CLUB NEWS: Stars in action in EuroVets and Norfolk GP

The opening EuroVets round at Horspath saw Paddy Wenn flying the flag for Norwich where he rode in the combined Over 50 & Over 60 event. they raced in 2 formulas, a 12 rider and a 9 rider formula. Paddy rode in the 9 rider formula and was unbeaten in his 1st 4 races but ran a last in his final race to finish on 17 points and subsequently taking victory in the Over 50’s B Final.

Wednesday April 20th saw the opening Norfolk Grand Prix Round at Hethersett for Under 8, Under 10 & Under 13 riders. 3 riders represented Norwich, Stanley Budds, Will Blackmore and Zachary Eastwood. All 3 riders qualified for the A Finals in their respective age groups with Stanley taking 2nd in the Under 10’s A Final, a result which Will matched in the Under 13’s A Final which saw Zachary finish 4th.

Saturday 30th April saw the EuroVets have their 2nd round at Wednesfield and it saw Steve Copping taking to the track for the first time in 2022 having missed the opening South-East Grand Prix round and the Eurovets opener due to contracting Covid-19. Steve rode in the Over 35 & Over 40 event, scoring 10 points which wasn’t enough to qualify him for any of the finals but puts him 16th in the Over 35 standings and 13th in the Over 40 standings. Paddy had a problematic journey to Wednesfield (including picking up a puncture which necessitated a trip into Kettering to rectify) but overcame those problems to finish on 16 points, the same as Birmingham’s Paul Timms. Paddy took the final place in the Over 50’s A Final by virtue of the fact he finished ahead of Timms when the 2 riders met in the heats and subsequently finished 2nd in this to put him 3rd overall ahead of the next round at Glasgow on May 22nd.

The Stars have a busy few days ahead with a Norfolk Grand Prix at Harford Park tonight (Wednesday) at 7 pm for Undeer-16s, Females (10+) and Seniors. The 2nd round of the British Youth & Junior League & South East Grand Prix takes place at Ipswich’s Whitton Sports Centre on Saturday then on Sunday the Stars welcome Great Blakenham to Eaton Park for South-East League matches in Division 1, Division 2 and the Youth League.

5 Norwich riders have received International call-ups for the Home Internationals at Fife on Saturday May 21st. Paddy Wenn, Dave Blackmore & Steve Copping will be competing for Ireland in the Over 40’s event which will be followed by the Junior event which will feature Tom Blackmore racing for Scotland and Shaun Kell racing for the Ireland Select team