CLUB NEWS: Norwich Stars-The Month of May
Sunday May 7th saw Norwich stage their first home South-East Division 2 match of the season against Great Blakenham and it was the Stars who emerged victorious by 88 points to 71. Paddy Wenn top scored with a paid maximum, 18+2 whilst Lee Grange scored 15+1, gary Colby 14, Jamie Medler 13, Harrie Everiss 12, David Adams 10, Tom Blackmore 4 and Jack Western 2
Round 2 of the Norfolk Go-Ride and grand Prix series was staged at Hethersett on Wednesday May 10th and 6 Norwich riders took part. The Under 12’s and Under 14’s raced together and Zackery Eastwood finished 4th overall in the A Final and 3rd Under 12 rider. Will Blackmore was awarded 2nd place in the C Final after withdrawing due to aggravating a knee injury. The Under 16 and Senior categories were raced together and harrie finished 3rd in the A Final ahead of jamie. Yom was 2nd in the B Final and Jack was 3rd in the C Final.
East Park in Wolverhampton was the venue for Round 3 of the EuroVets on Saturday May 13th and the Over 35’s and Over 40’s category saw Steve Copping score 12 points in the heats which saw him qualify for both of the B Finals. He finished 4th in the Over 35’s B Final and 3rd in the Over 40’s B Final which puts him in 5th place overall in the Over 35’s and 6th place overall in the Over 40’s. Paddy scored 16 points in the Over 50’s and Over 60’s heats to qualify for the Over 50’s A Final where he finished 4th to leave him 2nd overall in the Over 50’s category. The next round of this competition is at Exeter on Saturday June 24th.
The following day (Sunday 14th) saw the Stars make the trip to Hellingly for a South-East Division 2 match and they recorded their first away win for a number of years. Gary top scored with 19 points, losing only to the Lions’ Neil Hollebon. Lee scored 18+2, Paddy and Harrie scored 14+1 each, David scored 11+2 and Jamie 9+2 as the Stars won 83-73
The 3rd regional British Youth & Junior League round, which also doubled up as the 3rd round of the South-East grand Prix, was held at Whitton Sports Centre, Ipswich on Saturday 20th May with 3 riders representing Norwich. Zackery rode in the Under 12’s event and scored 11 points in the heats before going on to win the B Final to leave him 7th in the overall standings. Paddy and Steve rode in the Over 40’s where they raced with the Seniors and a sole Under 16 rider in the heats. Paddy scored 10 points and then won his 3rd consecutive A Final whilst 6 points for Steve saw him race in the B Final where he finished 2nd in a re-started race after coming off along with Great Blakenham’s Gavin Whitehouse in the initial attempt to run the race. Paddy currently leads the Over 40’s standings whilst Steve sits in 3rd place. The next round of this competition is at Hellingly on Saturday June 10th
The following day saw Round 3 of the Norfolk Go-Ride and grand Prix series staged at Harford Park. Zackery was 4th in the combined Under 12/Under 14 A Final and 3rd Under 12 rider on the day. He sits in 3rd place overall as well as 2nd in the Under 12’s. Will took the C Final which leaves him 5th in the Under 14 standings and 10th overall. The combined Under 16/Senior event saw Harrie take 2nd in the A Final and 1st Senior on the day. Jamie was 3rd in the A Final (2nd Senior). Tom and Jack finished 1st and 2nd in the B Final (5th and 6th overall on the day). In the combined standings Jamie is currently 3rd, Harrie is 4th, Jack is 5th and Tom is 6th. In the Senior Category those riders are 1 place higher.
5 Norwich riders have received call-ups for the Home Internationals which will be staged at Newport on Saturday 3rd June. Dave Blackmore, Paddy, Gary and Steve will don the colours of Ireland in the Over 40’s event whilst Tom will don the colours of Scotland in the Senior event
Norwich’s next match in South-East Division 2 take place on Sunday June 11th when Kesgrave are the visitors to Eaton Park. Training sessions take place most Tuesday evenings at Harford Park.