Pure Bicycles Race Report Braintree 2017
The team headed to East Anglia the home of Pure Bicycles for the national series rounds 9 and 10 in Braintree Essex, the track at Braintree is a tigh packed track with something to challenge all the riders.
The team headed to East Anglia the home of Pure Bicycles for the national series rounds 9 and 10 in Braintree Essex, the track at Braintree is a tigh packed track with something to challenge all the riders.
Jared Hill
Saturday Moto 1,2,1 Quarter 1 Semi 3 Final 3
I was looking forward to this national because I had had a lot of practice, especially on the 2nd straight. I knew how much difference it could make doing the step up well. I got off to a good start with a win, then in my 2nd Moto I had Xander and although he was ahead of me down the 1st straight I took my line round the berm and boosted the step up and over took him because I knew he would’nt jump. I stayed in front even though he caught me up but I had the last straight pretty much dialed too and got a boost from jumping down the last straight to win the Moto. This gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the day. I won my quarter but in my semi I found myself in the wrong place out of the first berm and had to ride the step up. I ended up 3rd so I had 6th pick for the final. I went in gate 7 and got my best gate of the day. I moved over to the inside but as I set myself up to jump the 2nd straight Xander cut me off so I had to ride it again. Myles had room to jump into 2nd so I finished 3rd. I was a bit disappointed but I was ok.
Sunday Moto 1, 1, 2 Semi 2 Final 2
In warm up the wind felt a bit stronger down the 2nd straight and I did’nt think I could do the jump but then I saw someone else in my class do it so I went for it and I was happy then because it was fine. I started off well with 2 Moto wins, then a 2nd in the 3rd Moto when again I had to ride the step up. I won my quarter and then in my semi I did’nt get my best gate, I was slightly in the lead in the first berm but I did’nt feel like I had enough speed to jump and I wad slightly squeezed. I held onto 2nd and so I had 3rd pick for the final. I did’nt feel confident enough with my gate to go inside of Myles and Xander so I went in 5 and again my gate was ok but not the best. I went into berm in 3rd, this time I had room and I jumped past Ike and drew level with Xander but I was on the outside of him. I tucked into 2nd place and that is where I finished. I was happy with how the weekend went and proud of my jumping. My goal was to win both days to still have a chance at the title but now I am focused on staying in 2nd and making the worlds.
Harrison Bell
Round 9, Saturday.
Had to hit the ground running with really tricky moto draws. I managed 1st, 6th (summersaulted over my bars!) & 1st. In the quarter final due to my crash earlier, it was again stacked, I finished 3rd. Semi final I again got 3rd. Onto A final where i got a good start from an outside gate and sat in 3rd until being caught on the line, finishing 4th for round 9.
Round10, Sunday.
If anything my Motos were even trickier today, one had 5 top10 ranked riders in!! In Motos I managed 3rd, 2nd & 2nd, which I was pleased with. Quarter final time again & I got 3rd, onto semi final I finished 2nd. Giving me a better gate choice than yesterday, but in the Afinal I ran out of room in the first straight & unfortunately went down with another rider, in the end finishing 7th.
Although it was a long treck to Braintree from Glasgow, the racing, my results & Braintree put on a fantastic national with great weather too! Made the journey worth while!!
Next up, the European championships in Bordeaux next week!
Ben Curling
Moto1st, 1st, 1st Quarter 1st Semi 1st A final 2nd
I rode really well in all 3 moto’s track was riding smooth and I nailed the second straight keeping the bike low over the first and second jumps which carried y speed through into the 3rd straight . Won both the quarter and the semi which gave me 1st pick on the gate in the final .
I choose gate 2, didn’t get a great gate but battled hard and was battling for the win !
Ended up 2nd overall but happy with my riding .
Round 10 Moto 1st 1st 1st Quarter 1st Semi 1st A final 2nd
Started the day exactly the same as round 9 . Felt strong through all the moto’s and really felt I could take the win … rode well through both the quarter and the semi to reach the final again in pole position with 1st pick .
I went with gate 2 again and this time got a great start !
I flew round the 1st berm and gained quite a good lead , however I over jumped the first jump on the 2nd straight and had to jump the 2nd jump higher than I would have liked which made me loose my speed going into the 3rd straight , I was win I got until the last straight wheee I was over taken just before the line … ended up in the 2nd spot again .
Matthew Gilston
Day 1: Motos-4th,2nd,3rd Quarter-3rd Semi-4th Final-7th Good racing on saturday, i was especially pleased with my semi final.
Day2: Motos-2nd,1st,3rd Quater-4th Semi-6th B final-3rd I felt better on sunday but i got 4th in my quarter which ment i had an outside gate in the semi. I got pushed wide in the first corner and a case on the third straight stopped me for catching 4th place.
Luke Mendes
Saturday Moto’s 2nd, 1st, 7th, Semi 7th, B Final 2nd
The weekend got off to a good start, but then in my 3rd moto while racing up at the front of the pack I felt my arm cramping up half way round the lap, and had to pull up finishing towards the back.
For the semi I had a good start but got squeezed going over the first jump and I had to unclip so as to not crash, this gave me last place, and left me with a B Final.The final went well, taking a comfortable 2nd place.
Sunday Moto’s 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, Semi 3rd, Final 5th
Sunday things went ok through the moto’s, into the semi and things went well but I did have a moment, running in second going into the last berm I ran in a bit too fast tagging the leader, luckily neither of us went down, but it cost me second place.
In the Final I had a great start, running in second/third going into the second berm but again I ran in a bit too fast tagging the leader, which happen to be the same rider from my semi, and again luckily neither of us went down, but it cost me a potential podium.
It was a good way to end the weekend, showing some good pace. Next big race for me will be the World Championships in Rock Hill, USA in 3 weeks’ time. Looking forward to it!
Josh Butson
Round 9: Motos – 1st, 1st, 1st, Quarter – 1st, Semi – 3rd A Final – 8th
With Braintree being my home club I felt comfortable on the track having ridden it so many times before, made it feel like it wasn’t a national in a strange way. The moto’s went pretty much perfectly winning them all from the gate with some smooth laps, everything was going to plan. I qualified first out of the moto’s but quarter final time still bought on the nerves, I handled them well and won that lap too. With my prior results I had first pick in the semi final and I opted for the inside with gate 1, my gate wasn’t the best but I managed to make the inside work round the first turn. I followed round in 3rd and kept that result to the line, making the main at my home track was the goal and I had achieved it. The final I had gate 5 and just got squeezed right away, chased the pack round but unfortunately stayed at the back. Felt like I could have done better than 8th considering how I was riding but made the main so couldn’t be disappointed.
Round 10: Motos –2nd, 1st, Crash Quarter – 2nd Semi – 4th A Final – 5th
Day 2 I hoped for the same good moto results but wanted a better result in the final. The day started off with a 2nd closely following the leader round the whole lap. Moto 2 I had gate 8, having a good gate I quickly turned left and entered turn 1 on the inside and in the lead which I held on to until the finish. The final moto I was wanting a win so that I could have a good gate pick for the quarter, thinking that a win could possibly give me first pick. That plan quickly went out the window with a dreadful gate leaving me last, I made up ground quickly to fourth place into turn 2. A gap opened up into the last turn and I went for the move to put me into 3rd, but instead put me on the floor. Quarter final time and I chose gate 8 to try and regroup from my poor 3rd moto. I entered the first turn in 3rd place and made a move down the outside of the second straight for 2nd place. For the semi final I had fourth pick and was able to choose gate 3, I had a good gate and was level with the leaders into the first turn. Being on the outside of them I backed off a little so that I could tuck inside and stop anyone else coming down the inside past me, holding a fourth place finish to the line. I chose gate 8 in the final and gated well, I was in 5th but the whole race was bunched up tight. There was a crash right in front of me which I had to brake hard to avoid and that slowed me right down, I crossed the line in 5th. Happy to come away with back to back mains for the first time this season, and feel like this was the best I have ridden all season.
Tian Isidore
Braintree was another tough weekend for me, struggling to get back into the swing of things after my injury. Training has been going quite well but I still need to get my race head fully screwed on before I see some results! I wasn’t able to make the final either day which I was quite disappointed with but I’ve just got to learn from it and move on to the next one.
Alan Hill
Round 9 cruiser: Moto’s 1st,1st,1st, Semi 1st, Final 1st 20″: Moto’s 1st,1st,1st, Semi 1st, Final 1st
We had a week off from racing before Braintree so naturally we headed down there for some extra practice on the Sunday. With warm and dry weather on race day, the track was running fast and the changes to the 3rd straight and berms were a welcome improvement. I wasn’t feeling 100% as I had a cold but my moto’s went well and I chose lane 1 in the semi and finals which helped me get the holeshot and win both classes from the front.
Round 10 Cruiser Moto’s 1st,1st,1st, Semi 1st, Final 1st 20″: Moto’s 1st,1st,1st,Semi 1st, Final 1st
The wind was a little blustery in the morning but it died down later in the day and made jumping the 2nd straight big double easier. I won all my races up the finals and although I was feeling tired due to my cold, managed consistent gates and won both finals in cruiser and vets classes. Happy that the team did well and we increased our lead in the standings with 2 round left next month in Gravesend. Time to start final preparation and tapered training before we head to South Carolina for the Worlds Championships in a few weeks.
Neil Stewart
Rounds 9 & 10 of the British BMX Series went down in Braintree over this past weekend and my lack of bike time wasn’t ideal going into this weekend.
Only managed to get to the track on Saturday Morning after deciding to commute both days as Braintree is 60 minutes from home… With a few good laps of practice in, I knew it was time to jump the double out the first turn, and on my last attempt, I cleared it!
This might seem fairly mediocre for some, but for The Warlock to get both of my Maxxis Torch tyres off the ground at the same time, is a pretty big step for this old timer!
Saturday racing came around and a 3rd, 4th, 4th in the moto’s, saw me edge into the Semi’s with ease, with a few big names getting moto’d along the way, as always the competition was tough on day one.
A pretty stacked Semi Final as always meant I knew it would be a battle but the power transfer through my HT BMX SX Pedals saw me contending for the 4th place down the last straight, losing out to a photo finish by half an Alienation Malice wheel, which meant it was 5th in the Semi for me!
The B Final soon came around and whilst lying 3rd down the second straight, I made my move on the big double going underneath Jason Lewis and Spencer Cremin, Jason clearly didn’t expect The Warlock to be squeezing through, but I made it stick and stood strong as his handlebars dug into my thigh, but I was too strong, and went on to win the B Final from there!
Sunday came around and the commute in the morning meant I missed the morning warm up, but it didn’t matter, as a quick warm up in the street, got those Maxxis Torch Tyres up to race temperature, and my first Moto ended with a 4th, in what could’ve been a semi-final. The second moto was a 3rd, and that was followed by a 4th in my last moto and clearly onto the Semi Final. This time the pause on the gate in the Semi Final was really short, and I missed the gate by a mile! So I was playing catch up all the way around, but conceding to 6th in the semi!
So another B final loomed, Gate 4 and a great start pretty much level with Jason Bynoe and Jon Western, but I got the Warlock power down through the “Pure Power Transfer System”, and went into the lead around the first long corner, from there a clean lap and another B Final win!
I doubled for the weekend, I now Love B finals again!
Considering lack of bike time over the last couple of months, I am pretty happy with these results, in what is a now a great competitive class, congrats to Alan Hill who wrapped up the title for 2017 some time ago, but it’s an honour to race legends like Hilly, Reidy, Budday, Oggy, Barnard, Gunner and the rest of the Vets!
More importantly for me, the Pure Team are doing a great job representing in both Blue & Red Teams, a real BMX Family… Thanks to all the sponsors for making my weekend a treat, #purebikeco, #maxxistyreuk #htcomponents #alienantion #gshockuk
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