CLUB NEWS: Hawks finally return to league racing
Report by Mel Perkins, Photos by Jenny Melvin
HETHERSETT HAWKS / YELLOW BRICK MORTGAGES finally got back into regional league racing after 21 months when they raced at Eaton Park against Norwich Stars in the new South East Combination League. With top riders unavailable it was always going to be a difficult start but with Ben Loombe winning five of his six starts and son McKenzie impressing too they were able to contain the home side. Paul Delaiche worked some good positions with experienced partner Katie Adams to keep the Hawks in contention. A 7-3 win by Paul and Ben in the penultimate heat brought the Hawks to within four points but the same pair were unable to repeat that in the final heat as the home riders settled for a 5-5 draw and overall victory. Gareth Mott made his competitive debut.
NORWICH 82 HETHERSETT 78
(Ben Loombe 22+1, Paul Delaiche 17+1, McKenzie Loombe 15+2, Rod Burke 8, Aiesha Musa 6+1, Katie Adams 5+1, Gareth Mott 3, Will Clarke 2)
The Hawks’ Youth team finally got their chance to compete at regional level with McKenzie Loombe again on form winning three races and there was also a win for Will Clarke in heat 12. The Norwich side had much more team experience and were able to create opportunities to progress the scores but the Hawks are learning fast. Louis Marling made his team debut as a substitute.
NORWICH U16 74 HETHERSETT U16 56
(McKenzie Loombe 14+1, Will Clarke 11, Luca El Labany, 10 Aiesha Musa 9, Thalia Silver 3+1, Jamal Musa 3+1, Louis Marling 3+1, James Hankey 3)
Both teams are back in action this Sunday at Ipswich.