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Peckham BMX National

The Pure BMX Race team headed for Central London on the 25/26th of June 2016 for the next stop of the BMX national series.

Jared

Despite a lack of sleep ahead of the racing due to car problems, Jared started off Saturday well with a consistent 2,2,2 in the moto’s and a 2nd in the semi. He got a good start in the final but unfortunately chose to go in gate 4, leaving him further to move over to the inside. Jared made every effort to get by the leader and looked like he was going for the win down the last straight but was promptly shut down and had to settle for 2nd. On Sunday Jared looked stronger and fresher and won moto’s and the semi but come the final, he again chose gate 4 and found himself being pushed back to 6th by the last straight and that’s where he finished. Hopefully Jared has learnt a valuable lesson going into the last 4 rounds with the national no 1 still just within reach.

Luke

It was good to be back National racing after a lengthy 6 week gap from the last one in Scotland. On Saturday Luke was struggling getting out the gate all day long, but he still managed to get some decent results in the motos, quarters and semi’s making it into the A final. In the Final his gate wasn’t great again, but fortunately he never got shut out, and managed to pull it back, and pick up a great second place result. On Sunday after having taken a knock to his knee in the warm up session, Luke was not feeling great, adding to this he was also doubling up on both the 20” and Cruiser. We decided after Scotland National to only double up on Sunday this time round, as Luke struggled to complete 2 days on 2 bikes in Scotland. Fortunately it was straight into semi’s on the 20”, and straight into finals on the Cruiser, eliminating the need for 2 extra races. He made the A finals on both bikes, getting a 2nd place finish on the Cruiser and a 7th place on the 20”. He is now looking forward to his first crack at a European Championship in Verona in 2 weeks’ time

Tian

Burgess started off well on Friday night in practice where I was feeling really good on my bike and the fastest I’ve felt in a while. I went into Saturday’s racing with a positive mind but didn’t get off to the best of starts with two 6th places in my first two motors after getting caught up in he first corner. I brought it back in my last Moro though finishing third which meant I was through to the semis. My start and first straight was pretty good in the semi final and I was in qualifying position but after a bit of chaos in the first corner I had to pull out of the pro which meant I went back to 5th and I was out. The next day didn’t start too great either with a crash in my first Moto. However, things improved as the day went on finishing 3rd and 1st in my next two Motos. I had a great run in my semi final as well finishing 3rd. I was happy to be in the final with the big boys but it was never going to be easy and after being held high in the first corner again I didn’t get the first pro very well so pulled out of the rest and finished 7th. All in all it was a tough but very good weekend!

Alan

I was looking forward to round 7 and 8 of the national series as I like the track and had raced there a few weeks ago in preparation. Things weren’t looking good to even get there on Friday night after our car broke down halfway but the Boss and his family came to our rescue and loaned us some wheels, thanks Rich, Phil and Maureen!

Low numbers in my classes meant going straight to the finals but a strong field would make the moto’s tough on the tiring track. On  day one I won all my cruiser laps to take the win and move a step closer to the national title, a rain shower just before the final made for challenging conditions! I took a few laps to get going in my Masters moto’s but picked lane 1 for the final and got a great gate to take the win and some decent points for the series.

Catching up on some sleep Saturday night, I felt refreshed for day 2 with no rain forecast to spoil the day. Cruiser went well again and a win in the final confirmed the national title which was my 34th UK title in my career. A slow start to the day again in Masters and a mistake in my last moto meant a middle lane choice for the final. I had a good bar banging battle down the first straight in the final to get into 2nd which I held to the line, more good points in the bag for the title challenge.

With 4 rounds to go at new national venues, I will now concentrate on the Masters class and continue working towards holding onto the points lead.

Quillan

Great weekend overall. Absolutely loved racing my home track with such a great atmosphere and home crowd support!

Day 1 we get lucky with the weather so racing was not interrupted. The final saw a close race with Tre Whyte and I switching positions into the second corner where I won my second national of the year! Day 2 I felt even better down the first straight which gave me a bit more confidence. However Tre was the better man I got the win ahead of me. 1st & 2nd I can’t complain!