MATCH REPORT: South East & East scorch to a double win at Cookson

The South East and East region remain unbeaten in the Supertrax Battle of Britain series after winning by 108-91 in the senior match at Cookson yesterday afternoon.

With cloudless skies and soaring temperatures, the race track was very dry and dusty, despite the best efforts of the Sheffield track staff on preparing a top racing surface. There would be fine margins between success and failure, which led to some very interesting races. Some riders would go from last to first, with others unfortunately going the other way, and their were a few unexpected spills.

SE&E provided the race winner in seven of the first ten races, as they took control of the match to lead by 56-44 at the halfway point. The one maximum heat win came in heat 2, Matt Hill and Lewis Osborne profiting after Andy Angell came off after getting tangled up with Hill.

Andy Angell tangles with Matt Hill

Angell set the fastest race time in heat 11, going home £10 better off from sprinting round in 38:56. Two races later, Richard Fellgett put the time under serious pressure, winning in 38:66. Josh Brooke pushing his team mate round as the SE&E gained a second maximum 7-3.

Two more maximums followed in the next three races as the visitors sealed victory by heat 17. The N&S finished strongly, Steve Harris rolling back the years with race wins in heats 18 and 19 as he went on to top the scores for N S. Pawel Idziorek, a former Sheffield elite rider, was some what subdued but took two race wins. The visitors scored solidly from 1-8, with only Leon Mower and Harrison Bacon not gaining a race win.

North and Scotland 91
Ben Higham 14, Adam Watson 8+1, Andy Angell 16+2, Paul Graham 10, Pawel Idziorek 16, Steve Harris 17, Devon Campbell 4, Lewis Foxley 6.

South East and East 108
Josh Brooke 17+2, Richard Fellgett 14, Lewis Osborne 14+1, Matt Hill 15 +1, Leon Mower 10+2, Ashley Hill 16+1, Harrison Bacon 7+1, Pierce 15.

Referee Darren Kent

The junior match saw the two unbeaten teams going head to head. The teams traded eight 6-4 results in the first half, SE & E going into the interval with a 52-48 lead. Both teams providing five race wins, the outstanding Lewis Brinkhoff with three for SE&E.

With the teams separated by just four points (78-82) the match turning point came in heat 17. Ed Morton led with Louis Wright making an audacious outside pass on Pierce Bacon. The dusty track meant Wright had to put his leg well out to navigate the corner, Bacon coming down leading to a re-run with Wright excluded.

Morton led the re-run, only for Ben Clarke make a great move to attempt a pass on turn three of the first lap. The move was unsuccessful for himself, but provided a gap that Bacon gleefully exploited to race away for the heat win.

The visitors now led by seven, seeing out the last three races with two drawn heats and a final race 6-4, after turning over a N&S 7-3 position. Michael Preston was the only N&S rider to win more than one race, while Lewis Brinkhoff returned a superb 24 point maximum for SE&E.

The meeting fastest race time (and £10 winner) was set by Pierce Bacon in heat 19 with a time of 40:03.

North and Scotland 95
Ed Morton 16+1, Max Evans 16+1, Michael Preston 20, Louis Wright 6, Ciaran Collins 12, Devon Campbell 14+2, Kaysor Mohammedi 7+1, Lewis Foxley 4.

South East and East 104
Tyler Brinkhoff 7, Harrison Bacon 19+1, Ben Clarke 10+1, Lewis Brinkhoff 24, Adam Cooper 11, Pierce Bacon 20+1, Ethan Mitchell 7, James Porter 6.

Referee Andy Schofield

For the second year running, this new competition provided a great afternoons entertainment, far better than watching England. Though the crowd cheered every one of the three lions’ goals, courtesy of Radio Five Live.