MATCH REPORT: Hull victory all but secures back to back titles

September 14, 2021 Steve Copping

Hull won round five of the Yorkshire League at their home circuit, to more or less confirm back to
back titles. Should Sheffield win the final round at the Cookson track they would finish on level
match points, Hull though have a commanding 17 point lead on race points.
Hull scored four maximum seven point heat scores, including an important heat 4 maximum from
David Cooper/Nathan Everett over Kyle Holland/Laura Watson. Ed Morton was imperious for
Sheffield, finishing unbeaten from his five starts. It was commendable to see Heckmondwike field a
team of five of their own riders, but this freed up Lewis Foxley to guest for Hull (scoring 8 points
from two race wins).

Scorers

Hull (62) – Nathan Everett-Atkinson 16+3, David Cooper 17+1, Jack Lister 13+1, Liam Bennett 8+2,
Lewis Foxley 8

Sheffield Stars (56) – Ed Morton 18+2, Kielan Burton 14, Kyle Holland 12+1, Laura Watson 12, Luke
Morton DNR

Heckmondwike Saints (38) – Justin Naylor 10, Daniel Green 6, Darren Kent 11, Thomas Kent 6, Pat
Beacock 5.

League Table
1.Hull 12.5 (race points 283)
2.Sheffield 11.5 (race points 267)
3.Heckmondwike 6 (226 race points)

A seasons best of 40 riders lined up for the Grand Prix series. There were 17 in the Junior (under
13’s) and 23 in the Senior. Eleven different riders won a race in the qualifying heats, Oliver Banyard
gaining a hat trick of wins. Hull new recruits Seb Minns and Polly Downs both managed two win
each. Sheffield made a clean sweep of the GP finals with Eddie Owolabi-Oshea, Oliver Banyard and
Lacey Ackroyd winning their finals. Eddie’s win in the Under 8’s confirmed his debut season ends
with a title winning performance. With one round remaining Sheffield have already claimed the
Individual winner in each of the four junior categories. Laythan Sharp (under 13 boys), Lacey Ackroyd
(under 13 Girls), Oliver Banyard (under 10’s) and Eddie Owolabi-Oshea (under 8’s). The junior racing
was marred by a nasty accident for Will Hollich, who we hope makes a full recovery.

GP Finals

Under 8 – 1st Eddie Owolabi-Oshea (Sheffield), 2nd Lincoln Ackroyd (Sheffield), 3rd Aiden Cromwell
(Sheffield), 4th Pooly Downs, 5th Maisie Martingdale.

Under 10 – 1st Oliver Banyard (Sheffield), 2nd Harry Gibson (Hull), 3rd Serraphina Green (Sheffield), 4th Seb
Minns (Hull), 5th Joseph Green (Heckmondwike), 6th Joseph, 7th Phoebe Cromwell (Sheffield), 8th Charlie Taylor (Sheffield), 9th Josh Geering (Hull), 10th Will Hollich (Hull).

Under 13 Girls – 1st Lacey Ackroyd, 2nd Kacey Bennett.

The senior GP saw fifteen different riders win at least one race, with nine of those managing two
wins (but no-one managed more). Ed Morton won the senior on his first appearance racing in the
competition this year. Nathan Everett’s second place in the Senior final was enough for him to
secure the title for 2021. Darren Kent won the Vets 55+ for his fifth successive win, the overall title
already claimed after winning round 4. Laura Watson won the Womens event unchallenged to give
her the overall series win, she finished second in the Senior B final. Laura’s win capitalised a good
day for Sheffield. Kielan Burton (under 18) and Will Banyard (vets 40-54) also finished the day with
enough points to be crowned overall 2021 champion.

GP Finals

Under 18 – 1st Kielan Burton (Sheffield), 2nd Sam Stansfield (Sheffield), 3rd Liam Bennett (Hull), 4th Daniel Green (Heckmondwike).

Women – 1st Laura Watson (Sheffield)

Vets 40-54 – 1st Luke Morton (Sheffield), 2nd Will Banyard (Sheffield), 3rd Justin Naylor (Heckmondwike), 4th Chris Green (Heckmondwike)

Vets 55+ – 1st Darren Kent (Heckmondwike), 2nd Patrick Beacock (Heckmondwike), 3rd Barry Ashton (Hull), 4th Stuart Hardaker (Heckmondwike), 5th Rich Pawson (Hull).

Senior – 1st Ed Morton (Sheffield), 2nd Nathan Everett-Atkinson (Hull), 3rd Lewis Foxley (Edinburgh), 4th Jack Lister (Hull), 5th David Cooper (Hull), 6th Kyle Holland (Sheffield), 7th Thomas Kent (Heckmondwike), 8th Patrick O’Shea (Sheffield), 9th James Logan (Hull).

The sixth and final round will be staged at Cookson on 3 rd October, with none of the Yorkshire region
clubs entering the British Team Cup.