The course record and female course record were smashed in Round 2 of the Friction Hydraulics Series as Paramount CRT set out a dominant defence as reigning Top Club Award holders. Few out-of-county riders tried their luck on an adaptation of the testing Eaton Constantine Road Race circuit in 2024, but news had got around for 2025 as Aerocoach’s Richard Bussell sliced a huge 2 minutes 13 seconds off Tomos Hales’ record – admittedly in far kinder conditions than the 2024 race which was run the day after Storm Kathleen in 45mph gusts, but all the more impressive for being recorded on a Road Bike. Bussell stated: “I was very happy with the win, I didn’t expect to be fastest overall as I was on a road bike, so that was a good boost for morale. I did spend a lot of time on my road bike setup so it was a very quick machine – deep wheels, narrow handlebars etc. It was a beautiful morning for a race; and a very enjoyable and quiet course”.
Reigning Friction Series Champion Hales still took the County win and the maximum 60 points on offer after shaving 31 seconds off his 2024 effort with a superb 46:20, exactly a minute ahead of Simon Romei, the reigning Friction Series Veteran’s Champion, and consequently drew level at the top of the Friction Series standings with the Round 1 winner in what is shaping up to be a good contest. Hales commented: “A good race circuit for the Paramount time trial. I started off well and managed to hold a good pace all the way round, but a tough finish rising out of Leighton. Thanks to Paramount for hosting – they always put on a good show, and thanks to all the helpers”.
Romei still took the Veteran’s win in +6:09 ahead of team mate and race organiser Chris Riley by 34 seconds, taking a maximum 120 points over both rounds in a solid title defence. Unlike Hales, Romei was on his maiden race around this testing course, and it seems that one particular stretch may have made the difference: “I was really pleased to have taken the Veterans win & County runner-up in Paramount Hilly 20. This was the first time I’ve raced this course, and I was a little caution going into Bluebell Lane, but knew I could really open the taps on the old A5 to make some time up. This finish was a right leg finisher up that very steep climb! The event had first class organisation along with some brilliant prizes – a great sunny Sunday morning racing”.
While Bussell took the Overall Road Bike win there was huge interest amongst the entrants to compete in this format. 62% of the field were competing on road bikes, an undoubtedly growing area for time trialling, with an SCCA poll noting an 84% interest amongst surveyed Shropshire riders, who cited being able to be competitive on their only bike, a return to simpler times and because it is something different as major reasons for that interest. County Road Bike winner was another Paramount rider, Dave Scott, who was third County rider overall, showing what a strong rider he is after stopping the watch on 49:22, with seven Paramount riders featuring in the Top 10 adding a huge 360 point haul to their Top Club Award defence. Scott stated: “A great course and event, really well organised and marshalled! I was happy with my ride and the result; it was nice to see such hot competition on the road bikes. Chapeau to Richard Bussell on a new overall course record on a road bike”!
Wrekinsport’s Hayley Wells was also returning to the circuit and recorded an excellent 51:58 to knock 22 seconds off her own Female course record – and finish a strong 9th Overall. Like Romei she also made in two for two in her defence of the Friction Series Female Championship. She commented: “I’m starting to find a love for the hilly time trials, and this course is a bit of a rollercoaster, but dare I say enjoyable! A chilly but sunny morning; and I was chuffed to have knocked 22 seconds off last year’s time. Cracking rides from some very strong riders – many thanks for a great event Paramount”.
SCCA:
| Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Tomos | Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 46:20 | 60 |
| 2 | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 47:20 | 55 |
| 3 | David | Scott | Paramount CRT | S | 49:22 | 50 |
| 4 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 49:29 | 45 |
| 5 | Paul | Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | 50:13 | 40 |
| 6 | William | Preston | Paramount CRT | S | 50:43 | 35 |
| 7 | Robert | McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | 51:05 | 30 |
| 8 | Jonathan | Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 51:52 | 25 |
| 9 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 51:58 | 20 |
| 10 | Ian | Laverie | Wrekinsport CC | V | 52:49 | 15 |
| 11 | Billy | Panter | Paramount CRT | S | 54:11 | 10 |
| 12 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 54:40 | 5 |
| 13 | Alvydas | Janusauskas | Paramount CRT | S | 55:12 | 5 |
| 14 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | 56:23 | 5 |
| 15 | James | Elgar | Paramount CRT | V | 57:51 | 5 |
| 16 | Robin | Anderton-Brown | Paramount CRT | V | 58:31 | 5 |
| 17 | Denis | Brodovich | Paramount CRT | V | 58:43 | 5 |
| 18 | Tim | Evans | Newport (Shropshire) CC | V | 58:44 | 5 |
| 19 | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | 59:19 | 5 |
| 20 | Benjamin | Nickolls | Paramount CRT | V | 59:33 | 5 |
| 21 | Darren | Speedy | Paramount CRT | V | 1:02:39 | 5 |
| 22 | Peter | Rickard | Paramount CRT | V | 1:02:43 | 5 |
| 23 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | 1:03:15 | 5 |
| 24 | Emma | Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 1:03:19 | 5 |
| 25 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 1:03:35 | 5 |
| 26 | Nick | Hickman | Paramount CRT | V | 1:03:46 | 5 |
| 27 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | 1:05:40 | 5 |
| 28 | Chester | Romei | Paramount CRT | S | 1:06:57 | 5 |
| . | Thea | Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | F | DNS-A | . |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Vets +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | V | +6:09 | 60 |
| 2 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | +5:35 | 55 |
| 3 | Paul | Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | +3:07 | 50 |
| 4 | Ian | Laverie | Wrekinsport CC | V | +2:15 | 45 |
| 5 | Jonathan | Goh | Paramount CRT | V | +1:19 | 40 |
| 6 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | -0:32 | 35 |
| 7 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | -1:11 | 30 |
| 8 | Robin | Anderton-Brown | Paramount CRT | V | -4:07 | 25 |
| 9 | Tim | Evans | Newport (Shropshire) CC | V | -4:20 | 20 |
| 10 | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | -4:43 | 15 |
| 11 | James | Elgar | Paramount CRT | V | -5:12 | 10 |
| 12 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | -5:32 | 5 |
| 13 | Denis | Brodovich | Paramount CRT | V | -5:59 | 5 |
| 14 | Benjamin | Nickolls | Paramount CRT | V | -6:54 | 5 |
| 15 | Nick | Hickman | Paramount CRT | V | -7:12 | 5 |
| 16 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | -7:22 | 5 |
| 17 | Peter | Rickard | Paramount CRT | V | -8:19 | 5 |
| 18 | Darren | Speedy | Paramount CRT | V | -8:38 | 5 |
| 19 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | -10:06 | 5 |
Females
| Female Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 51:58 | 60 |
| 2 | Emma | Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 1:03:19 | 55 |
| 3 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | 1:05:40 | 50 |
| . | Thea | Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | F | DNS-A | . |
Road Bike:
| Pos’n | First Name | Last Name | Club | Cat | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | David | Scott | Paramount CRT | S | 49:22 | 60 |
| 2 | William | Preston | Paramount CRT | S | 50:43 | 55 |
| 3 | Jonathan | Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 51:16 | 50 |
| 4 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | 53:07 | 45 |
| 5 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 53:46 | 40 |
| 6 | Billy | Panter | Paramount CRT | S | 54:11 | 35 |
| 7 | Alvydas | Janusauskas | Paramount CRT | S | 55:12 | 30 |
| 8 | Robin | Anderton-Brown | Paramount CRT | V | 56:42 | 25 |
| 9 | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | 57:18 | 20 |
| 10 | Emma | Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 57:22 | 15 |
| 11 | Denis | Brodovich | Paramount CRT | V | 58:34 | 10 |
| 12 | Benjamin | Nickolls | Paramount CRT | V | 59:29 | 5 |
| 13 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | 59:57 | 5 |
| 14 | Nick | Hickman | Paramount CRT | V | 1:00:47 | 5 |
| 15 | Peter | Rickard | Paramount CRT | V | 1:00:54 | 5 |
| 16 | Darren | Speedy | Paramount CRT | V | 1:01:03 | 5 |
| 17 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | 1:02:41 | 5 |
| 18 | Chester | Romei | Paramount CRT | S | 1:06:57 | 5 |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 360 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 100 |
| 3 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 5 |
Cumulative Standings after two rounds
Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| =1 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 115 |
| =1 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 115 |
| =3 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 70 |
| =3 | Robert McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | 70 |
| 5 | William Preston | Paramount CRT | S | 60 |
| =6 | David Scott | Paramount CRT | S | 50 |
| =6 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 50 |
| 8 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 45 |
| 9 | Paul Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | 40 |
| =10 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 35 |
| =10 | Ian Laverie | Wrekinsport CC | V | 35 |
| =10 | Oli Freeman | Wrekinsport CC | S | 35 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship
| Vets Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | 120 |
| 2 | Ian Laverie | Wrekinsport CC | 95 |
| 3 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | 85 |
| 4 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | 70 |
| =5 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 55 |
| =5 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | 55 |
| 7 | Paul Duncan | Paramount CRT | 50 |
| =8 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | 35 |
| =8 | Peter Jukes | Wrekinsport CC | 35 |
| =8 | Tim Evans | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 35 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship
| Road Bike Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| =1 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 110 |
| =1 | William Preston | Paramount CRT | S | 110 |
| 3 | Billy Panter | Paramount CRT | S | 85 |
| 4 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 80 |
| 5 | Alvydas Janusauskas | Paramount CRT | V | 75 |
| 6 | David Scott | Paramount CRT | S | 60 |
| 7 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | 45 |
| 8 | Peter Jukes | Wrekinsport CC | V | 35 |
| 9 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | F | 30 |
| =10 | David Cannell | Paramount CRT | V | 25 |
| =10 | Robin Anderton-Brown | Paramount CRT | V | 25 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | 120 |
| 2 | Gill Snelson | Paramount CRT | 95 |
| 3 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | 55 |
| 3 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | 55 |
| 5 | Claire Blackwell-Smyth | Paramount CRT | 50 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 575 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 270 |
| 3 | Aerologic RT | 50 |
| 4 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 10 |