MATCH REPORT: Mould and Hookway claim first British titles
Wednesfield’s Ben Mould and Exeter’s Lauren Hookway became British Champions for the first time in a dramatic day at Exeter on Bank Holiday Monday in the British Individual Championships.
The 2016 Open Final saw two former champions withdraw before a wheel was turned. Four time champion Lee Aris, who qualified from the Southampton semi-final, withdrew following a recurrence of a back injury.
2010 British Champion Mark Boaler also missed out as the result of being caught up in traffic following a serious accident, which closed the M5 motorway.
Reigning World Over 40s champion, Craig Marchant, replaced Aris, whilst three time champion, Andy Angell, who initially missed out on qualifying from the Poole semi final, won a run-off against Hethersett’s Olly Buxton and Stockport’s Ben Higham, to take Boaler’s place. Buxton and Higham took the reserve spots.
Charlie Rumbold, the 2015 runner-up, Ben Mould, Myke Grimes and Angell won the first four races, before Angell made it two from two in heat 5 ahead of Paul Heard, Mould and Rumbold.
World number two Chris Timms made full use of his two grid ones in heats 8 and 9 to move onto 11 points. Angell then suffered his first defeat at the hands of 2015 champion Zac Payne in heat 12, while Grimes secured another race win in heat 10.
There were plenty of thrills and spills in an explosive final. Photo by Graham Robins.
Mould and Payne took their second wins in heats 15 and 16. This meant with four heats to go, Mould, Angell and Timms led the way with 13 points each, with Grimes and Osborne on 12, while Rumbold, Payne and Heard were not out of it on 11 a piece.
Of the top three riders going into the last four races, Timms was first to take his last ride in heat 18, but ran a last in a race which was won by debutant Ashley Hill.
Angell was next to take his last ride but fell and brought down Lee Kemp to earn himself an exclusion as being the cause of the stoppage. Grimes took the win to leave himself on 16 points, in the lead and sweating on the outcome of heat 20, which Mould needed to win to clinch the title.
Heat 20 will be one of the most talked about races in Cycle Speedway. Payne led the way from Osborne and Carmichael with Mould at the back.
If the race had stayed that way then Grimes would have been crowned champion, but coming out of the pits bend on the final corner of the final lap of the meeting, Payne and Carmichael tangled and brought down Osborne in the process, leaving Mould to slide through as the winner.
Attention immediately turned to referee, Colin Simmons, who deemed it as a “racing incident”, meaning that Mould won the race and became the first Welsh rider to win the championship with heartbreak at the death for Grimes.
WATCH: The controversial heat 20 of the 2016 British Open Final
Credit: Martyn Hepworth
Osborne picked up his bike and walked over the line for second in the race and third overall.
Post match the newly crowned champion, Ben Mould said: “Going into the last race I knew it had to be second place for a run off.
“It was an uphill task off gate four, and for three and three quarter laps I was out of it. I thought my chance had gone, but I tried to pass Lewis, and coming out of the bend I couldn’t believe Zac and Mark had fallen, but wasn’t sure if I had won it.
“I feel relieved more than anything that I’ve finally won it, and it’s great to be the first Welsh winner of the British title.”
2016 Champion, Ben Mould, with Myke Grimes (left) and Lewis Osbourne (right). Photo by Graham Robins.
Results
Ben Mould 17, Myke Grimes 16, Lewis Osbourne 15, Chris Timms 14, Andy Angell 13, Zac Payne 13, Paul Heard 13, Charlie Rumbold 13, Lee Kemp 12, Mark Carmichael 11, Jack Harrold 10, Aaron Herbert 10, Dave Hemsley 10, Jake Read 9, Ashley Hill 9, Craig Marchant 9.
Exeter’s Lauren Hookway followed up her success in the European Ladies Championship at Poole, by becoming the new British Ladies Champion on her home circuit with an immaculate maximum.
Poole’s Macie Schmidt, crowned British Under 16 Girls champion the day before took the runner-up position, dropping her only point to Hookway.
Of the four races that Schmidt won, her first race, heat 3, saw her defeat the outgoing champion Vicky Brown from Sheffield from the outside grids.
Brown, the reigning World Ladies Champion, took the final spot on the rostrum with 18 points, her other dropped point also coming at the hands of Hookway.
Macie Schmidt challenges Lauren Hookway. Photo by Graham Robins.
The 2014 British Ladies Champion Charlie-Jane Herbert, racing on her former home track, finished tied seventh, after surviving a clash with Leicester’s Chole Whitehead in the last race, which saw the Leicester rider excluded for “not leaving enough room for an opponent”, according to referee Mike Legge.
Another former champion, Leicester’s Lucy Whitehead, couldn’t repeat her showing from the European Championships, finishing up tied ninth.
Champion Hookway commented: “The final was brilliant. Even though I had two gate 1s, it was still difficult.
“I had to work hard in every race, which made it feel even more incredible getting the number one spot.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet that I managed to win, as it’s taken so many years to finally happen.
“I couldn’t have done it without the support I had on the day though, as I was so nervous due to getting a lot of pressure after winning the euros, but I managed to get through it.
“All the girls raced well, but this year thankfully was my time to shine.”
2016 Women’s Champion, Lauren Hookway, with Macie Schmidt (left) and Vicky Brown (right). Photo by Graham Robins.
Scores
Lauren Hookway 20, Macie Schmidt 19, Vicky Brown 18, Elizabeth Rigley 16, Laura Watson 15, Krissy Mines 15, Michelle Whitehead 14, Charlie-Jane Herbert 14, Lucy Whitehead 11, Chloe Preston-Albin 11, Niamh Morton 9, Sammi Marsh 9, Sophie Middleton 9, Jenna Whitehead 7, Chloe Whitehead 6.
Earlier in the day, home rider Will Tidball rode a flawless final to claim the British Under 16 title, ahead of Sheffield Edan Morton and Ipswich’s Pierce Bacon.
With thanks to Steve Copping for the report.