters classes managed a healthy entry , although the under 5's group only raised one rider , but well done to Lucas Horton who thrown in at the deep end with older riders in the 6 and 7 year class.
BADBMX took the A final here with Nicholas Oaten , who is still only five himself but has plenty of race experience, taking first prize from Daniel Faraone Horton and new rider Joe Lockhart. Joshua Webb won plenty of races when visiting Hersden in 2007 and will take plenty of stopping this year in the 8 and 9's group as he went unbeaten for the meeting. Matthew Newington though looks a quality addition to the track with an eyecatching display at the meeting to , not only take second in tha A final, but also the valued rider of the day award.
In 2005 , Michael Brooks won the 6 and 7 year old series, and in 2007 he won the 8 and 9 year series, in 2008 he is riding the 10 and 11 year class and he has almost made the perfect start in his bid for the clean sweep, dropping only one point and winning the A final ahead of Emmanuel Webb and George Bradford.
Daniel Sterling, always present and often winning, took the honours in the 12 to 13 years race with Kyle Brooks taking second and Bexhill's Duncan Mewett in third.
Adam Beale was the only rider entered for the 14 to 16 years group , with a couple of his rivals taking the chance to do the Masters, but he rode and takes maximum points for his age group. Last, but not least, the Hersden girls group produced some top action and it was local rider Natalie Edwards taking four wins out of four as she goes all out to improve on her third place in the 2007 series.
A top days racing , and although the snow was falling heavily by the time the finals came along, everyone who came seemed to enjoy themselves. Round two takes place on Sunday 18th May. Hope to see you all there.
Written By Tony Knott
posted by Steve
Saturday 05.04.08
SOUTH REGION ROUND 1 - DAGENHAM
East Kent BMX Club co-founder Russ Parsons from Herne was riding in the always entertaining Masters Class for riders over age 30 and dominated the motos and the A Final to give him top points from the day. Roy Binks had a third and a couple of fourths in his motos but fell back to 8th in the A Final. In the Cruiser Class young James Humphrey was riding against much older opposition in a combined group but still placed second in one of his motos and finshed 5th in the A Final.
Overall a good start for the Club in this eight round Summer Series that sees the riders heading to Andover on 13th April and then East Kent hosts Round 3 on 11th May.
Written By Alan Humphrey
posted by Steve
Saturday 29.03.08
EAST KENT BMX RIDERS @ NATIONAL ROUNDS 1 & 2
The cold weather of the Bank Holiday weekend did not deter a hardy few riders representing the East Kent BMX Club at Rounds 1 and 2 of the National BMX Series held at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. The track at Burnham is acknowledged as being one of the toughest in the country and the strong winds didn't make things at all easy for the riders. In the 6 and Under group young 'pocket rocket' Luc Baxter riding for Big Daddy Plates/GROOVE Racing did well to finish Round 1 with a 2nd in the B Final whilst the following day he dropped back a bit to 4th in the B. Luc's older brother Owen had a busy weekend riding in two classes with a 11/12 years Expert B Final placing of 7th on day one but he missed out on a final placing on the second day. His efforts in the 12 and Under Cruiser class were rewarded with a very creditable 3rd in Round 2.
Dan Pullen fought hard in a very large group of 13/14 year olds to finish 2nd in the B Final in Round 1 and improved his position to finish 7th in the A Final on day 2. Pete Lavender also upped his game on the second day after a B Final 7th in Round 1 and he stormed through to 2nd place in the A Final of the 15/16 year olds. Pete's travelling colleague Sam Richardson rode well in his first National event but missed out on a Final placing on both days. Representing the older riders was Lee Allen in 40+ Cruiser in which he missed out on a Final placing in Round 1 and came 3rd in the B Final the following day. Scott Waterhouse rides for East Kent and is sponsored by Dialled Bikes in the very hard 19+ group. On day one his luck was not with him and he could only manage 8th in the A Final but he made up for it in Round 2 by storming home in 1st place to give the Club and his sponsors a well-deserved win.
Written By Alan Humphrey
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posted by Steve
Sunday 16.03.08
SOUTH REGION SUMMER SERIES DATES
The South Region Summer Series race dates have now been finalised, so I've now added them to the race dates page. The first round is at Barking and Dagenham BMX club on 30th March - only 2 weeks away now! This is the closest club to ourselves at the moment, and is ideal for anyone wanting to try out a regional race without having to travel too far.
The first race that will be taking place at Herne Bay is regional round 3 on 11th May so make sure you put that in your diary. We should get time to hold a couple of practice sessions before that event so keep an eye on the site for news on this.
Here's a quick rundown of the series dates (more info on the race dates page):
| Round 1 - 30th March Barking & Dagenham BMX Club |
Round 6 - 6th July Milton Keynes |
| Round 2 - 13th April Andover BMX Club |
Round 7 - 20th July Barking & Dagenham BMX Club |
| Round 3 - 11th May East Kent BMX Club |
Round 8 - 3rd August Bournemouth |
| Round 4 - 1st June Brixton BMX Club |
Southern Championships - 28th September East Kent BMX Club |
| Round 5 - 22nd June Hayes Hawks BMX Club |
posted by Steve
Wednesday 12.03.08
EAST KENT BMX LOTTERY FUNDING
I don't know if you've seen it in the local paper or not, but we've managed to secure grant funding from the Awards For All/Lottery Fund. This means we can buy much needed equipment required to run races and maintain the track. We must say a huge thanks to committee member Alan Humphrey who spent many hours filling in funding forms and chasing the progress of our application. I'll let him explain further via this article he sent to the Herne Bay Gazette:
"East Kent BMX Club are delighted to announce that they have secured a grant from Awards for All to purchase equipment that will enable them to run BMX races and to maintain the track at Broomfield, near Herne Bay. The funding means that the Club can buy an air-ram mechanism and light units to be used in conjunction with the eight-man start gate which will be installed in early March.
The track at Broomfield has been built by Deacons Landscape for the Herne & Broomfield Parish Council and is a regeneration of a former landfill site and includes the Woodlands Country Park area as well. East Kent BMX Club hope to hold an official opening meeting in the Spring by which time the area should be fully grassed and fenced with a large car parking area to the side of it.
East Kent BMX Club are grateful to everyone involved in the building of the track which has received very favourable reports from all who have ridden it. The Awards for All funding will also let the Club buy a generator and compressor for power supply and a whacker-plate to aid track maintenance.
Whilst the Woodland Park area is still under construction, BMXers are asked to only visit the area at weekends when members of the BMX Club will usually be in attendance and will be happy to explain the sport which is being showcased at the Beijing Olympics this year."
posted by Steve
Friday 07.03.08
HERSDEN SUMMER RACE SERIES 2008
It's good to the hear that the Hersden Summer Race Series is taking place once again this year at the fantastic little track just outside Canterbury. I've added the dates and information to the race dates page and you can find directions to the track on the Kent tracks page. The Hersden races are a great way for beginners to get into racing as well as being awesome for older riders too.
It costs just £3 for junior riders to race, and the first round is on Sunday 6th April. We'll be there supporting the races when we can, so make sure you are too!
If you have any questions about Hersden just drop us an email and we'll try and answer them; if not we'll pass them on to someone who can.
posted by Steve
Saturday 16.02.08
HERNE BAY LATEST
Just a quick update on how things are going at the track.
Firstly, we've been donated a whacker plate by Deacons Landscapes as a thanks for all the work that Russ, Olly and Roy put into surfacing the track. This has enabled us to start repairing any weathering that has occurred over the winter so that everything's perfect come spring. Massive thanks to Deacon's for this, we'd be lost without it!
Secondly, as you can see from the photo the start gate/platform is complete and ready for delivery. Jim Lacey looks to have done an amazing job with it, and we can't wait to see it in the flesh! Our air ram mechanism which will drive the gate is also close to completion, so everything should be ready to use soon. Unfortunately the start hill is nowhere near ready for fitting, so we'll have to see what the plans are for this.
The car parking facility is also well underway and it shouldn't be long before this is also ready to use. Everything is coming together nicely and should all be in place well before the opening day, which is currently planned for Sunday 4th May. As soon as things are ready for us to hold official practice sessions at the track we'll post times etc. here.
More news to follow later this week.
