MATCH REPORT: BYJL Midlands Region Round 2

The second round of the Midlands regional competition at Wednesfield on Saturday proved to be a most successful day with 62 riders taking part, which was the biggest number for several seasons – with some riders still missing through holidays the hope is that the 70 rider number can be reached in the next two rounds.

On the track it was same again in the U8s as Coventry’s Jude Wilcockson lead home Liam Wells and Finley Youson, with home rider Joban Soori taking fourth place.

In the U10s Ronnie Wassall’s experience saw him again ride undefeated on the day, with Lewis Middleton and Tom Pearson repeating their second and third placings from the first round, and Peter Middleton taking fourth.

Connor Steel was back to winning ways in the U12s, which came down to a contest between him and Kyle Wells. With the scores one all from the qualifying heats it was Connor who took advantage of the inside grid to just lead Kyle home despite all his efforts. First time rider Jamie Breen from Birmingham had an excellent debut to take third place, with round one winner Jonathan Middleton having to settle for fourth place this time.

A better turnout meant the U14s could be run separately this time but the result was the same with a win for Ben Wells, this time ahead of Billy and Ryan Winwood. The final was rather an anti-climax with Tyler Bould, also unbeaten in the heats, moving at the gate and earning himself an exclusion.

In the all Leicester Girls final Lizzie Rigley won from Chloe Whitehead, Sophia Sinclair-Black and Honey Whitehead.

The U18s promised to be a lively group and it did not disappoint, with debutant Damien Pelaczyk certainly not afraid to make his presence felt with some forceful riding on his way to fourth place, just behind Ewan Hancox. The category of the competition has been dominated by Brandon Whetton with only a gate exclusion costing him the win in every Midlands final in the last three years, but this time he had to give way to team mate Carl Parfitt, who got in front and kept it that way no matter what Brandon tried, on his way to a memorable win to end an entertaining days racing.

Team scores on the day:
Little League – Coventry 95, East Park 72, Wednesfield 62, Leicester 14, Birmingham 12
BYJL – Coventry 115, Leicester 93, Wednesfield 84, Birmingham 80, East Park 46

Top four riders in each section are;
U8s – Jude Wilcockson 50, Liam Wells 40, Finley Youson 36, Ewan Turner 30
U10s – Ronnie Wassall 50, Lewis Middleton 40, Tom Pearson 36, Charlie Buet-Gannonn and Peter Middleton 30
U12s – Connor Steel 45, Jonathan Middleton 41, Kyle Wells 34, Jack Reynolds 29
U14s – Ben Wells 50, Alexsander Maslanka 33, Jude Painter 30, Billy Winwood 20
U18s – Brandon Whetton 45, Ewan Hancox 36, Ollie Morris 32, Cameron Gill, Jimmy Wassall and Max Wells all 27
Girls – Lizzie Rigley 50, Chloe Whitehead 40, Sophia Sinclair-Black 34, Honey Whitehead 30

Team competition placings:
Little League – Coventry 10, East Park and Wednesfield 7, Leicester 4, Birmingham 2
BYJL – Coventry 10, Leicester 7, Birmingham 6, Wednesfield 4, East Park 3