In a season where course records seem to be tumbling the tough Paramount CRT Hilly 20 saw both the overall and female records decimated on a glorious morning as Kirk Vickers lowered the Overall by 41 seconds and Hayley Wells sliced 2 minutes 43 off her own Female record in Round 4 of the Friction Hydraulics Series. Vickers was making his first trip to the circuit in a time trial but it’s a loop he knows well as it is often used in road racing, covering Eaton Constantine – Bluebell – Atcham, and it seemingly suited him down to the ground. The target was Richard Bussell’s 44:38 set in 2025, and Vickers made it a maximum 60 points for the second time this season after pushing himself hard. He commented: “This was a great course. I went out quite hard and was hanging on in the last half lap, and was pleased with the win and Course Record”.
Wells has been on superb form since the winter break and saw an opportunity to lower her own record given the favourable, sunny conditions, taking third spot Overall as a result with a solid 49:15, three seconds ahead of Wrekinsport’s Paul Edwards. Wells has a huge lead of 135 points in the Friction Female Series, and now maintained the runner-up spot Overall just 10 points behind team mate Tomos Hales. With a tough finish, Wells dug deep to beat the 50 minute benchmark easily, commenting: “One of my favourite hilly races of the season, with a little bit of everything and some beautiful racing conditions! I started out conservatively, hoping to build into the second lap, all went to plan. Coming into Leighton I could see a sub-50 was possible, so I pushed up the last stinger of a hill. I was chuffed to come away with a huge personal best – many thanks to Paramount for a superb event”.
Hales finished runner-up on the day, and eked out his lead over Wells by just five points with a 45:04 effort, knocking 1:15 off his previous course personal best, with the Aerologic pair heading the standings. He stated: “I do like the Paramount hilly course as it has a mix of hills and flat. Fast conditions gave new big personal best on the course and happy to take runner-up on the day between two top class riders! Thanks for Paramount for hosting; Chris Riley does a fantastic job as always”.
Dave Scott Coaching rider Stuart Proctor helped himself to a double victory thanks to an actual 50:04 as he not only took the win in the Friction Road Bike Series in a handicap adjusted 46:48 ahead of the team owner by 2:52, but pushed out Veteran’s Series leader and event organiser Chris Riley by six seconds with +5:47 to narrow the gap. Proctor extended his Road Bike lead to 30 points over reigning Friction Road Bike Champion Jon Goh in his comeback season and was pleased with his efforts. Familiarity of the course helped – although not in anger: “A chilly but sunny morning greeted riders to this year’s Paramount Hilly time trial, and though I know the course well from organising the Eaton Constantine races in the past, I’d never raced it before! There was a gentle North-West breeze on the old A5, perhaps stronger on the second lap, likely benefiting the time trial bikes, but I felt strong and the course suited me. From the off, my main target was to stay ahead of coach Dave Scott, who was two minutes behind me. Happily I managed this, even being held up on the descent into Leighton by slow moving traffic, which was a little frustrating as I was hoping to go under 50 minutes. Wonderfully organised as ever by the Paramount team, many thanks to the marshals for getting out there and shouting us on”!
SCCA:
| Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | Time | Points |
| 1 | Kirk | Vickers | Holohan Coaching Race Team | S | TT | 00:43:57 | 60 |
| 2 | Tomos | Hales | Aerologic RT | S | TT | 00:45:04 | 55 |
| 3 | Hayley | Wells | Aerologic RT | F | TT | 00:49:15 | 50 |
| 4 | Paul | Edwards | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | 00:49:18 | 45 |
| 5 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | TT | 00:49:38 | 40 |
| 6 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | TT | 00:49:39 | 35 |
| 7 | David | Scott | Dave Scott Coaching | S | RB | 00:49:40 | 30 |
| 8 | Chris | Pook | Holohan Coaching Race Team | V | TT | 00:49:53 | 25 |
| 9 | Stuart | Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | RB | 00:50:04 | 20 |
| 10 | Mitchell | Fletcher | Paramount CRT | S | TT | 00:50:22 | 15 |
| =11 | Paul | Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:50:35 | 10 |
| =11 | Jonathan | Goh | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:50:35 | 10 |
| 13 | Billy | Panter | Paramount CRT | S | RB | 00:52:27 | 5 |
| 14 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:55:24 | 5 |
| 15 | Ian | Connolly | Ludlow CC | V | TT | 00:55:30 | 5 |
| 16 | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:55:33 | 5 |
| 17 | Simeon | Lloyd | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | 00:56:46 | 5 |
| 18 | Denis | Brodovich | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:57:57 | 5 |
| 19 | Hugh | Ashworth | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:00:05 | 5 |
| 20 | David | Cannell | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:00:57 | 5 |
| 21 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:01:35 | 5 |
| 22 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | RB | 01:03:03 | 5 |
| 23 | Nick | Hickman | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:04:17 | 5 |
| 24 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | 01:05:09 | 5 |
| . | Rebecca | Pugh | Paramount CRT | F | RB | DNS | . |
| . | Robert | McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | TT | DNS | . |
| . | James | Elgar | Paramount CRT | V | TT | DNS | . |
| . | Simon | Romei | Paramount CRT | V | TT | DNS | . |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Stuart | Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | RB | +5:47 | 60 |
| 2 | Christopher | Riley | Paramount CRT | V | TT | +5:41 | 55 |
| 3 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | TT | +4:32 | 50 |
| 4 | Paul | Edwards | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | +3:26 | 45 |
| 5 | Chris | Pook | Holohan Coaching Race Team | V | TT | +2:57 | 40 |
| 6 | Paul | Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | RB | +2:54 | 35 |
| 7 | Jonathan | Goh | Paramount CRT | V | RB | +2:45 | 30 |
| 8 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | +0:43 | 25 |
| 9 | Ian | Connolly | Ludlow CC | V | TT | -0:11 | 20 |
| 10 | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | RB | -0:43 | 15 |
| =11 | Simeon | Lloyd | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | -2:22 | 10 |
| =11 | Hugh | Ashworth | Paramount CRT | V | RB | -2:22 | 10 |
| 13 | David | Cannell | Paramount CRT | V | RB | -3:14 | 5 |
| 14 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | RB | -3:31 | 5 |
| 15 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | RB | -4:39 | 5 |
| 16 | Denis | Brodovich | Paramount CRT | V | RB | -5:07 | 5 |
| 17 | Nick | Hickman | Paramount CRT | V | RB | -8:26 | 5 |
| 18 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | -11:31 | 5 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley | Wells | Aerologic RT | F | TT | 00:49:15 | 60 |
| 2 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | RB | 01:03:03 | 55 |
| . | Rebecca | Pugh | Paramount CRT | F | RB | DNS | . |
Road Bikes (on handicap):
| RB Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Stuart | Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | RB | 00:46:48 | 60 |
| 2 | David | Scott | Dave Scott Coaching | S | RB | 00:49:40 | 55 |
| 3 | Paul | Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:49:41 | 50 |
| 4 | Jonathan | Goh | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:49:50 | 45 |
| 5 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:51:52 | 40 |
| 6 | Billy | Panter | Paramount CRT | S | RB | 00:52:27 | 35 |
| 7 | Ian | Townsend | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:53:18 | 30 |
| =8 | Simeon | Lloyd | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | 00:54:57 | 25 |
| =8 | Hugh | Ashworth | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:54:57 | 25 |
| 10 | David | Cannell | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:55:49 | 20 |
| 11 | Colin | Wells | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:56:06 | 15 |
| 12 | Gill | Snelson | Paramount CRT | FV | RB | 00:57:14 | 10 |
| 13 | Denis | Brodovich | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:57:42 | 5 |
| 14 | Nick | Hickman | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 01:01:01 | 5 |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 395 |
| =2 | Aerologic RT | 115 |
| =2 | Dave Scott Coaching | 115 |
| 4 | Holohan Coaching Race Team | 100 |
| =5 | Hafren CC | 50 |
| =5 | Wrekinsport CC | 50 |
| 7 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 25 |
| 8 | Ludlow CC | 20 |
Cumulative Standing after four rounds
Overall
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Tomos Hales | Aerologic RT | S | 170 |
| 2 | Hayley Wells | Aerologic RT | F | 160 |
| 3 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 145 |
| 4 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V | 130 |
| 5 | Kirk Vickers | Holohan Coaching Race Team | S | 120 |
| 6 | Stuart Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | 75 |
| 7 | Chris Pook | Holohan Coaching Race Team | V | 70 |
| 8 | Mark Pritchard | Aerologic RT | S | 60 |
| =9 | David Scott | Dave Scott Coaching | S | 55 |
| =9 | Paul Edwards | Wrekinsport CC | V | 55 |
Veterans
| Vets Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 220 |
| 2 | Stuart Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | 165 |
| 3 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 155 |
| =4 | Chris Pook | Holohan Coaching Race Team | 95 |
| =4 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | 95 |
| 6 | Paul Edwards | Wrekinsport CC | 80 |
| 7 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | 75 |
| 8 | John Westhead | Paramount CRT | 70 |
| 9 | Karl Moseley | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 65 |
| 10 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | 60 |
Females
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Aerologic RT | 240 |
| 2 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | 105 |
| 3 | Gill Snelson | Paramount CRT | 95 |
| =4 | Hannah Lancaster | Ludlow CC | 55 |
| =4 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| 6 | Claire Blackwell-Smyth | Paramount CRT | 50 |
| 7 | Rebecca Pugh | Paramount CRT | 45 |
Road Bikes
| Road Bike Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Stuart Proctor | Dave Scott Coaching | V | 175 |
| 2 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 145 |
| 3 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | 130 |
| 4 | David Scott | Dave Scott Coaching | S | 105 |
| 5 | Karl Moseley | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | V | 85 |
| 6 | James Pearce | Dave Scott Coaching | S | 60 |
| 7 | Hannah Lancaster | Ludlow CC | F | 55 |
| =8 | Max Baker | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 50 |
| =8 | Paul Duncan | Paramount CRT | V | 50 |
| =8 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | FV | 50 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 1190 |
| 2 | Aerologic RT | 565 |
| 3 | Dave Scott Coaching | 480 |
| =4 | Holohan Coaching Race Team | 215 |
| =4 | Wrekinsport CC | 215 |
| 6 | Hafren CC | 160 |
| 7 | Ludlow CC | 140 |
| 8 | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | 135 |
| 9 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 95 |
| 10 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 90 |
| 11 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 55 |
| 12 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 20 |