Report by Eob Mawhood

Sheffield Stars were in record breaking mood for Round Two of the Yorkshire League at a dry and Sunny Cookson Park Raceway.
Two hours of track watering gave a reasonable race surface for the team match. League leaders Hull were missing Noah Lyon, Lewis Foxley and Jason Keith from round one. Sheffield added Kielan Burton and Aiden Owen to the team that finished runners up. Heckmondwike had former Sheffield rider Joe Brownell in to replace Justin Naylor. Sheffield recorded 7 point race wins in all the team races but had to work extremely hard for the points when up against the Hull pairing of Jack Lister and Harry Gibson. Heat 10 saw Pawel Idziorek ride a masterful race to pass race leader Jack, bringing through Oliver Banyard, and then protecting the Stars youngster perfectly. Heat 12 was the race of the day. Jack and Harry were in a 7-3 position after the first corner before Aiden Owen made a pass that got him the lead. Kieran Hale was probing every corner, eventually passing both Harry and Jack on lap four.
Though Sheffield were cruising in first place the battle for second was a close affair. Jack and Harry took a 6-4 and 7-3 over Hull in the early races. Heckmondwike hit back with Pat Beacock/Lee Warhurst and Darren Kent/Elliott Long gaining 7-3’s over Kacey Bennett/Ryan Tompkinson. An unfortunate tapes infringement from Joe Brownell ment Heckmondwike led by just one as we entered the individual races. Another tapes infringement from Joe in heat 13 meant Hull were still only one point behind. Elliott Long then passed Kacey Bennett to give Heckmondwike a two point cushion. Sheffield were further increasing their lead with race wins for Kielan and Aiden. Pat Beacock couldn’t quite catch Harry Gibson in heat 15, leaving one point between Hull and Heckmondwike as we entered the final race. Jack Lister shot away from grid two with Oliver Banyard in hot pursuit from grid 4.
The Sheffield youngster was deserving of his place in the top scorers race, chasing Jack for the full four laps. Jack’s win and Darren Kent’s third place made Hull leapfrog Heckmondwike by one point for second place. Sheffield ended with a record breaking 71 points (out of a possible 72).


Team scores


Sheffield (71) – Pawel Idziorek 9+3, Oliver Banyard 19, Kieran Hale 16, Kielan Burton 13+3, Aiden Owen 14+2.

Heckmondwike Saints (41) – Pat Beacock 9+1, Lee Warhurst 7, Darren Kent 10+1, Elliott Long 10, Joe Brownell 5.

Hull (42) – Kacey Bennett 10, Ryan Tompkinson 6, Jack Lister 14+1, Harry Gibson 12.

Referee – Niall Morton.

Hull dominated the Junior (under 13) Grand Prix series. Winning both the under 10 & 13 finals. Harry Gibson was unbeaten in all five starts to claim the under 13 win. Joseph Green (Heckmondwike) taking second place. Alexis Woodcock won the under 10’s , Sheffield’s Teddy Pickstone took fourth place.

Finals positions

Under 13 – Harry Gibson (Hull), Joseph Green (Heckmondwike), Sophia Temple (Hull), Aaliyah Temple (Hull), Katiya Omunyana (Hull).

Under 10 – Alexis Woodcock (Hull), Tommy Tenwick (Hull), Penny Tenwick (Hull), Teddy Pickstone (Sheffield), Bella Tenwick (Hull)

Referee – Rob Mawhood

By now the track was getting very dry and dusty, but the racing was still fast and close. The senior GP series saw 14 riders line up, with twelve riders winning at least one race under the ladder format. Pawel took three wins, with Oliver and Kacey managing double race wins.


Final positions


Open – 1st Pawel Idziorek (Sheffield), 2nd Jack Lister (Hull), 3rd Kielan Burton (Sheffield), 4th Aiden Owen (Sheffield), 5th Matt Parrott (Sheffield), 6th Joe Brownell (Heckmondwike), 7th Ryan Tompkinson (Hull).


Under 16 – 1st Noah Lyon (Hull), 2nd Oliver Banyard (Sheffield)


Girls – 1st – Kacey Bennett (Hull)


Vet 40-54 – 1st – Wil Banyard (Sheffield), 2nd Lee Warhurst (Heckmondwike)


Vet 55+ – 1st Darren Kent (Heckmondwike), 2nd Pat Beacock (Heckmondwike)

Referee – Niall Morton