MATCH REPORT: Rocket Richie in fine form

Saturday 29th September saw the 5th annual staging of the Jim Peck Memorial Trophy at the fast, floodlit Great Blakenham circuit.
Again, riders from all over the country had travelled to race in what is now becoming one of the best matches held in East Anglia. As the sun dropped over the Mill Lane circuit 16 of the nations best where keen to get racing.
Matt Hill took the spoils in heat one with Jonjo Slaughter of Blakenham and Liam Webster from Hethersett entertaining the crowd with a big pile up on the pit bend, Jonjo taking second and Liam dusting himself off to take 4 th behind Keanu Bowers. Heat two saw Adam Peck charge to the front and lead home Ash Hill, Chris Jewkes and Matt Smith. Another local lad Lewis Osborne led from start to finish in heat three. Heat 4 saw a win for Brandon Whetton from the 1st of his two gate ones, over British Champ Josh Brooke and the fast Richard Fellgett. His 2nd gate one didn’t quite go to plan as the fast-starting Matt Smith flew out of gate 3 and round the outside of Whetton to take the win.
Brooke took the win in heat six with Peck falling whilst battling with Osborne for 2 nd leaving Keanu Bowers to pick up the 3 rd place. Heat seven saw Fellgett spring back into life with a win over the Hill brothers and Blakenham rider Luke Harrison. Heat 8 saw will Bristowe of Poole not get his desired result from gate one and Chris Jewkes take the win. Will’s second gate one didn’t get much better, with Adam Peck going round from gate two to take the win. Will then had to retire due to ill health (hope you’re better now Will)
Lewis Brinkhoff showed he can more than mix it with the big boys by showing Fellgett and
Smith the way round in heat 9. Heat 10 saw Brooke struggle from a tough gate four but picked up what was to be a valuable third place behind Fraser Garnett and Jewkes.
Heat 12 was a win for Ash Hill from his 1 st of two gate ones, but he was caught napping on the pit bend by Brooke in his second and finished behind the Great Blakenham star. Jewkes took another win in 14, as did Matt Hill in 15. Heat 16 saw Fellgett on the 1 st of two ones, which he led from start to finish closely followed by Garnett with Peck finding a way past Slaughter, but leaving himself to much ground to make up on the others. Heat 17 saw Fellgett make another solid start to bag a maximum of 8 points from his two gate ones and put himself within touching distance of the winner’s shield. A good win for Ash Hill in heat 18 also put him on 17 the same as Fellgett. Heat 19 was a win for Peck meaning his tally wasn’t enough to get him on the podium for the 1st time since the meeting started.
So, heat 20. The final programmed race, Josh Brooke needing a win to make it a three-man run off for the title. Team mate Slaughter had other ideas, with a strong start he held Brooke from the gate and continued to do so for the next two laps, but as Slaughter exited the pit bend on lap two he lost grip and brought down himself and Brooke, giving the referee Terry Ashford no other choice but to exclude him from the re-run, which Brooke went on to win.
Now it wouldn’t be the Jim Peck Memorial without a run off would it!
Fellgett drew the inside grid, Ash Hill on gate three and home track hero Brooke was out on 4. Fellgett, as he did earlier in the match made the most of his inside gate leaving Ash and Josh to follow him home respectively.
The crowd where treated to some very fast and close racing, and from donations, raffle ticket sales and a very kind donation from the refreshment sales over £700 looks to be heading to the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Adam and his family would like to say a big thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this another great night’s entertainment, the riders, Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway Club and the very generous crowd.