North Shropshire Wheelers Battlefield 25 No.2

Dan Watts took a dominant win in Round 12 of the SB Sports Injuries Series – as the first Championship medal of the season was sealed. The rolling Prees – Battlefield course is right up Watt’s street with the SCCA Private Member used to lumpy road race circuits, and he knew just where to put in the effort on a course with barely a bit of flat. Watts stopped the watch on 54 minutes 33 seconds, a 45 second improvement on his Round 9 time on the same course to take the bonus 26 points for the win as he steadily reels in the leaders. He commented: “It felt like a bit of an odd evening with the wind, hard to tell quite where was going to be fast and slow. I rode a much better paced ride than last time out, which reflected in the time. Happy with my current form, hopefully I can keep it up“.

But if Watts enjoyed the course a first sight of it did not leave a favourable impression with Chris Halford, with the Wrekinsport rider finishing in runner-up spot. Halford crossed the line in 57:24 and was tying for top spot in the SB Series with Ian Nisbett before the race, but with the Hafren CC rider finishing fourth in 58:29 Halford had a consolation of moving into sole lead of the Series. He stated: “My first time on the course, I really didn’t enjoy an hour of intervals! The toughest course I’ve done, I was told it was rolling but my legs are still sore“.

Halford now has a narrow four point advantage over Nisbett after Richard Kay captured third place on Actual just 11 seconds ahead in 58:18. Kay’s opinion of the course could hardly be more different to Halford’s as the North Shropshire Wheeler shrugged off illness to compete, revealing: “I almost didn’t ride due to sickness, I’m glad I did though. I took it a bit too easy in places but am happy with my result. Congratulations to all competitors, and a big thank you as always to my club for the best ’25’ event in the County”.

Halford meanwhile narrowed the gap in the SB Veteran’s Series after also taking the runner-up spot in that competition with a fine Standard of +10:04, with Nisbett just holding onto the narrowest of advantages – two points – after finishing third Veteran in +8:47.  

Neither had an answer for Gino Trasatti however who finished 12 seconds ahead of Halford on Standard in +10:16 after crucially posting a personal best by 19 seconds. Trasatti has reported before how he seems to get better the towards the back end of a race, which on this course is a great advantage with a hard three miles to finish. Trasatti also hinted at the source of that endurance with some tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation about his Italian heritage: “It was a great race, especially for me as I enjoyed the last 15 miles as I seem to gain strength as the race progresses. Once again I am very pleased that I had another PB by 19 seconds, obviously the spaghetti is helping! The weather was perfect with a gentle breeze, I’m looking forward to the next ’25’. Thanks to all helpers, and well done to all the other riders“.

The first Series Championship of the season was sealed as Henri Bedford took Gold in the SB Junior Series after making a stoic defence of the title. The Revolutions Racing 15 year-old crossed the line in 1:01:05, 1:40 slower than his Round 9 effort as he battled through traffic to put himself into an unassailable position. Bedford has an almost unbelievable 162 point lead and a retention of this title is richly deserved as the youngster has won nine of the eleven rounds he has entered. He commented: “Tough and frustrating at times when held up by the traffic. Great to retain the SB title, but would have been even nicer to have secured it with a course PB. Well done to everyone who rode or helped out“. 

In the SB Women’s Series Alison Dockney took a fine win by exactly three minutes from Nova Raiders’ Jenny Newton as she stopped the watch on 1:07:47. Dockney was 1:57 down on her Round 9 time which she attributed to the crosswind that hampered some riders. She stated: “I’m very happy with the result, and it was great to see everyone out – some really fast times on that lumpy course with the crosswind as well. Thanks to North Shropshire Wheelers for hosting again, and to the fantastic marshals down at Battlefield“. Meanwhile Hafren CC’s Louise Hurdley continues to clock up good points as she maintains her Series lead, adding 22 points to her tally after finishing third in 1:10:49 – agonisingly just two seconds behind Newton.

Result:

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Series – Round 12

Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Points
1 Dan Watts SCCA Private Member S 54:33 26
2 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V 57:24 24
3 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 58:18 22
4 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 58:29 20
5 Tom Richardson Oswestry Paragon CC S 58:57 18
6 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 1:01:05 16
7 Tim Rex North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:01:48 14
8 James Neale North Shropshire Wheelers S 1:02:16 12
9 Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:02:59 10
10 Ian Pollard SCCA Private Member V 1:03:09 8
11 Richard Cordova North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:05:58 6
12 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member W 1:07:47 4
13 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:08:02 4
14 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV 1:10:47 4
15 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC W 1:10:49 4
16 Steve Smout North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:13:45 4
17 Terry Price North Shropshire Wheelers V 1:18:20 4
18 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV 1:24:22 4

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Veterans Series – Round 12

Vets Pos’n Name Club Cat Vet +/- Vets Points
1 Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V +10:16 26
2 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V +10:04 24
3 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V +8:47 22
4 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V +8:34 20
5 Ian Pollard SCCA Private Member V +6:21 18
6 Tim Rex North Shropshire Wheelers V +5:04 16
7 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV +2:51 14
8 Richard Cordova North Shropshire Wheelers V +2:17 12
9 Les Boughey North Shropshire Wheelers V +1:14 10
10 Steve Smout North Shropshire Wheelers V -5:54 8
11 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV -10:57 6
12 Terry Price North Shropshire Wheelers V -11:15 4

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Women’s Series – Round 12

Women’s Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Women’s Points
1 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member W 1:07:47 26
2 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV 1:10:47 24
3 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC W 1:10:49 22
4 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV 1:24:22 20

SB Sports Injuries and Physiotherapy Junior Series – Round 12

Junior Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Junior Points
1 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 1:01:05 26

Cumulative Standings after twelve rounds

Overall

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V 194
2 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 190
3 Dan Watts SCCA Private Member S 170
4 Dean Callister Nova Raiders S 122
5 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 112
6 Ed Middleton Nova Raiders S 108
7 Ollie Atkin SCCA Private Member S 76
8 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 56
=9 Sam Morris Revolutions Racing S 40
=9 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 40

Veterans

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Ian Nisbett Hafren CC V 204
2 Chris Halford Wrekinsport CC V 202
3 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV 84
4 Gino Trasatti North Shropshire Wheelers V 70
5 Ian Pollard SCCA Private Member V 68
6 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV 66
7 Tony Harvey Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 62
8 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 60
9 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 58
10 Graeme Donnell Nova Raiders V 52

Women’s

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC W 196
2 Alison Dockney SCCA Private Member W 148
3 Jenny Newton Nova Raiders WV 120
4 Deb Hutson-Lumb Nova Raiders WV 84
5 Helen Tudor Oswestry Paragon CC WV 74
6 Elaine Langley North Shropshire Wheelers WV 58
7 Natalie Brooks Paramount CRT W 50
8 Bethan Till Wrekinsport CC W 28
9 Sarah Grant SCCA Private Member W 26
10 Charlotte Chapman Nova Raiders W 20

Juniors

Position Name Club Cat Best 12
1 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 234
2 George Coombes Evolve J 72
3 Jack Young Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 64
4 Charlie Price Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 42
=5 Kieran Morris SCCA Private Member J 20
=5 Sam Holwill Hafren CC J 20
=7 James Satoor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 18
=7 Ronnie Tse Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 18