MATCH REPORT: Birmingham host Second City Trophy success

Birmingham Monarchs signed off for 2016 with their annual Second City Trophy last Sunday.

Three meetings were included on the day with the line ups jam packed with talent from all across the country, some riders travelling from as far as Poole and Exeter to race for glory.

The first meeting of the day was for the youngsters made up primarly of home grown promising talent with riders aged 10-14. The title went to Hamstead racer Marc Phipps on 19 points. The 14 year dropped his only point in his opening race after slipping his pedal out the start.

Runners up spot deservedly went to William Arkinstall on 18 points. He also should have finished on 19 points after trying not to lap a team mate on the last lap, he got caught on the line by Coventry’s Jack Reynolds.

However, luck was on Arkinstall’s side as he faced a 3 rider run off for rostrum places. He took the win despite huge pressure from Ryan Winwood, who fell whilst challenging for the lead, giving 3rd place on the day to 10 year old Connor Steel.

Next up were the juniors which included some bright stars of the future. Home hopes were raised after 16 year Monarch Ewan Hancox raced to 4 wins with the last batch of races to complete.

With a star studded heat 20 to come, various permutations existed as to just who would claim the top prize but the pressure was all on the Birmingham rider.

Hancox made a decent start but got caught in traffic out the 4th bend and his battle was still on. He had to contend with fellow contender Damian Pelaczyk, who had hopes of taking the title himself having only dropped a point also.

The battle for the podium continued with Hancox putting in a hard move on the Polish youngster to secure 3rd place in the heat.

This put Hancox up against East Park rider Zac White in a run off for the title.  It was the Wolves rider who lead from the inside grids and held the challenge throughout. Bury youngster Kaysar Mohammadi took 3rd on 17 points.

The final event of the day was the senior title with a top class line up present. Victory went to Ipswich star Josh Brooke who dropped his only point to home man Timms to finish on 19 points, he certainly proved to be the most consistent rider in the field.

Three riders tied on 18 points for the remaining rostrum places with Timms joined by Horspath and former British Champion Zac Payne, whilst the exciting Australian Cody Chadwick completed the trio. Chadwick provided plenty of entertainment and was the only rider who recovered from a tapes exclusion and the penalty of having to start 5 metres back to win the race.

In the run off, the Aussie took the win with Timms adrift at the back, Payne took 3rd overall.

SECOND CITY TROPHY

YOUTH – 1st Marc Phipps 19 2nd William Arkinstall 18, 3rd Connor Steel 18 Ryan Winwood 18, Jack Reynolds (Coventry)17, Dylan Hawtin 14, Rebekah Humphries 14, Jamie Breen 13, Alex Heagren 12, Josh Davies 12, Aiden Parker 10, Charlie Buet Gannon 9, Ben Heagren 8, James Morris 7, Adam Gill 6.

JUNIORS – 1st Zak White (East Park) 18, 2nd Ewan Hancox (Birmingham) 18, 3rd Kaysar Mohammadi  (Bury) 17, Will Jeffrey  (Horspath) 16, Damian Pelaczyk  (Leicester) 16, Jake White  (East Park) 16, Frazer Garnett  (Poole) 16, Callum Smith (Poole) 14, Devon Campbell (Stockport) 12, Ben Wells (Coventry) 11, Josh Hill (East Park) 9, Cameron Gill (Brandon) 9, Charlie Barnett  (East Park) 9, Asim Hussain  (Bury) 8, Jake Steel (Birmingham) 6, Sammi Marsh (Coventry) 4.

SENIORS – 1st Josh Brooke (Ipswich) 19, 2nd Cody Chadwick  (Ipswich) 18, 3rd Zac Payne (Horspath) 18, Chris Timms  (Birmingham ) 18, Ben Higham  (Stockport) 15, Kris Ramsden  (Bury) 13, Frazer Garnett (Poole) 12, Will Owens  (Bury) 11, Charlie Rumbold (Ipswich) 11, Ashley Hill (Ipswich) 10, Ewan Hancox  (Birmingham) 10, Adam Watson (Sheffield) 10, Dave Hemsley  (Leicester) 9, Aaron Herbert (Exeter) 9, Devon Campbell  (Stockport) 7, Ricki Johnson (Birmingham) 7, Jake Steel (Birmingham) 3.

Birmingham’s presentation night will be on Friday 18th November from 7.30pm. Tickets will be £5 per person or a family ticket for £12. Pay on the night.