Things got tighter at the top of the Friction Hydraulics Series in Round 7, the West Cheshire TTCA 10 with the top three in the standings split by just 10 points – with Jonathan Mills-Keeling not only taking over at the head of the Overall standings, but occupying the same spot in the Friction Veterans Championship too. The Aerologic rider ended a tricky afternoon coping with windy conditions and unexpected traffic on the flattest 10 mile course in Shropshire, the Waters Upton – Hodnet 10. Held just two days before the classic Anfield 100, this event saw riders at the sharp end honing their turn of speed, with Mills-Keeling stopping then watch on 21 minutes 41 seconds to take the County runner-up spot, finishing behind Wrekinsport’s Tomos Hales in a superb 20:14. Mills-Keeling definitely had one eye on the 100 on the horizon, and kept within his capabilities: “It was a nice afternoon of racing, although I got stuck behind some traffic on the way out. I slowed down a bit on the return, maybe thinking about the 100 two days later. A fast time from Tomos, and thanks to everyone for putting the event on”.
Whilst Mills-Keeling kept his powder dry there were no such considerations for Hales, who now occupies second spot in the Championship, drawing level with Dean Callister. Hales seems to have one speed setting – flat out, and he proved it with a huge course personal best on a favoured ‘out and back: “The WCTTCA 10 was held on my one of my favourite 10 mile courses out to Hodnet. It was a windy day, but it never seemed to hinder my speed. I was pleased to get a massive personal best on the course – thanks to Alan Broadbent for organising, and all the marshals that helped out”.
Hales’ all out approach seems to have rubbed off on team mate Hayley Wells, who not only registered an all time personal best over the distance of 22:09, she also finished a superb third overall, beating former Friction Series Champion Bryn Davies by eight seconds which clearly shows the tremendous quality of this ride. Wells has made a few tweaks to her bike, and these immediately paid dividends, as she explained: “After some recent upgrades I was excited to put these to the test and see what improvements could be made. I was determined to leave it all out there, so went off hard from the start and managed to hold a consistent pace until the end, with a short head wind battle towards the finish. I was super chuffed with this performance and managed to pick up an all time 10 mile personal best”!
Wells beat Deb Hutson-Lumb into the runner-up spot in the Friction Female Series despite also recording a fine personal best she has been striving for, as she explained: “I was very pleased to go under 23 minutes at last. I managed to pace the ride well and came away with a 20 minute power personal best. An excellent event, and thanks to everyone involved”. Hutson-Lumb almost inevitably won the Veterans race with +6:52, pushing Mills-Keeling out, lifting herself up to third in the standings of the Veterans Championship as a consequence.
In the Friction Road Bike Championship reigning Series champion Mark Fenn made up some ground in the 2025 Championship and was also getting in some top end training for the 100. He stopped the watch on 24:02 actual, which converted to 23:35 when the handicap was applied, 47 seconds ahead of Paramount’s Andrew Dawson. Fenn was pleased with his tapering training session, stating: “Good conditions for a race-to-train session to help open the lungs ahead of the 100. It was a good time for me on this course and a nice afternoon out”.
SCCA:
| Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | Time | Points |
| 1 | Tomos | Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | TT | 00:20:14 | 60 |
| 2 | Jonathan | Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | TT | 00:21:41 | 55 |
| 3 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | TT | 00:22:09 | 50 |
| 4 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | TT | 00:22:17 | 45 |
| 5 | Adam | Mumford | Wrekinsport CC | S | TT | 00:22:27 | 40 |
| 6 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | SCCA Private Member | FV | TT | 00:22:54 | 35 |
| 7 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | RB | 00:24:02 | 30 |
| 8 | Clive | Bourne | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | TT | 00:24:05 | 25 |
| 9 | Alex | Paulukiewicz | North Shropshire Wheelers | S | TT | 00:24:20 | 20 |
| 10 | John | Westhead | Paramount CRT | V | TT | 00:24:58 | 15 |
| 11 | Robert | Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | 00:25:22 | 10 |
| 12 | Les | Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | 00:25:47 | 5 |
| 13 | Jamie | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | 00:26:06 | 5 |
| 13 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:26:06 | 5 |
| 15 | Tim | Evans | Newport (Shropshire) CC | V | TT | 00:26:15 | 5 |
| 16 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | 00:26:30 | 5 |
| 17 | Emma | Brown | Paramount CRT | F | RB | 00:27:23 | 5 |
| 18 | Kathryn | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | FV | TT | 00:28:27 | 5 |
| 19 | Phil | Guy | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | 00:31:47 | 5 |
| . | Roger | Hickman | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | DNS | . |
| . | James | Powell | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | DNS | . |
| . | Oliver | Rodwell | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | DNS | . |
Veterans:
| Vets Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | Vet +/- | Vets Points |
| 1 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | SCCA Private Member | FV | TT | +6:52 | 60 |
| 2 | Jonathan | Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | TT | +5:10 | 55 |
| 3 | Bryn | Davies | Hafren CC | V | TT | +4:29 | 50 |
| 4 | Clive | Bourne | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | TT | +4:19 | 45 |
| 5 | John | Westhead | Paramount CRT | V | TT | +4:08 | 40 |
| 6 | Robert | Garbett | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | +2:52 | 35 |
| 7 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | RB | +2:29 | 30 |
| 8 | Les | Boughey | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | +2:18 | 25 |
| 9 | Jamie | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | TT | +1:42 | 20 |
| 9 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | +1:42 | 20 |
| 11 | Kathryn | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | FV | TT | +1:02 | 10 |
| 12 | Tim | Evans | Newport (Shropshire) CC | V | TT | +0:42 | 5 |
| 13 | Ashley | Kirkham | Wrekinsport CC | V | TT | +0:01 | 5 |
| 14 | Phil | Guy | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | -0:54 | 5 |
Females:
| Female Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | Time | Female Points |
| 1 | Hayley | Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | TT | 00:22:09 | 60 |
| 2 | Deb | Hutson-Lumb | SCCA Private Member | FV | TT | 00:22:54 | 55 |
| 3 | Emma | Brown | Paramount CRT | F | RB | 00:27:23 | 50 |
| 4 | Kathryn | Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | FV | TT | 00:28:27 | 45 |
Road Bikes:
| RB Pos’n | Forename | Surname | Club | Cat | Machine | RB Adj Time | RB Points |
| 1 | Mark | Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | RB | 00:23:35 | 60 |
| 2 | Andrew | Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | RB | 00:24:22 | 55 |
| 3 | Emma | Brown | Paramount CRT | F | RB | 00:24:49 | 50 |
| 4 | Phil | Guy | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | RB | 00:26:58 | 45 |
Top Club Award:
| Pos’n | Club | Points |
| 1 | Wrekinsport CC | 165 |
| 2 | Aerologic RT | 55 |
| 3 | Hafren CC | 45 |
| 4 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 40 |
| 5 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 25 |
| 5 | Paramount CRT | 25 |
| 7 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 5 |
Cumulative Standings after seven rounds
Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | V | 300 |
| =2 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | V | 290 |
| =2 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 290 |
| 4 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 200 |
| 5 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 180 |
| 6 | Robert McGregor | Paramount CRT | S | 140 |
| 7 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | F | 135 |
| 8 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | SCCA Private Member | FV | 125 |
| 9 | Victor Chetta | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 115 |
| 10 | Mark Pritchard | Aerologic RT | S | 95 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Veterans Championship
| Vets Position | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Jonathan Mills-Keeling | Aerologic RT | 320 |
| 2 | Simon Romei | Paramount CRT | 285 |
| 3 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | SCCA Private Member | 250 |
| 4 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | 220 |
| 5 | Christopher Riley | Paramount CRT | 215 |
| 6 | John Westhead | Paramount CRT | 200 |
| 7 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | 165 |
| =8 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | 140 |
| =8 | Ian Laverie | Wrekinsport CC | 140 |
| 10 | Victor Chetta | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 110 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Road Bike Championship
| Road Bike Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Best 12 |
| 1 | Jonathan Goh | Paramount CRT | V | 360 |
| 2 | Andrew Dawson | Paramount CRT | V | 315 |
| 3 | Mark Fenn | Shropshire CCA | V | 295 |
| 4 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | F | 255 |
| 5 | William Preston | Paramount CRT | S | 165 |
| 6 | Claire Blackwell-Smyth | Paramount CRT | FV | 110 |
| 7 | Billy Panter | Paramount CRT | S | 85 |
| 8 | Alvydas Janusauskas | Paramount CRT | V | 75 |
| 9 | David Scott | Paramount CRT | S | 60 |
| =10 | Benjamin Nickolls | Paramount CRT | V | 45 |
| =10 | Phil Guy | North Shropshire Wheelers | V | 45 |
Friction and Hydraulic Services Female Championship
| Female Pos’n | Name | Club | Best 12 |
| 1 | Emma Brown | Paramount CRT | 315 |
| 2 | Hayley Wells | Wrekinsport CC | 300 |
| 3 | Deb Hutson-Lumb | SCCA Private Member | 240 |
| 4 | Helen Tudor | Oswestry Paragon CC | 210 |
| 5 | Claire Blackwell-Smyth | Paramount CRT | 145 |
| 6 | Gill Snelson | Paramount CRT | 95 |
| =7 | Jan Davies | Hafren CC | 55 |
| =7 | Thea Osmund-Smith | Paramount CRT | 55 |
| 9 | Kathryn Rossiter | North Shropshire Wheelers | 50 |
| 10 | Elaine Beckett | North Shropshire Wheelers | 40 |
Top Club Award
| Position | Club | Total Points |
| 1 | Paramount CRT | 1270 |
| 2 | Wrekinsport CC | 845 |
| 3 | Aerologic RT | 455 |
| =4 | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 145 |
| =4 | North Shropshire Wheelers | 145 |
| 6 | Hafren CC | 90 |
| 7 | Newport (Shropshire) CC | 60 |
| 8 | Oswestry Paragon CC | 50 |