CLUB NEWS: Hawks give good account of themselves at Hellingly

Words by mel Perkins, Photo by Jenny Melvin

HETHERSETT HAWKS / YELLOW BRICK MORTGAGES managed to get commitment from 12 riders for the long trip to Sussex to face Hellingly Lions in the South East League and, although the home side put their home track knowledge to good use, the Hawks gave a good account of themselves.

The Youth League match was staged first at Hethesett’s request and the Hawks fielded a very young team including four Under-10s, one of whom, six-tear-old Nyla El Labany, was probably the youngest ever to represent the Club in the regional league. Her brother Luca adapted to the track the best while Will Clarke rode consistently and Oscar Copeland looked sharper.

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(Luca El Labany 12, Will Clarke 10, Oscar Copeland 8, Thalia Silver 5, Nyla El Labany 4, Austin Brailey 4)

Rob Silver was the rider-of-the-match in the Division 2 match, only his second regional league outing. He rode steadily and the more experienced heat-leaders – Leigh Cossey and Paul Delaiche – also scored well. Again the home track advantage was clear to see but at least the score was kept respectable. Cossey and Rod Burke scored a 7-3 win in heat 10 while Silver and Nigel Longlands repeated the feat in heat 15.

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( Leigh Cossey 16+2, Paul Delaiche 16, Rob Silver 14, Rod Burke 9, Nigel Longlands 8+2, Katie Adams 4, Will Clarke 4, Oscar Copeland 1)

The previous day nine Hawks travelled to Ipswich for the second South-East Grand Prix and three finished runners-up in their categories’ “A” Finals – Luca El Labany in the Under-10s, Aiesha Musa in the Girls and Glyn Morgan in the Veterans. In the Under-10s the Hawks provided the winners in the “B”, “C” and “D” Finals – Ronnie Harding, Oscar Copeland and Arlo Davies respectively – while Austin Brailey rode well to finish third in the “B” Final. Amelia Dodson finished fourth in the Girls while Jamal Musa won a race-off to qualify for the “C” Final of the Under-12s where he finished third.

Riders were all ready to go at Harford Park on Wednesday evening when a torrential downpour flooded the track leading to the Norfolk Grand Prix round to be postponed. This round for Under-16s, Females (10+) and Seniors will now take place at Harford Park this Wednesday (7 p.m.)