Newton-le-Willows
MCC
Preston
Docks
26/10/08
Lancashire Grand National / Final Round
With all
the rain that had fallen the previous week and with Elliott's
final race at East Cumbria cancelled, we decided
to do a local meeting for the fist time since Elliott competed
at Bleak Hall on his auto back in July 2005. A lot of effort
had gone into removing as much water from the track as physically
possible, the track owners were still draining
water off the track whilst riders were signing on and getting
their bikes scrutineered. Elliott went out for practice and rode
really well in the muddy conditions, the track was then shortened
dramatically for the auto and 65 riders.
Elliott's
first start wasn't the best and he arrived at the first jump
in fourth place, he made a pass for third and set about trying
to close the gap to Dee Jay Walker in second and Keenan Hird
in first place. Three laps passed and Elliott was starting to
close the gap, Keenan made a mistake and Dee Jay went through
to the front. He then fell approaching the table top and Keenan
was back in the lead with Elliott now quite close behind, as
they approached a really muddy section of the track Elliott took
a tighter line and got better drive up the hill and passed Keenan
for first place. Elliott then managed to keep the bike upright
in the tricky conditions to take first place.
Race two
and he got out of the gate a lot better and headed for the first
corner alongside Dee Jay, it was Keenan though that emerged from
the first corner in first place with Elliott being forced wide
and Dee Jay falling. The rest of the pack struggled to get past
Dee Jay's fallen bike which left Keenan and Elliott with quite
a lead as they headed over the next couple of jumps. As they
approached the second corner Keenan slowed in the deep mud and
Elliott managed once again to get a better line and take first
place. At the end of the second lap Elliott had opened up quite
a lead which allowed him to concentrate on his lines and
he took another race win and with only two blocks being completed
his first win overall on his 65.
Northern
Youth MCC Championship
Gt
Salkeld, Penrith
12/10/08
Round Seven
Elliott arrived
at the Northern Youth track at Gt Salkeld, Penrith sitting in
fourth place in the Championship 5 points behind John Joe Wright.
The usual top four riders were there amongst the eight riders
competing, all too often this season we’ve been able
to predict the top finishers. Sam Braithwaite would be first followed
by Curtis Ferguson and then either John Joe or Elliott would round
up to top four. This was now even more the case since Jonathan
Hughes has stopped racing at Salkeld. So Elliott would have to
beat John Joe in all three races by two points to clinch third
overall in the Championship.
Elliott got
a good start in the first race and was sitting just ahead of
John Joe in third place as they came up to the first table top,
John Joe was pressuring him for the first few laps and both of
them passed Curtis as he fell heading for the back section of
the track. Sam who was leading the race then stopped as his chain
came off his bike, Elliott and John Joe where now sitting 1st
and 2nd with about three laps to go. Curtis was pushing hard
to try and make up lost time and with a couple of laps to go
he was able to pass John Joe for 2nd. Elliott was too far ahead and
crossed the line in first place taking his first win at the track
since he moved up from the autos, Curtis finished 2nd John Joe
3rd and Sam 4th after battling away from the back of the pack.
So in the championship John Joe and Elliott were all square with
just two races left.
Race two
and Elliott was once again off the line well but he made a mistake
and fell behind Curtis allowing John Joe and Dan Bewley through.
Over the next few laps he battled back to fourth place behind
John Joe and as they crossed the line for the last lap there
was only a couple of bike lengths between them. Elliott tried
to stay close to John Joe but as they came up to the first table
top John Joe had opened up a gap which Elliott wasn’t able
to close and he had to settle for fourth place. John Joe was
now leading the race for third place in the Championship by two
points; Curtis after another second place finish was leading
on the day with Sam and Elliott in joint 2nd with a win and a
fourth place finish each.
So to the
final race, Elliott needed to beat John Joe to stand any chance
of the third place in the championship. I tried to take his mind
off it by saying it was the last race on his 65 at Salkeld so
to just go out and enjoy it. Elliott and John Joe wished each
other good luck before taking to the line for their championship
decider, the anticipation was heightened when the first start
was red flagged. They went back to the line and once again set
them selves for the start, Elliott got the holeshot which cost
me a tenner. I tried to get away with the “I hadn’t seen
it!” line to which he said he had witnesses. He was sitting
2nd behind Sam with Curtis 3rd and John Joe 4th and that’s
how it stayed for a couple of laps. Lap three and Curtis came over
the table top right behind Elliott and as they went down the hill
towards the bottom table top Curtis moved past Elliott, I waited
for Curtis to appear in front of Elliott but he didn’t he’d
fell and Elliott was now clear in 2nd place. That’s how it
ended, Sam took the overall and the club championship, Elliott
finished 2nd overall (I might add as predicted before practice
by Lee Smith. Any good at lottery numbers Lee?). Curtis finished
3rd on the day and 2nd in the championship. Elliott had just clinched
3rd in the championship from John Joe.
ACU
Team Event
Low
Gelt, Brampton, Carlisle
4th
and 5th/10/08
Elliott had earned enough points in the centre rounds to get picked
to ride for the East Cumbria Team in the ACU Team Event.
We arrived
at the Brampton track in Carlisle late on Friday night, the next
morning it was still raining and the track was starting to deteriorate.
Elliott went out for his three practice laps and was coping well
with the tricky conditions.
With him
being the number one rider in the East Cumbria team, he would
in his three races be competing with the other twelve top riders
from all the other teams. By the time race one started
the track was a real mess, Elliott got a good start and came
up the first big hill in sixth place but as he got to the top
he stalled the bike and struggled to get it going again. He finished
the first lap in 14th place then made up one place on the second
lap before falling again on the main hill twice on the next two
laps and eventually finishing 16th out of the 39 riders. He wasn’t
very happy with the fact he couldn’t of dealt better with
the muddy conditions on the hill and disappointed with the 16th
place.
The rain
never stopped all day and the club worked incredibly hard during
the night and through the early hours of the morning to get the
track in any sort of condition to run the necessary three blocks
of racing. Sunday morning came and a fog was hanging over the
track, the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to break through.
The track had been shortened and corners cut to avoid the worst
sections of the
flooding from the previous day.
Elliott was scheduled to race in the second and the third and
final race of the day, hopefully this would give the track chance
to dry out and give him a chance to make up points for his team.
He went out for the sighting lap before his race so he could see
how the track layout had changed, his start was really good and
he was up in the top ten as he headed for the drop off. He was
riding really well and started the 2nd lap in 7th place chasing
James McFayden and William Wall, as they went round the table top
at the bottom of the track he dropped the bike and fell back to
tenth place. It only took him one lap to get back into 7th place
where he finished the race.
His final
race of the day started really well with him sitting in 6th place
after two laps and chasing hard after Danny Mell for fifth. He
passed Danny on lap three and going into the final lap he was
still in fifth place, he went to pass one of the back markers
at the back of the track but the rider fell as Elliott went under
him for the corner trapping Elliott under his and Elliott’s
bike before another rider rode into the back of them. With one
track marshal dealing with so many bikes Elliott got himself up
lifted his bike clear and got back into the race. He’d dropped
four places whilst he was on the floor and finished the race in
9th.
Elliott was
a lot happier with his performance on the Sunday and pleased
to of helped the East Cumbria team to finish in 4th place overall
behind Cumbria the eventual winners, Ireland and the Scottish
Youth Team. He finished 12th in the 65’s out of the 52
riders competing over the weekend.
East
Cumbria MCC Championship
Low
Gelt, Brampton,
21/09/08
Round five
Their was
a good turn out for the Junior racing with the BYMX team event
being held here on the 4th & 5th of October, a few riders
had turned up to get some practice for the event. Elliott's first
start was a poor one but worked hard on the first corners to
make up spaces, he came over the drop off on the first lap in
8th place. There was four riders battling for 4th place for the
rest of the race, Elliott was at the back of that group. He was
battling with Jonathan Hughes, Kyle Peebles and Callum Bircher
for the whole race, Elliott was getting close enough but wasn't
able to get a good line to make a pass. He took Jonathan for
7th at the top of the track on the penultimate lap but he couldn't
make it stick and Jonathan came back past as they approached
the drop off. Eventually Callum took fourth followed by Kyle
and Jonathan with Elliott back in eighth.
I went up
to watch his second start and this time it was a good one, he
was battling with Curtis Ferguson who was sitting in fourth place
for the first couple of laps before bike trouble took Curtis
out of the race. Elliott was now well clear of Jonathan in fifth
and was trying to catch Sam Braithwaite and Jay Lamb in front
of him, both of them made mistakes but Elliott wasn't close enough
to capitalise on any of them and fourth place was where he finished.
The final race was a real battle for all the 65 riders just to
get round, as in the previous races Ben Green, just crowned BYMX
champion was showing his class way out in front of all the other
riders. Elliott was once again battling with Jonathan for fourth
place, the track was now really rough in places and Elliott was
just able to keep with Jonathan. He went for the inside line
at the bottom corner after the drop off to see if he could make
a pass but he fell and Jonathan was away. Elliott got away without
losing a place but was now being pushed hard by John Joe Wright,
Elliott though had done enough to hang on to fifth to take fifth
overall.
He is now
looking forward to returning for the BYMX Team Event were he'll
be representing the Cumbria 'B' Team.
Northern
Youth MCC Championship
Gt
Salkeld, Penrith
31/08/08
Round Six
Elliott
got a good start in his first race and he was riding really well
in third place with John Joe behind him in fourth, he managed
to open up a small lead on John Joe over the next couple of laps.
Then he made a mistake and John Joe was through, Elliott got
going and wasn't that far behind but he was trying to hard and
made another mistake at the step up with two laps to go and the
chance of third had gone and he finished fourth. Race two and
he had another good start and was pushing Curtis Ferguson
for second with John Joe sitting behind him in fourth. He was
riding with a lot more confidence and hitting the jumps better
than he had done in all the previous meetings. He made one small
mistake all race which let Curtis get away for second, Elliott
though secured third and was now sitting joint third with John
Joe.
The final
race turned out to be a close one with Elliott and John Joe both
wanting that third place, it was Elliott that was holding it
but he couldn't get away from John Joe who was sitting right
behind him. Then on lap three or four Elliott was heading down
the finish straight with John Joe only meters behind, Elliott
hit the big jump hard but as he landed the bike went sideways
and sent Elliott spinning into the air. As I watched he got to
his feet and with some help re-started the bike and got back
into the race, he came passed me at the hairpin and gave me
a quick thumbs up to say he was ok but pointed at what was left
of the front brake lever which had been snapped off. He kept
on riding well for the next couple of laps to secure fourth place
and fourth overall. He is now sitting fourth in the championship
only four or five points behind John Joe with just the one meeting
left.
Cumbria
MCC Championship
Haverigg
9/08/08
Rounds five & six
The club
had decided to run a dash for cash later in the day so only
the youth riders would ride in the morning. As everybody
was signing in the track was looking really good,
with new gates fitted on the newly installed concrete start
everyone was looking forward to the racing. As the autos went
out for practice the heavens opened and the track got really
muddy really quick, by the time everyone had finished their
practice laps there were massive amounts of water laying on
the track surface. Elliott as usual got a poor start in his
race, he was about tenth going into the first corner out of
the fifteen riders but he came round to the end of the first
lap in fifth. The conditions for the riders were terrible, Ben
Green was making the best of it and leading the way from Sam
Braithwaite, Kyle (Rusty) Peebles and Dee Jay Walker in fourth.
Elliott moved up to forth on the next lap as Dee Jay pulled
out with bike trouble, then Sam and Rusty fell on the next lap
and Elliott found himself sitting in second place. He kept riding
well for the next few laps battling away through slippery conditions
to finish second behind Ben. The weekends racing was called
to an end after one full block of youth riders as the rain never
stopped.
Northern
Youth MCC Championship
Gt
Salkeld, Penrith
28/07/08
Round Five
The track
was looking good for the days racing, with the club watering
it the previous afternoon and evening. Elliott got off the gate
quite well and was sitting in fifth place just in front of Johnathan
Hughes, they battled for quite a few laps picking up one place
after Ben Green who was leading fell when he got high sided on
the landing of one of the jumps. They were still battling for
fourth place when they took the last lap flag, it was half way
round the final lap when Elliott lost the front wheel and fell
before the table top, Jonathan passed him as he picked the bike
up. Then as he got going Ben passed him on the hairpin and Elliott
was now sitting in sixth place, which is were he finished the
race.
The second
race got underway with Elliott getting another good start he
lost a couple of places on the second corner and was battling
with John Joe Wright for fifth place. He managed to open a small
gap on John Joe and with two laps to go he was closing in on
Johnathan Hughes in front of him. Then as he came to the step
up just before the last lap flag he lost the front wheel once
again allowing John Joe past, he pushed hard trying to catch
up but the gap was too large and he had to settle for sixth place
once again. The final race was cancelled due to the track being
to dry and dusty, Elliott picked up sixth overall.
East
Cumbria MCC Championship
Low
Gelt, Brampton,
13/07/08
Round four
Elliott got
blocked out on the first corner on race one and had to work hard
to get back with the leaders. With only nine riders in the race
it didn’t take too long to get back on terms
with Johnathan Hughes who was leading from John Joe Wright, as
they came over the drop off for the second time Elliott was close.
Jonathan went round the outside of the next corner closely followed
by John Joe whilst Elliott took the tighter inside line and it
nearly paid off as all three of them got held up in the muddy conditions
Elliott nearly came out leading but Jonathan and John Joe just
managed to hold there places. On the very next lap they all came
off the drop off really close and once again Jonathan and John
Joe went wide but this time the mud stopped the both of them allowing
Elliott through on the inside. He pushed hard over the next few
laps to open up a considerable lead, Jonathan was chasing Elliott
hard over the final lap followed by Ashley Darling who had moved
up into third. Elliott rounded the bottom sweeper and headed for
the final group of hill’s, one hill to go and he was there
crossing the line to take the chequered flag and his first race
win on his 65.
Race two started better John Joe took the holeshot for the second
time closely followed by Johnathan, Elliott and Ashley Darling.
Elliott fell at the step up at the far corner of the track on the
first lap and Ashley took third, John Joe was still leading but
coming under increasing pressure from Jonathan which eventually
paid off as he took the lead with only a couple of laps to go and
held it till the end. Elliott fell a couple more times during the
race and finished fourth behind Ashley in third and John Joe second.
John Joe
completed a hat trick of hole shots leading the way once more,
Jonathan moved to the front pushing John Joe down to second.
Elliott was starting to open up a gap on the fourth placed Ashley
and was starting to close on John Joe for second. On the final
lap Ashley pushed hard and as they came to the bottom sweeping
corner he closed up on Elliott and John Joe, he passed Elliott
going up the hill and then passed John Joe at the bottom of the
final hill to take second place with John Joe third and Elliott
fourth once again. Elliott finished third overall.
Cumbria
MCC Championship
Haverigg
5-6/07/08
Rounds three & four
Saturday morning and the track was perfect, the sky though was
looking ominous. Elliott went well in practice and he was looking
forward to the racing. His first race start was terrible and he
would have to come from the back of the pack, the rain had started
and the track was starting to cut up already. Elliott was struggling
for pace and ended up riding round on his own finishing in tenth
place.
Races two and three were very much the same another poor start
and he had to battle through once again from the back, he finished
8th overall at the end of the day. He was disappointed with his
riding and was trying to work out were he could improve.
Sunday came and the track was really rough in places after practice,
his first start was the same as the previous day and he was once
again trying to come from the back. The track caught a couple of
riders out in front of him and he managed to capitalize on there
mistake to finish 7th.
Race two and after a talk about his starts he made a big effort
to get round the first corner in a better position, I watched as
he went up the start straight and rode right round the outside
of a pack of riders and for the first time all weekend he was in
the top ten on the first lap. He rode really well, even when he
was put under a lot of pressure from Jonathan Hughes during the
middle of the race. Jonathan made a mistake and Elliott opened
up a gap and was sitting in fifth place as he went into the final
lap, he was now being caught by the hard charging Ben Green recovering
from a first lap fall. Ben caught him with half a lap to go forcing
Elliott back into 6th place.
Elliott was
a lot happier with the way he was riding and was hoping for a
good final race to give him a good overall result. His start
improved once again and he was up in the top ten, he passed a
couple of riders but with four laps to go I think he fell on
every lap. On the final lap he dropped two places as he fell
on the face of the step up, Jonathan and Callum
Bircher passed him but as Elliott came to the last third of the
lap Callum made a mistake and Elliott picked up a place to finish
7th and he finished 6th overall. Elliott was a lot happier with
his riding on Sunday and hopefully he can now carry that over to
Brampton on Sunday.
East
Cumbria MCC Championship
Low
Gelt, Brampton,
15/06/08
Round three
Sunday at
Brampton the track that three weeks earlier Elliott had rode
so well in the BYMX and with similar track conditions we thought
Elliott would be riding just as well as he did then. The first
race of the day and Elliott got a poor start and was struggling
to catch the group of five riders about 50 meters in front of
him, he made one mistake at the top of the track which put him
further back finishing 9th.
Race two
and once again after a poor start Elliott was once again struggling
for pace, he found himself riding round well off the group of
riders battling for 4th to 8th place and when Sam Braithwaite
who after a fall was charging from the back passed him with a
lap to go Elliott found himself finishing in 10th place.
The final
race and he needed a good result to pull some places back, there
was a lot more urgency in his riding now and he was chasing hard
after Joe Sutcliffe as they came round the bottom corner. Then
as they went up the hill Joe fell and with Elliott having no
way of avoiding a collision he went over the handlebars, he got
himself up and picked up a few places over then next three
or four laps taking 8th place and finishing 9th overall.
Northern
Youth MCC Championship
Gt
Salkeld, Penrith
14/06/08
Round Four
The weekends
racing got underway at NYMXC Penrith on Saturday, Elliott started
well and was sitting in fifth place behind Kyle Peebles. The
race they had over the next five or six laps was great to watch,
Elliott was trying everything to get past Kyle but Kyle was having
none of it. Each lap the gap between them would open and close
as they hit certain parts of the track, Elliott tried
to pass Kyle as they went down the first hill on a couple of laps
but Kyle held his line well and kept the door shut. Then on the
final lap Elliott tried once more, he went into the corner so fast
that I was sure he’d fall off but he managed to get it into
the berm and get the bike round the corner. Kyle didn’t let
him get away and he pushed Elliott all the way to the line, they
shook hands and congratulated each other after the race.
The second race turned out to be a slower version of race one,
for some reason Elliott lacked the speed and struggled to get with
the main group of riders battling for 4th, 5th and 6th he was battling
once more with Kyle for 7th which he eventually got.
The final race of the day and Elliott was back on the pace fighting
for fourth place with Kyle who was leading the group in 4th, John
Joe 5th Elliott 6th and Joe Sutcliffe in 7th. You could have thrown
a blanket over the lot of them they were that close. Lap after
lap Kyle held on tightly to the racing line and was making it hard
for the riders behind him to pass. With two laps to go Elliott
came up the step up on the inside of John Joe and they hit the
table top together, Elliott tried hard to take the fifth place
but John Joe closed the door as they went round the corner for
the first downhill. Then as he pushed once more for that extra
place his front wheel washed out as he entered the hairpin and
he fell to the floor. He got back onto his bike but his race was
run and he crossed the line in 7th taking 6th overall.
ACU
Moggstar BYMX Championship
Brampton,
Carlisle
24
& 25 /05/08
Round Three
This was
the first time Elliott had competed at National level and he
was looking forward to the experience of the whole weekend. Once
again he would be racing against a lot of his friends that
had been missing at the club rounds since the start of the season.
The Track layout had changed slightly for the national with another
step up now located after the usual sloppy bottom corner. This
time however that corner like the rest of the track was bone
dry and the organisers were watering the track day and night
to keep the dust down. Elliott qualified 20th and was all set
for the two races later in the day
Elliott wasn't
one of the quickest out of the gate on race one and ended the
first lap in 26th place then over the next five laps he battled
with another five cumbrian club riders for position. Elliott
firstly had to battle his way past the fast starting Kyle (Rusty)
Peebles and then Callum Bircher, then one lap later he managed
to pass Jay Hague. In the final lap he was getting chased hard
by Callum and Kyle, Callum was catching him fast and Elliott
had to push hard for the line finishing 18th just in front of
Callum by 3ths of a second. Race two and Elliott's best race
of the weekend he was 23rd after the first lap, he then started
to chase Aaron Burns who was moving through the pack. Elliott
eventually passed Aaron for 15th place but then fell back to
16th when he was passed by Oliver Benton.ed
the group for the next couple of laps
Day two and
race three, Elliott's best start of the weekend as he found himself
in 16th place. He was then passed on lap 2 by Joe Sutcliffe,
Jay Hague and David Keet. Elliott found himself battling once
again with Callum over the next couple of laps for 20th place,
in the final lap they both made up a place Callum finishing 19th
with Elliott in 20th. The final race was to be his worst, he
had a poor start and was then caught in a pile up just before
the drop off. At the end of the first lap he found himself in
30th place chasing Dee Jay Walker, he passed DJ as they headed
for the step down and then with each lap he passed another rider
eventually finishing in 25th place. At the end of the weekend
he had picked up 85 points and finished 21st overall. He thoroughly
enjoyed the weekend and was pleased with his riding although
he was a little disappointed with his final race.
Check his
results at the BYMX website
Northern
Youth MCC Championship
Gt
Salkeld, Penrith
18/05/08
Round Three
The track
at Penrith was very dry and dusty after being bathed in sunshine
for over a week. Elliott was happy to be back at a track he knew
well and hoping for a good result and with Ben Green away competing
in the Elite Youth Cup the championship lead was up for grabs.
Sam Braithwaite and Curtis Ferguson would be at the top of the
list for a win whilst Elliott, Jonathan Hughes and John Joe Wright
would be pushing them all the way over the three races.
Race one got underway and Sam was soon leading and opening a gap
to Curtis in second, Jonathan was in third with Elliott pushing
hard behind him. Elliott tried everything to get close enough to
Jonathan but never quite made it and had to settle for fourth with
John Joe in fifth.
As they went
to the gate for race two Jonathan had bike trouble and emerged
on Curtis Ferguson’s spare
bike, the gate dropped and once again Sam and Curtis pulled away,
this time John Joe was sitting third and Elliott fourth. Jonathan
lost time as he did a couple of laps with no seat before getting
it re-fitted. Elliott was having the same problem with John Joe
as he had in the previous race, not getting close enough to make
a pass. On the final lap as they got to the bottom of the hill
after the big step down he went for a pass but turned to tight
and fell. He had just enough time to get back on the bike and
finish fourth once more.
One race
left, Sam Braithwaite was looking for a hat-trick of wins and
maximum points. Curtis was second with John Joe and Elliott joint
third and Jonathan only three points behind, so as long as Elliott
could stay just behind Jonathan and just in front of John Joe
he could pick up third place overall. He got under way with his
worst start of the day and found himself in fifth place behind
Jonathan in third and John Joe in forth, as they battled away
Elliott just couldn’t
close the gap. With one lap left John Joe was pushing hard for
third place and Elliott had started to close the gap but it was
looking like too little too late. Then as Jonathan and John Joe
came over the last table top neck and neck John Joe went for
one final try for third place but spun the bike at the bottom
of the final step up just ten meters from the finish line. This
allowed Elliott through into fourth place behind Jonathan which
in turn gave him the result he needed to take third place overall.
West
Cumbria MCC Championship
Dean
Moor, Round Two
Youth
Centre Round
11/05/08
This was
Elliott's first trip up to the West Cumbria track and for a change
in motocross it was a hot sunny day not the usual rain that we
are getting used to these days. Elliott has never rode anything
like this before and after his two laps of practice he knew it
was going to be hard work. The track had been heavily watered
the previous night and on the morning of the race and Elliott
was struggling with the conditions. Race one got under way and
he was ninth going round the first corner, he worked hard trying
to catch the riders in front but they soon opened up a gap. He
passed Kyle Peebles as he made a mistake but Kyle was soon up
on his bike and gained a lot of ground before riding round the
outside of Elliott as they approached the big step down at the
top of the track. Elliott finished the race I think in around
7th or 8th place and went to watch the sw85's to see if he could
see where he could improve his performance in the next race.
He decided to try the spare bike after struggling for traction
with the race bike in the first race.
Race 2 and
once again he was ninth and once again he was soon struggling
to keep with the riders in front of him. With three laps to go
his speed started to improve and he was hitting the jumps with
a lot more confidence, once again battling with Kyle Peebles
and he was also getting pushed really hard by Bradley Mann. I
think Elliott eventually lost out to both of them, he was happier
though with how he had rode and decided to stick with the spare
bike for the final race.
Sitting seventh
overall Elliott knew he would have to pull out the race of his
life to get anywhere near the top six. Once again he left it
to the final few laps, he opened a gap on Bradley Mann after
he'd made a mistake trying to take Kyle, then he set about trying
to catch Kyle. It was as they entered the final lap that Elliott
really closed up on Kyle and looked like for the first time he
could make a challenge on him. As they crested the step down
they where really close and as Kyle and Elliott disappeared out
of site Elliott made his move diving down the inside on the corner
before the table top. Kyle came back into view as he took the
jump with Elliott arriving a couple of seconds later, he'd locked
his front wheel in the corner and fell. He held on to his place
though and took seventh overall behind
Kyle.
After working
hard to improve throughout the day he was still a little disappointed
at the end of the days racing. He wants to go back though and
compete for the Youth centre round points at round four at the
end of June, hopefully he can improve his technique on the fast
flowing hard pack track and compete a bit better next time.
Cumbria MCC Championship
Haverigg
3-4/05/08
Rounds one & two
Elliott was
looking forward to racing the two days at Haverigg which is his
favourite track at the moment, he left the gate in race one mid
pack but he was soon catching the riders in front of him. The
hard sand track seamed to suit him and the bike; he just kept
on catching and taking the riders in front of him until he was
in third place behind Sam Braithwaite and Ben Green. Ben took
the win with Sam second and Elliott third.
The second race turned out to be a whole different story, the
track had now become really rough and Elliott struggled to get
to grips with it. He kept picking the tighter inside lines and
would then struggle with the power of the bike as he opened it
up. He eventually finished in seventh place. In race three he altered
his lines to try and keep the bike a bit smoother but still struggled
to make up places, he ended the day seventh overall.
After the
track had been graded on Saturday evening and with some heavy
rain falling on Saturday night the track was in a lot better
condition for sundays racing.
The first
race got under way with Elliott once again coming through the
pack, with three laps to go he passed Callum Bircher for fourth
place. He opened up a gap between himself and Callum but on the
final lap Callum was closing the gap all the time, with three corners
to go Callum was right behind Elliott and as the exited the final
corner Callum was along side. They came together as they went down
the straight and Elliott fell to the floor, his bike dug into the
sand and flipped over onto his back, Callum carried on taking fourth.
Elliott was still on the floor as the paramedics got to him and
checked him over, he eventually got to his feet and managed to
ride his bike over the line to take tenth place. He was in a
lot of pain and upset about losing so many places on the final
part of the track. He sat in the van and got himself cleaned
up and with some encouragement from Brad Todd, Elliott was soon
up and about checking the results and watching the other races.
Race two
and as he went to the gate he asked if it would be ok to pull
of if his back started to hurt, no problem was my reply, so I
wasn’t
really expecting him to ride that well. He had a better start
and settled in to the race, he then started to make up places
and with a couple of riders making mistakes in front of him he
crept through the field to fourth. In the final few laps he took
third place finishing the race once again behind Sam and Ben.
Elliott was
now sitting fifth overall with only a few points between him
and third place, the heavens had opened after the second block
of racing and the track was now totally soaked. It kept raining
all the through Elliott’s
race though he managed to keep the bike upright he lacked the
speed to get into the leading pack, he finished the day once
again seventh overall.
East
Cumbria MCC Championship
Low
Gelt, Brampton,
27/04/08
Round two
With a lot
of the 65 riders away competing in the BYMX at Mildenhall, the
nine riders left knew they could be in for a good points finish.
The track for the Juniors had been shortened with the riders
turning sharp right at the bottom of the drop off and heading
over the bottom table top before continuing back up the hill.
The gate
dropped for race one and John Joe Wright led the way with Jonathan
Hughes and Elliott close behind, as they came back towards us
Elliott was in the lead with John Joe close behind. They went
off the drop off for the first time and started to pull away
from Jonathan, then as Elliott made his way up the hill over
the jump John Joe fell leaving Elliott with a considerable advantage
over Jonathan. The gap was still increasing as Elliott came over
the drop off for the second time but as he got to the bottom
table top he fell and allowed Jonathan to pass him. He then on
the next lap fell at the hill before the drop off, he struggled
to get the bike up and was helped by the watching Michael Hughes.
He got going and immediately fell again, the hand guard had snapped
and was holding his front brake on, it took a while for someone
to notice it and get him on his way. By this time he was in last
place and by quite a distance, he managed to pass a couple of
riders and finished 7th just behind Matthew Deazley. He was so
disappointed at not winning after such a good start and the fact
that he wasn't going to be able to challenge for the overall
just made it worse.
He wondered
off from the van and stood with me at the bottom of the hill
and watched for a while before getting himself ready for race
two. The race started and Jonathan led the
way with John Joe, Bradley Mann and Elliott chasing. Elliot got
past Bradley and moved up right behind the first two. He made
one mistake on the first lap and had to play catch up once again,
he pushed really hard to catch and take second place from Jonathan.
By this time though John Joe had a opened up a good lead and
took first place and with only two blocks being run he took the
overall win from Jonathan in second and Elliott in third.
Northern
Youth MCC Championship
Gt
Salkeld, Penrith
14/04/08
Round Two
After the
disappointment of the cancelled Brampton meeting two weeks earlier
Elliott was really looking forward to the days racing, the track
was heavy after another week of showers and it was going to
be tough riding once again. Elliott was so keen to get off the
gate in race one that he spun the back wheel as he struggled
to find grip on the concrete, he eventually got away in last
place. He worked hard to make up places over the first few laps,
eventually sitting in 7th place behind Jonathan Hughes, as they
went into the final lap Elliott started to close. Jonathan made
a mistake and Elliott was close enough to take advantage and
finish the race in 6th place.
The heavens
opened before Elliott's second race and the conditions were
getting worse, though he made a better start he still struggled
to get any momentum as he went up the start straight but he
was sitting in about 8th place right behind DJ Walker, John
Joe Wright and Curtis Ferguson as he came over the table top
for the first time. Then came his first mistake, he had been
riding the outside line round the hairpin really well in practice
and in race one, but for some reason he took the tighter inside
line and fell as he exited the corner. The leading pack had
now opened up a good gap on him and it was going to be hard
for him to close it. He was probably trying to hard and struggled
to get any sort of rhythm going, it was only the last two or
three laps that he seamed to make any real progress. He was
chasing DJ and closing the gap but he'd left it too late and
had too much to time to make up, DJ took the final corner and
crossed the line with Elliott about a bikes length behind finishing
in 8th place. He finished 7th overall after the final block
of racing was cancelled.
Northern
Youth MCC
Championship
Gt
Salkeld,
Penrith
10/03/08
Round one
There wasn’t a great turn out for the 65’s
for the first meeting of the season, only ten riders went out
for practice. The track was quite wet in places, especially between
the jumps on the main straight and in the bottom corners. All
the riders coped quite well with the conditions which improved
during the day.
Race one
and Elliott started well and was third coming out of the first
corner, I don’t
now what happened between that corner and the first table top
but he only arrived there in eighth place. Sam Braithwaite was
out in front being chased by Ben Green and Curtis Ferguson, Elliott
was battling away with DJ Walker in sixth place. It took him
a couple of laps to pass DJ and he then set off after Johnathan
Hughes and Tayla Smith, Tayla then made a mistake which allowed
firstly Jonathan and then Elliott threw. Their fight for forth
place carried on for three or four laps and as they went into
the final lap they were still neck and neck. Then on the final
lap Jonathan made a mistake falling at the step up, Elliott took
avoiding action but in doing so stalled the bike. He got going
again luckily without loosing a single place and finished in
forth place, Sam Braithwaite won the first race as Ben made a
mistake on the final corner, with Curtis finishing third.
At the start of race two Elliott seamed to think he had all the
time in the world as he left the gate in last place, he then surprised
me by arriving at the table top in third. He battled away with
Curtis Ferguson for a couple of laps fighting to keep third place,
Curtis eventually making a pass. William Wall who due to a broken
chain had suffered a DNF in the first race then caught and passed
Elliott as they came up the hill towards the table top. Elliott
kept going and held onto 5th place and was sitting 4th overall
with one race left.
The final
race was to be Elliott’s worst; he made quite
a few mistakes and was starting to look tired. Jonathan Hughes
was pushing him hard through the middle of the race and as they
arrived at the bottom of one of the hills Elliott made a mistake
and dropped the bike. Jonathan was so close behind him he couldn’t
do anything to avoid a collision and both of them ended up on the
floor together. Elliott got going quite quickly but the fall had
allowed John Joe to catch him and he put him under a lot of pressure
for the last couple of laps, Elliott held out though and finished
in 6th behind Tayla. He finished fourth overall his best
placing ever on the 65, Sam Braithwaite won the final race to take
what I believe was his first overall win at Penrith with Ben Green
2nd and Curtis in 3rd.
East
Cumbria MCC Championship
Low
Gelt, Brampton,
17/02/08
Round one
The first
meeting at East Cumbria MCC always attracts a lot of good riders
and this one was no different, with the nationals being held
here at the end of May they use the event to get some experience
of the track. Twenty three riders took to the gate for race one
of the junior 65cc, the track looked superb and Elliott got off
the line quite well, he was sitting around eighth or ninth chasing
Joe Sutcliffe around the top half of the track. Riding really
well until he hit the far corner of the track where he locked
the back wheel and spun the bike to the floor on the hard frosty
surface, by the time he picked the bike up and got started again
he was back in eighteenth place. With the rest of that lap out
of the way Elliott started to pull in the other riders, going
up and down the hill straights he was picking up place after
place and managed to finish tenth just behind Jonathan Hughes
and Tayla Smith.
Once all
the groups had gone out for their first race of the day conditions
at the bottom of the track had changed dramatically with the
bottom series of corners resembling the usual mud bath. Elliott’s
race two start was his worst and he once again he had to fight
to pick up places, he rode the deep mud well and once again made
up time and places choosing good lines. He got up to ninth place
and was sitting ninth overall going into the final race.
Race three
and Elliott rode his bike to the gate which Brad Todd had prepared
for him, Brad also passed on some tips of how to get his old
bike off the line, even promising Elliott a tenner if he got
the holeshot, (think he knew his money was safe). Anyway it seamed
to work and Elliott got his best start of the day and was sitting
in the top six or seven, Ben Green who had a poor start was flying
round from the back and passed Elliott putting him down to eighth.
With one lap left he was looking comfortable for his best finish
of the day, and then as I watched him come over the jump at the
top of the track he made a mistake and fell allowing Callum
Bircher and Jay Hague past. He chased hard after them and he
was able to close the gap but had to settle for tenth place,
taking eighth overall. Elliott was pleased with his performance
and happy to pick up his first trophy of the season. |
