NEWS: Bumper weekend of action for Coventry
Coventry Devlins Newsagents Cycle Speedway club face a bumper weekend of race action with no fewer than three official matches in a hectic 24 hour period.
Several of their fast improving junior racers will head for the big East Park, Wolverhampton, track for Saturdays (30th August) 3rd national round of the British Junior League. Girl racer Bailie Phillips is currently the best placed Coventry rider in the overall standings.
On Sunday (31st August), the action swings to the clubs` home Hearsall Common raceway, for a double header involving all the clubs vast array of junior talent.
The racing will get underway at 2pm, with the staging of the Coventry Under 13s final. There will be a new champion unveiled, as last year’s winner Josh Marsh is now too old. Sixteen riders, mostly from Coventry, will be battling for championship glory.
The leading contenders with be Devlins Newsagents pair Spencer Sawbridge and Ollie Morris. Both have blossomed into star junior status this year, with Sawbridge`s progress helped by the acquisition of a new £600 machine, whilst Morris has performed well in the British Junior League.
Jimmy Wassall will also present a stern challenge. The Binley based youngster, who races for Leicester, always flairs well at Hearsall Common and was recently successful in the Coventry Junior Best Pairs held at the Earlsdon venue.
Coventry Under 13s Final line-up (To be confirmed, not in draw order): Ollie Morris, Sammi Marsh, Jack Reynolds, Adam Dickinson, Jack Bayliss, Spencer Sawbridge, Levi Walters, Harley Webb, Jimmy Wassall, Sam Slatter, Ryan Winwood, Ronni Wassall, Josh Walters, Ben Wells, Mark Phipps and Billy Bloor.
Following on at 3.30pm, round 2 of the new Coventry Junior League takes centre stage, sponsored by Cycle Coventry.
The event, newly introduced this year to provide extra racing for Coventry area juniors, brings back famous old Cycle Speedway names from the past, including Brandon Bees, Warwick Royals and Earlsdon Hammers.
Teams (to be confirmed): Brandon Bees (1 Matt Hambridge 2 Josh Marsh 3 Sammi Marsh 4 Jack Bayliss 5 Josh Walters). Warwick Royals (1 Shaun Reynolds 2 Jake Slatter 3 Spencer Sawbridge 4 Sam Slatter). Earlsdon Hammers (1 Dan Drewett 2 Ollie Morris 3 Adam Dickinson 4 Harley Webb). Coventry Devlins (1 Charlie Barnett 2 Jimmy Wassall 3 Levi Walters 4 Ronnie Wassall 5 Josh Walters).
For the first time in over three decades, Coventry Cycle Speedway club proudly fielded riders in both the British Senior and British Junior Individual championships, held this year in the Manchester area, culminating in Mondays British Finals day at Bury.
Grimes, an IT technician by trade, qualified directly through to the final from Saturday`s qualifiers with a 15 point haul from his five rides. It was Grimes’ second British Final appearance after making his debut in 2012 in Newport.
A shaky start made any chance of winning the event near impossible for Grimes who, unfortunately, slipped on his pedals during his opening ride only to then fall off after battling his way through into first in his second outing.
The large number of travelling Coventry fans made plenty of noise for their clubs number 1 however in heat 10 as he won in scintillating style. A further third place finish, followed by a fourth, ensured Grimes totalled 9 points.
The final was eventually won by Hull’s Andy Angell, who vowed onlookers at the glittering Coventry staged British Final last year, to complete a hat trick of wins for the Humberside rider.
After the meeting, a satisfied Grimes said “My fall in my second ride didn’t help whilst I was leading, I felt a decision in my fourth ride went against me when I hit the deck and obviously losing my pedals in my opening race but it happens, that’s racing.
“I’ve got to thank all Coventry members for making the trip up and supporting me, when I won heat 10 I think it was one of the loudest cheers of the day which gave me a real buzz.”
Meanwhile in the British Junior Final, Kyle Roberts also fell short of a podium finish as the Bretford based rider finished the meeting on nine points. Roberts opened brightly but caught his foot in his wheel second time out and whilst always in the mix, he failed to get the breaks he needed to challenge for the major positions.
For more information on Coventry Cycle Speedway, including how to get involved, you can visit www.coventrycsc.com or follow the club on Twitter using @CoventryCSC