All content © Bob MuIIins

Fast Eddy Racing
Winter Series Round 2, Bicton
Report and Pics - Vanessa & Tilde Tighe

The second round of the popular Fast Eddy Racing Winter series took place at Bicton, nr Shrewsbury last Sunday. Despite torrential downpours leading up to the event, the farmer worked hard to ensure that the track was in perfect condition for the Fast Eddy riders, old and new, who flock to these events week in and week out.

The surprise of the day was Lewis Belfield, who after a long layoff, swept to victory in the Expert class with over a two-minute lead on the rest of the field, revelling in the tough Bicton conditions.

The morning started with a slippery and damp track at Bicton for the youth race, but throughout the course of the race, it dried up making perfect conditions for the adult race later on in the day.

From the moment the flag dropped, George Yardley took not only the holeshot, but also the lead throughout the whole race, not dropping from first place even in the slippery conditions Bicton provided. Adam James took second place after the first lap by overtaking Nathan Upton, who suffered many crashes throughout the race. After a detour in the woods, Nathan finally made it out, only to crash on exiting. However, undeterred he carried on and took fifth place. Keelan Hope performed well as usual and took third. With some help in the tricky woods section, Cory Cookland pushed on through the race and settled for a well-deserved fourth place.

After a short break, the adult riders took to the start line and, after a briefing from Fast Eddy, were set off for their two hour race, which saw Expert rider Lewis Belfield blast off up the long start straight leading into a tight bend, making his intentions clear from the offset. Lewis never looked back, leading from start to finish and as conditions improved, setting his fastest lap in the penultimate lap. Jack Ditchfield pushed Lewis all the way and took a solid second, matching him on 21 laps, as did third place Ryan Phillips.

Fast Eddy regular Ryan Griffiths took the win in the Vets class closely followed by Chris Wagstaff in second and Colin Griffiths in third. Max Ditchfield made easy work of it in Clubman class, giving the Vets a run for their money, taking first place from James Halliwell in second and Ryan Faulks, a lap down, in third.

Max Ditchfield

Ryan Griffiths

Harry Edmondson took the win in the Youth class on 20 laps, but didn't make life easy for himself. Harry worked hard after an off on the opening corner to make up time but was soon kissing the dirt again a few laps in. Following a few words of 'encouragement ' from Dad, Harry settled down and saw off challenges from second place Jacob James and third place Cole Cookland.

The Sportsman and Novice classes didn't fair quite so well in the challenging conditions, a few laps down on the rest of the field, but nevertheless they dug deep and Matt Vernin did well to complete 18 laps and take the Sportsman win. He was followed home by Neil Stokes and Neil Mardlin, taking second and third respectively. Tom Powis blasted out 17 laps to take the win in the Novice class, with Ian Gwalchmai in second on 16 laps, as was Jamie Harrison in third.

For the riders that wanted, Fast Eddy gave them an extra hour of riding time whilst the track was being taken in, a great event in terms of both quality and money.

For the Fast Eddy Racing team, all eyes now turn towards the Extreme Indoor Enduro at Stafford County Showground this coming weekend, which promises to be the event of the year, check out www.fasteddyracing.com  for more info and ticket prices.