Events: West Midlands Racing 2024

The West Midlands road race calendar will expand again in 2024, with a total of 16 days of weekend road racing scheduled between mid-March and early September

Events: West Midlands Racing 2024

West Midlands region announces 25 road race days for 2024

The West Midlands road race calendar will expand again in 2024, with a total of 16 days of weekend road racing scheduled between mid-March and early September including two new races on the Sunday calendar, another new circuit in the English/Welsh border, and nine handicap races on Thursday evenings.

After a few years absence the Evesham Vale Nat B returns as the traditional season-opener on the Inkberrow circuit on March 17, followed by the Halesowen Academy road race, which is the first round in the season-long West Midlands road race league – supported in 2022 and 2023 by Fusion Media – which was won in 2023 by Emile Glorieux of Royal Leamington.

New to the calendar is the Gannet CC road race on a rolling course based on the Wye Valley north-west of Hereford, on April 28, while the Regional Road Race Championships for men and women will be held jointly with Central region on the Inkberrow circuit on June 2.

Another highlight will be the third running of the BikeStow 3-day from June 21-23, again featuring a hill-top finish on the Wales-England border, while one of the oldest races on the British calendar, the Severn Valley Grand Prix, is a stand-alone Nat B on the hilly circuit at Sheinton near Telford on July 21.

The Thursday evening handicap series run by the Shropshire and South Staffordshire RRL also returns, with nine races over 10 weeks between May 9 and July 11, for all categories, on road courses which tend to suit riders of all abilities. Solihull CC again promote a round of the Women’s Team Cup, also on the Inkberrow circuit.

“We’re very proud to have rebooted the calendar here in the last couple of years, and the support of Fusion Media in backing both women’s and men’s racing has been integral to that,” said West Midlands board road race lead William Fotheringham. “Over 90 local riders scored points in the West Midlands road race league last year, which says that demand is healthy and there’s a good rider population locally.”

“We now have a very strong entry-level offer with four Regional B races and the handicap series which means vets and women can begin or return to road racing in a relatively forgiving environment. It’s also fantastic to see a group of new, younger organisers coming through alongside the generation that has supported racing in the region through thick and thin.”

“We have a really good group of volunteers supporting the races, with experienced NEG and Accredited marshals, and I’d like to thank them for the way they’ve stepped up in the last couple of years. What would help now is to see some real support from the teams that benefit from riding races in the region; if they can contribute we can really move forward.”

WEST MIDLANDS ROAD RACES 2024
– March 17 Evesham Vale RR, E/1/2/3 Inkberrow
– March 24 Halesowen Academy RR, 2/3/4 Aston on Clun
– April 7 Two Counties RR, 3/4 Bobbington/Enville
– April 28 Gannet CC RR, 2/3/4 Staunton on Wye/Norton Canon circuit
– May 5 Phil Ward Memorial, 2/3/4 Leighton
– May 9, evening handicap race series begins, see www.sssccrrl.co.uk for more details
– May 12 Halesowen A&CC RR, 2/3/4 Astley
– June 2 Regional championship – E/1/2/3 mens + 2nd year Junior; women’s E/1/2/3 junior; both combined with Central Region – Inkberrow
– June 9 Wyre Forest CRC RR, 3/4 Martley
– June 21-23 BikeStow 3-day, 2/3/4; various venues
– July 7 Paramount Summer RR, 3/4 Leighton
– July 11, evening handicap race series ends, see www.sssccrrl.co.uk for more details
– July 14 Solihull CC RR, 2/3/4, and Women’s Team Cup round E/1/2/3, Inkberrow
– July 21 Severn Valley GP, E/1/2/3 Leighton/Sheinton
– Aug 18 Royal Leamington RR, 3/4, Friz Hill
– September 1 Nick Clayton Memorial RR, 2/3/4 Welland

More information via www.westmidsroadracing.co.uk