2013 George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Crits Race 2

2013_March_questbikes600x75

Jules Birks (VC Londres) & Nathan Fletcher winners at week two of the George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Crits

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Cat 2/3 Race

The second race in the series saw the weather hold back on its promise of a balmy summer evening but thankfully the rain stayed away and the wind was off elsewhere troubling the kite-surfers at Hove Beach. This evening saw the riders tackle the circuit clockwise giving them the challenge of a tight right hand bend and a longer drag up to the finish….which was going be lactic city!

All the names in the running for the series title were present and correct (apart from Paul Flynn) and right from the gun it was clear there was going to be no quarter given. Paul Butler (InGear) attacked early on getting some distance on an animated bunch and was shortly joined by James Solly (VC Londres). This positioned them perfectly for the first prime of the night which was taken by Solly followed by Butler with Philip Glowinski (VC Londres) holding off a stirring bunch for third spot. A brief flurry of attempted escapes came to nought and it was soon gruppo compacto with riders at the back starting to wish the organisers had left out the long finishing drag that evening!

Series contender Mike Coyle (Brighton Mitre) decided to state his intentions to claim the 2013 title and launched an attack which lit the blue touch paper. He was joined by five others who immediately saw the danger and this started to look like the race winning move.

The break – consisting of Coyle, Jules Birks (VC Londres), Dan Gardner (ASL 360), Stuart Bettis (Southdowns Bikes), Phillip Glowinski (VC Londres), Rob Pelham (Lewes Wanderers) – settled down into a rhythm and set about building a serious gap.

Prime 3 saw the points taken by Birks, Bettis and Glowinski whilst a tiring bunch couldn’t close the gap to the escapees. Coyle once again launched a blistering attack to fragment the break which resulted in only Birks and Gardner being able to stay with him. Bettis and Glowinski found themselves in no man’s land but carried on working determined to stay ahead of the bunch which had decided that as there minor points up for grabs it was time to do some work.

With 5 minutes left on the clock the break lapped what was left of the bunch and pulled away. The winner was going to come from this group of three with the rest of the placings to be fought over by Bettis, Glowinski and the remains of the field.

A last-ditch attack by Coyle on the penultimate lap couldn’t shake off his two companions and the final lap saw the three leaders sprint up the finishing straight just as the bunch were winding up their final surge. Out of the spread of riders firing up the last 200 meters it was Jules Birks (VC Londres) who emerged victorious with Dan Gardner (ASL 360) and Mike Coyle (Brighton Mitre) rounding off the podium.

With Birks recording his second consecutive victory in the series he is emerging as the clear favourite to take the title…but Glowinski and Coyle cannot be ruled out yet. The third race in the series promises to be a thrilling instalment!

Race 2 – Cat 2/3 Results
1. Jules Birks (VC Londres)
2. Dan Gardener (ASL 360)
3. Michael Coyle (Brighton Mitre)
4. Philip Glowinski (VC Londres)
5. Stuart Bettis (Southdowns Bikes)
6. Barney Willard (Ingear)
7. Iain Cook (VC Londres)
8. Mark Poland (Ingear)
9. Jack Evans (Brighton Mitre)
10. Paul Barnard (Southdowns Bikes)
11. Patrick Martin (Wyndymilla)
12. Oli Pepper (Morvelo CC)
13. James Solly (VC Londres)
14. Matthew Butt (ASL 360)
15. Josh Ibbett (Juicelubes Racing)
16. Rob Pelham (Lewes Wanderers)
17. Joe Hyatt (Brighton Mitre)
18. Sam Cheesman (ASL 360)
DNF. Paul Butler (Ingear)
DNF. John Powel (ASL 360)

2013 George Samuel Memorial Hove Park Overall Points Standings (After Race 2)
1. Jules Birks (VC Londres)………….50pts
2. Philip Glowinski (VC Londres)…..30pts
3. Michael Coyle (Brighton Mitre)…..27pts
4. Dan Gardener (ASL 360)………….20pts
5. Stuart Bettis (Southdowns Bikes)…15pts
6. Paul Flynn (Brighton Mitre)………14pts
7. Georgios Crouch (VC Meudon)……14pts
8. Patrick Martin (Wyndymilla)………6pts
9. James Solly (VC Londres)…………..6pts
10. James Solly (VC Londres)…………..6pts
11. Barney Willard (Ingear)…………….5pts
12. Iain Cook(VC Londres)…….………..4pts
13. Paul Butler (Ingear)………………….4pts
14. Jack Evans (Brigthon Mitre)………..3pts
15. Mark Westrun (Strada-Sport)……….2pts
16. Roger Smith (Southdowns Bikes) ……1pt
17. Paul Barnard (Southdowns Bikes)…..1pt

Cat 4 Race
The second Cat 4 race in the George Samuel Memorial Crits series saw a good sized field take to the start line in readiness to do battle. The bunch seemed to be sizing each other up and settled into a steady pace which kept them together for the first part of the race.

No-one seemed prepared to poke their nose out of the safety of the bunch until Michael Vance (Dulwich Paragon) decided it was time to make his move. The move was short lived but at least galvanised the bunch into action and the pace went up noticeably. A combination of over-cooking the bottom corner and a tire rolling off saw Nick Smith (Lewes Wanderers) retire from the race and the spill resulted in splits in the bunch with some riders never regaining contact with the front group.

At just over halfway a definite group of ten riders went clear and the rest of the riders were fighting just to stay together. It was shaping up to be sprint from a small group and all the placings were going to come from this leading bunch.

A ferocious final surge up the drag to the chequered flag saw Nathan Fletcher (ASL360) take the win with Michael Vance (Dulwich Paragon) second and Alex Stephenson (Brighton Mitre) third.

Race 2 – Cat 4 Results
1. Nathan Fletcher (ASL 360)
2. Michael Vance (Dulwich Paragon)
3. Alex Stephenson (Brighton Mitre)
4. Martin Edmonds (Brighton Mitre)
5. Barney Kennard (Sussex Nomads)
6. James Danvers (Brighton Mitre)
7. Jed Williamson (Private)
8. Carl Adams (Aylesbury)
9. Ross Stringer (Sussex Nomads)
10. David Harries (Eastbourne Rovers)
11. James McCoy (Private)
12. Matthew Leary (In-Gear)
13. John Beattie (Sussex Nomads)
14. Mark Gibbons (Eastbourne Rovers)
15. Alan Newman (Brighton Mitre)
16. Paul Horta-Hopkins (Handsling Racing)
17. Alex Bayfus (Sussex Nomads)
18. Daniel Fagg (Brighton Mitre)
19. Nick Smith (Lewes Wanderers) DNF
20. Simon Dowling (Brighton Mitre) DNF

 

 

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