Greenwood claims record sixth win

AFTER the self-proclaimed world record 103 races in January, the February amateur meeting at Scunthorpe had a mere 96 heats with sixty-seven riders. Despite a couple of unexpected heavy showers the track rode superbly and the meeting was completed in around six and a half hours. Leading the way in the Open Class once again was Peterborough’s Oliver Greenwood with his record-breaking sixth victory with the Cradley Heath pairing of Nathan Greaves and Danny Phillips filling the podium.

Although Greenwood was unbeaten in his six rides he didn’t have to face Workington’s Kyle Howarth who pulled out of the meeting after completing four victories and Arron Mogridge actually led the A Final for two laps before spinning out.

In the Support Class Liam Sanderson secured the Winter Series title with his third win in four meetings and he will make the step up to the Open Class in the next meeting, just nine months after starting out with Wayne Carter on the Scunthorpe mini track. Scooter Webster was the other star of the class, in just his second meeting whilst in the Novice Class Paul Bowen made a remarkable debut. After two retirements and a non-start he managed a pair of third places before winning the C, B and A finals. Luke Whitehead and Jack Flynn had dropped just one point between them in qualifying when Whitehead won one of the races of the day. However, Whitehead’s unbeaten afternoon was spoilt when he spun out at the end of the first lap of the final whilst Flynn was pipped by the fast-improving Bowen.

In the junior classes Jack Parkinson-Blackburn headed the 500s, Ben Woodhull won the 250s and Harry McGurk in a keenly contested 125s. In the 125s Kyle Bickley nearly turned round a troubled afternoon after winning the C and B finals whilst Jamie Halder looked set to go through the meeting unbeaten after coming from third to first in the final. However, an electrical problem caused his bike to lose power and he had to settle for third.

In the non-speedway classes Tim Greig won the Flat Track, Elvis Jones the Adult Pit Bikes and Bailey Fellows the Juniors 110s.

A couple of heavy showers, a floodlight failure, a burst air fence and a starting gate failure were all dealt with efficiently and afterwards organiser Richard Hollingsworth paid tribute to everyone involved with running the meetings. “It is quite incredible what we achieve some times”, he said. “The track team gave us a pretty impressive track to start with but the speed with which we coped with all the problems that were sent our way was quite something. I’m so proud to be involved with this club and what we do to further the development of British riders.

“That is now further enhanced by the new Stags team in the National League which will feature at least six of the best prospects from our amateur meetings. We want to give British talent the chance to get as much track time as possible and this is an on-going thing. Even once we have decided which seven riders will ride for the Stags there will always be opportunities through 2014 and beyond for riders who impress at the amateur meetings. I’m kind of surprised there were only nine riders in the Open Class without a 2014 team place but hopefully the message will get across and we will see more and more riders challenging for National League opportunities”, concluded Hollingsworth.

The meetings run by the club are open to riders of all abilities and they can compete in as many or as few rounds as they want. The final Winter Series meeting takes place on Saturday 1st March and places can be reserved by contacting Richard Hollingsworth via email (richard@scunthorpespeedway.com), Facebook (www.facebook.com/rh1967) or phone (07832-402167 – please text or leave a message if unavailable).

Open Class:
Qualifying scores:
Oliver Greenwood 15, Kyle Howarth 12 (four rides), Nathan Greaves 12, Danny Phillips 11, Arron Mogridge 11, Luke Harris 9, Adam Extance 9, Sam Woods 7, David Holt 7, Max Clegg 6, Tyler Govier 5, Krystian Bialecki 3, Tom Braddock 1, Cameron Hoskins 0 (1 ride), Adam Kirby 0 (0 rides).

C Final: Govier, Holt, Bialecki, Braddock, 62.0
B Final: Mogridge, Extance, Woods, Govier (ret),61.6
A Final: Greenwood, Greaves, Phillips, Mogridge (f.exc) awarded

Winter Series points: Oliver Greenwood 16, Nathan Greaves 15, Danny Phillips 14, Arron Mogridge 13, Kyle Howarth 12, Adam Extance 11, Sam Woods 10, Tyler Govier 9, Luke Harris 8, David Holt 7, Krystian Bialecki 6, Tom Braddock 5, Max Clegg 4, Cameron Hoskins 3, Adam Kirby 2.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Oliver Greenwood 63 (16-16-15-16), Arron Mogridge 45 (12-10-10-13), Max Clegg 42 (14-13-11-4), Danny Phillips 38 (11-13-14), Damien Koppe 31 (15-16), Luke Harris 31 (9-8-6-8), Matt Williamson 29 (15-14), Krystian Bialecki 28 (8-9-5-6), Adam Allott 26 (12-14), Ryan MacDonald 24 (10-7-7), Adam Extance 19 (8-11), Nathan Greaves 18 (3-15),Tyler Govier 15 (6-9), Tommy Fenwick 13, Liam Carr 12, Kyle Howarth 12, David Holt 12 (5-7), Shane Waldron 11, Sam Woods 10, Tom Woolley 9, Tom Braddock 9 (4-5), Lee Springthorpe 7, Andrew Blackburn 6, Cameron Hoskins 3, Adam Kirby 2.

Qualifying heat times: 1.Phillips 64.7, 2. Howarth 63.3, 3. Greenwood 62.8, 4.Phillips 64.3, 9. Greenwood 63.3, 10. Extance 63.7, 11. Howarth 62.8, 12. Greaves 62.4, 17. Holt 65.0, 18. Harris 62.5, 19. Greenwood 60.4, 20. Howarth 61.0, 25. Howarth 61.2, 26. Mogridge 61.0, 27.Greenwood 60.7, 28. Extance 61.8, 33. Greaves 61.2, 34. Greenwood 60.7, Mogridge 61.8

Support Class:
Qualifying scores: Scooter Webster 14, Liam Sanderson 12, Trevor Bebbington 9, Glyn Edwards 8, Sam Darroch 6, Layne Cupitt 5, Stefan Farnaby 3, Nathan Cheetham 0.

B Final: Farnaby, Edwards, Cheetham, Darroch, 68.4
A Final: Sanderson, Webster, Farnaby, Bebbington (fell), awarded

Winter Series points: Liam Sanderson 16, Scooter Webster 15, Stefan Farnaby 14, Trevor Bebbington 13, Glyn Edwards 12, Nathan Cheetham 11, Sam Darroch 10.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Liam Sanderson 61 (16-13-16-16), Sam Darroch 45 (8-15-12-10), Alex Wilson 40 (11-16-13), Glyn Edwards 24 (12-12), Trevor Bebbington 22 (9-13), Adam Extance 15, Mark Whitehead 15, Scooter Webster 15, Shaun Wilson 14, David Lidgett 14, James Hartley 14, Stefan Farnaby 14, Mick Skinner 13, John Markham 12, Tom Bacon 11, Connor Fletcher 11, Nathan Cheetham 11, Phil Naylor 10, Paul Quarterman 7.

Qualifying heat times: 6. Cupitt 71.8, 7. Sanderson 64.4, 13. Sanderson 65.0,14. Webster 68.9, 21. Webster 68.5, 22. Sanderson 63.6, 29. Webster 66.0, 30. Sanderson 63.4, 36. Webster awarded, 37. Bebbington awarded.

Novice Class:
Qualifying Scores: Luke Whitehead 15, Jack Flynn 14, Stuart Freeman 11, Mick Keeling 11, Damon Hall 8, Alan Palmer 6 (4 rides), Nigel Limb 4, Chris Ball 3 (4 rides), Paul Bowen 2 (4 rides), Matt Davis 1 (1 ride).

C Final: Bowen, Limb, Ball, 88.9
B Final: Bowen, Keeling, Hall, Palmer, 78.0
A Final: Bowen, Flynn, Freeman, Whitehead (fell), 78.8

Winter Series points: Paul Bowen 16, Jack Flynn 15, Stuart Freeman 14, Luke Whitehead 13, Mick Keeling 12, Damon Hall 11, Alan Palmer 10, Nigel Limb 9, Chris Ball 8, Matt Davis 7.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Mick Keeling 44 (12-11-9-12), Tom Sipos 30 (14-16) , Jack Flynn 30 (15-15), Dan Miles 29 (11-12-6), Damon Hall 28 (10-7-11), Luke Whitehead 25 (12-13), Stuart Freeman 24 (10-14), Chris Ball 22 (9-5-8), Matt Davis 21 (13-1-7), Tom Bacon 16, Layne Cupitt 16, Ben Basford 15, Scooter Webster 15, Gary Kirtley-Paine 14, Jack Gaskell 14, James Hartley 13, George Rothery 13, Ivan Howarth 11, Ian Gutteridge 10, Steve Tideswell 9, Kyle Deans 8, Ronan Atkinson 4, Adam Chessell 3, Nigel Chappell 2.

Qualifying heat times: 50. Flynn 75.4, 51. Whitehead 85.0, 52. Freeman 84.4, 59. Whitehead 78.6, 62. Whitehead 81.6, 65. Freeman 82.5, 68. Flynn 77.3, 71. Whitehead 84.2, 74. Keeling 82.7, 77. Keeling 82.6, 80. Flynn 80.7, 83. Whitehead 92.6, 86. Flynn 83.2.

Youth 500cc Class:
Scores: Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 15, Luke Whitehead 10.

Final: Parkinson-Blackburn, Whitehead (non-starter), 65.2

Winter Series points: Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 16, Luke Whitehead 15.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Jack Parkinson-Blackburn 64 (16-16-16-16), Luke Whitehead 30 (15-15).

Qualifying heat times for Jack Parkinson-Blackburn: Heat 8 – 67.8, Heat 16 – 66.7, Heat 23 – 65.3, Heat 31 – 64.1, Heat 39 – 63.9.

Youth 250cc Class:

Qualifying Scores: Ben Woodhull 12, Luke Woodhull 9, Kean Dicken 8 (4 rides).

Final: B. Woodhull, L. Woodhull, 81.5

Winter Series points: Ben Woodhull 16, Luke Woodhull 15, Kean Dicken 14.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Sam Chapman 47 (16-16-15), Kean Dicken 30 (16-14), Ben Woodhull 16, Luke Woodhull 15.

Qualifying heat times: 55. , 66. Kean Dicken 77.6, 75. , 84. , 90. .

Youth 125cc Class:
Qualifying scores: Jamie Halder 12, Jolyon West 11, Harry McGurk 11, Dan Thompson 9, Joe Thompson 9, Sam Wright 8, Stephen Whitehouse 7, Kyle Bickley 5, Sam Stead 0 (1 ride).

C Final: Bickley, Whitehouse, 74.6
B Final: Bickley, Wright, J. Thompson, D. Thompson, 74.8
A Final: McGurk, Bickley, Halder, West, 75.4

Winter Series points: Harry McGurk 16, Kyle Bickley 15, Jamie Halder 14, Jolyon West Dan Thompson 13, Sam Wright 12, Joe Thompson 11, Dan Thompson 10, Stephen Whitehouse 9, Sam Stead 8.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Kyle Bickley 62 (16-15-16-15), Harry McGurk 56 (15-13-12-16), Jamie Halder 56 (13-14-15-14), Sam Stead 51 (14-16-13-8), Louis Skelding 32 (12-11-9), Dan Thompson 24 (14-10), Brandon Gutteridge 22 (12-10), Joe Thompson 22 (11-11), Jolyon West 13, Sam Wright 12, Stephen Whitehouse 9.

Qualifying heat times: Qualifying heat times: 56. Halder awarded, 57. West 75.9, 58. Wright 76.6, 61. West 76.2, 64. West 75.2, 67. Halder 72.4, 70. McGurk 76.9, 73. McGurk 74.7, 76. Bickley 74.9, 79. Halder 76.5, 82. McGurk awarded, 85. Halder 74.9, 88. J. Thompson 78.6

Pit Bike Class:

Scores: Elvis Jones 30, Daniel Skipworth 21, Colin Willerton 14, Zoe Keeling 12, Michael Palm Toft 6.

Heat times (all Elvis Jones): Heat 53 – 84.7, Heat 60 – 82.4, Heat 69 – 87.0, Heat 78 – 84.8, Heat 87 – 82.7, Heat 93 – 92.9

Junior Pit Bike Class:
Qualifying scores: Bailey Fellows 41, Sam McGurk 36, Jordan Palin 21, Leon Collier 20, Kieran Holt 17 (5 rides) George Hopper 16 (3 rides), Jacob Fellows 10.

Winter Series points: Bailey Fellows 16, Sam McGurk 15, Jordan Palin 14, Leon Collier 13, Kieran Holt 12, George Hopper 11, Jacob Fellows 10.

Winter Series Standings (after 4 of 5 rounds): Bailey Fellows 62 (16-16-14-16), Keiran Holt 51 (15-14-10-12), Leon Collier 41 (15-13-13), Luke Harrison 26 (14-12), Jordan Palin 25 (11-14), Sam Woolley 16, Tom Widd 15, Sam McGurk 15, Tom Miles 13, Max Perry 13, Liam Cox 12, George Hopper 11, Jacob Fellows 10.

Qualifying heat times (B.Fellows unless stated): Heat 54 – 87.1, Heat 63 – 86.7, Heat 72 – 82.9 (McGurk), Heat 81 – 84.7, Heat 89 – 84.0, Heat 96 – 85.0.

Short Track Class:

Scores: Tim Greig 42, Brad Hardman 32, Paul Cooper 27, Tom Wright 23, Iain Harrison Junior 17, Iain Harrison Senior 13, Dougie Leggate 10.

Heat times (all Tim Greig and all six laps): Heat 5 – 110.5, Heat 15 – 104.3, Heat 24 – 110.0, Heat 32 – 103.9, Heat 38 – no time, Heat 43 – no time.