Redhill in Gloucestershire is one of Britain’s iconic 4X tracks. A venue that embraces everything that is so great about 4X. Great flowing track, great atmosphere and most of all a fun place to be. Riders and spectators love it. This is a venue that always showcases great racing and on Sunday it was no different.

With weather forecasts all week saying that a wet weekend was in store, on Saturday they were right – but only for the morning. In the afternoon the track dried out and by Saturday evening the track was in perfect condition.

Sunday morning arrived and surprisingly, there was still no rain! Would we be lucky and avoid the rain that all forecasts had talked about….

Practice got underway at 09.30 and and all the riders got going. The first turn is tight at Redhill, so you could see riders starting to look at lines in that turn especially, but also using insides on several other turns. With a completely new lower section, what was once just 1 turn had changed into 3 and this was looking like a great new section for racing. Redhill is famous for passing, so riders were looking for the places they would use in racing.

After the motos finished there were some clouds and the rain started falling. Luckily about 5 minutes later it stopped and the rain actually made the track even better. With no dust, the track was prime for the finals.

I think it’s safe to say that every race had some drama throughout the day. By finals time we were down to the fastest men and women and the action unfolded. In the rippers class, Tyla Rosser is looking more and more like the future 4X star. Taking the win in Redhill ahead of Ryhs Mahon and Callum Greenwood. Big fun was won by Tom Price after some great racing all day from these new comers to the sport. Harry Fernihough rode great all day to take the win in Juveniles, whilst Stuart Burrows worked hard for the win in Youth. Juniors and it was Reece Richards who came out on top ahead of Connor Hudson and JJ Scott. Seniors and it was great to see French rider Charry Givennet taking the win. in the very competitive Masters race, it was Stephen Russell who eventually clawed his way to victory ahead of Nick Hill and Chris Smith.

Some of the best racing this year has been in the vets. Paddy Baker had the lead from turn 1, but Ben Rafferty once again used the track to his advantage and passed on the split line straight. Great riding from Ben.

In the women’s category, the fantastic rise in numbers in 2014 continued as 14 women entered and as with every other British race the women’s racing was some of the best all day.

The final for Elite women lined up in the gate for the final. Cara Murray took gate 1, Liz Fowler 2, Megan Wherry in 3 and Heather Kay in 4. The gate dropped and Cara took the lead into turn 1. Wherry was close behind with Liz Fowler in 3rd. On the split straight Fowler made a great move and went into 2nd. Heather Kay followed her through into 3rd. Cara was under pressure but across the finish line it was Murray ahead of Fowler and Kay with Wherry in 4th.

In the elite men’s class, the was tight racing all day. After the motos Scott Beaumont, Lewis Lacey and Nathan Parsons were all unbeaten. In semi final 1 it was Beaumont who rode a perfect lap ahead of Leon Rosser who would transfer to the main final. Jack Hudson and Alex Metcalfe were out. In semi final 2 it was Lewis Lacey who took the win with a big battle for 2nd position between Parsons and Duncan Ferris. Across the finish Parsons crashed in the final turn and slid across the finish but it wasn’t enough. Ferris claimed the final position.

In the B final it was a tight battle between Parsons and Will Evans but in the end it was Nathan Parsons who took the win and with it 5th position for the day.

Onto the main final for Elite Men. Gate 1 was Beaumont, 2 was Lacey, 3 was Leon Rosser with Duncan Ferris on 4. The gate dropped and Beaumont got the snap leading into turn 1.  It was tight in turn 1 as everyone fought for position. Lacey was in 2nd and fighting hard. Heading into turn 2, Lewis was pushing to close the gap on Beaumont and his front wheel washed out. Ferris and Rosser piled into the back of Lacey and it was carnage. Beaumont was gone; although it looked like he did not know what had happened as he pushed hard all the way to the finish line! In the scramble, it was Rosser who got going fastest and claimed 2nd position ahead of Ferris and Lacey rolled down in 4th.

Results

The next event for the Schwalbe British 4X Series will be on July 19th/20th at Bridgnorth in Shropshire for rounds 4 and 5 of the Series. For more information on the Schwalbe British 4X Series, visit:

www.british4x.com
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