HSBC | UK ELITE GP: Brooke and Bacon scoop crowns, Mould and Watson win final round
Great Blakenham’s Josh Brooke won the inaugural HSBC | UK Elite GP title in the elite men’s class, despite finishing second to round winner, Ben Mould (pictured leading by Andy Whitehouse).
With the best three of four scores counting to final totals, Brooke’s two wins and a second pipped Mould’s two wins and a third to take the gold.
A favourable draw took the pressure off Brooke, but he knew any slip ups could be costly and delivered a measured performance. Mould did what he needed to do but with their nearest rivals unable to make inroads late in the meeting, there was little more he could do to prevent Brooke’s title.
Josh Brooke leads heat 10. Photo by Andy Whitehouse.
Meanwhile, a run off for third, fourth and fifth on the day was required between Lukasz Nowacki, Myke Grimes and Tomek Wlodarcykz.
Nowacki raced away from grid one with Grimes passing Wlodarcyzk to claim fourth and third overall.
Extra money for setting the track record was on hand, which Grimes staked a claim for in heat 5 to add to his Cookson Park track record earlier in the season, only for Lukasz Nowacki to match it a few heats later and share the prize money.
Elite men series medalists (L-R): Paul Heard, Ben Mould, Josh Brooke, Myke Grimes and Lukasz Nowacki
Nowacki did enough to finish fifth ahead of Paul Heard, who picked up the final medal. Lewis Osborne had already done enough to secure fourth and did not appear in the round due to work commitments.
Elite Men Round 4 Result
1st Ben Mould
2nd Josh Brooke
3rd Lukas Nowacki
4th Myke Grimes
5th Tomek Wlodarcyzk
Elite Men final standings
1st Josh Brooke
2nd Ben Mould
3rd Myke Grimes
4th Lewis Osborne
5th Lukas Nowacki
6th Paul Heard
In the elite junior, Pierce Bacon claimed the title despite being on holiday, as Ed Morton was denied the 25 points required by team mate Adam Watson, in doing so Watson snuck ahead of Poole’s Fraser Garnett to take third overall.
It took two run offs to decide the round as the two Sheffield riders went head to head, Watson holding off Morton’s challenge from inside grids.
Garnett was able to keep home rider Max Evans at bay to take third in the round.
Elite junior class top 6 (L-R): Macie Schmidt, Max Evans, Ed Morton, Adam Watson, Fraser Garnett and Lewis Foxley. Photo by Alisdair Foxley.
A&T’s home rider, Max Evans, took fifth spot in the final standings in the series with Macie Schmidt claiming a deserved final medal spot overall.
Elite Junior Round 4 Result
1st Adam Watson
2nd Ed Morton
3rd Fraser Garnett
4th Max Evans
5th Lewis Foxley
6th Macie Schmidt
Elite Junior final standings
1st Pierce Bacon
2nd Ed Morton
3rd Adam Watson
4th Fraser Garnett
5th Max Evans
6th Macie Schmidt
All in all, the HSBC | UK Elite GP has been a real success. In the elite men’s class each round had at least a 16 strong rider final with over 30 unique riders taking part throughout the series.
The elite junior class has suffered with numbers at times but there is still room for the competition to grow and build on.