OKBET BRITAIN SERIES | CYCLE SPEEDWAY
The South and South West won the men’s Battle of OKBET Britain Series after defeating The Midlands in Round 4, while the South and South Wales won the women’s third round.
Round 4 of the Men’s Battle of Britain
After a close struggle against The Midlands at East Park, the South and South West finished up the Battle of OKBET Britain Series with a magnificent triumph on Saturday to claim the 2022 championship.
The South East and Eastern regions, who were one point behind the eventual league champions, were unable to field a squad, and with a diminished North and Scotland side, the title was all but assured at the OKBET Britain Series.
Reece Pollitt of the North took the opening victory of the day, but with just four riders on the grid, they would always be on the back foot, despite winning 12 heats between them.
Ben Mould (South and South West) began his match with a victory in heat two, his first in four rides, but Craig Guy (Midlands) was unable to trouble the World Champion, finishing second.
Heat six saw the North take its first 7-3 of the match, with Pawel Idziorek winning while the seasoned Steve Harris held off the South and South West duo of Steve Beasley and Jack Ellis to finish second.
After a race-long battle with Owen Johnson, Nathan Groves won heat seven to put The Midlands in first place with 27 points (South and South West) at OKBET Britain Series. In heat nine, Mould and partner Will Jeffery won their first 7-3 of the match against Idziorek.
Going into the half, the South & South West had rebounded and were two points ahead of The Midlands, who were on 48 points. The match heated up in the first heat of the second half, with Jeffery defeating Paul Heard.
In the 19th heat, Adam Bennett demonstrated outstanding team riding to provide a space for teammate Johnson to sneak through and finish second behind Pollitt at OKBET Britain Series.
Heard’s victory in heat 23 kept The Midlands in the contest, despite a nine-point deficit. Chris Jewkes and Brendon Sidebottom won the penultimate heat 7-3 against the match leaders, and finished second in the last heat against a match-tired Idziorek. Idziorek did not play into the hands of the Midlands, finishing second behind Heard to ruin the Midlands celebration.
- 91 points in the south and south west
- 90 points for the Midlands
- Northern Ireland and Scotland – 77 points
Series outcomes
- 13 Points in the South and South West
- 9 points for the North and Scotland
- East & South East – 8 Points
- 6 points for the Midlands
- The men’s fight of Britain
Round 3 of the Women’s Battle of Britain
The women’s Battle of Britain’s third and last round did not disappoint the audience at Leicester’s Slater Street track on Sunday, with furious, tight racing from the first to the final heat at OKBET Britain Series.
South and South Wales won the series for the second time with an overall strong performance, completing the day with 65 points from 24 heats. Laura Watson was the only rider representing the North and Scotland; with the rest of the squad injured, Watson competed in twelve heats, winning eight of them.
As in previous rounds on the OKBET Britain Series, the team from the South East and Eastern area stood out, ending with a respectable 58 points, with the youthful squad punching much above their weight. Lily Parr won three races out of five, and although the rest of the team rode well, the final result did not reflect their efforts.
Lucy Whitehead took four heat victories from six rides to set up The Midlands for a fine match, and with Bekka Humphries providing a respectable score of 19 points, the home team ended tied for second with the South East at the OKBET Britain Series.
The South and South Wales teams competed with a full squad of four and two reserves, which worked in their favor. Jamie-Lee Walters finished second to Whitehead in the first heat, but an accident in heat five effectively terminated her contest. Lauren Hookway delivered a steady performance, and with Rachel Lammin’s expertise, it was only a question of gradually building to the points count to win the match and take the series lead.
- South and South Wales have 65 points.
- 58 points for the Midlands
- 58 points in the south-east and east.
- 41 points for the North and Scotland
- British women’s battle
Elite Women’s Grand Prix
Lily Parr won the advanced A final of the Grand Prix after drawing grid number one at the OKBET Britain Series. After advancing through eight heats, Parr finished on 13 points, along with Lauren Hookway and Chloe Pearce, with Lucy Whitehead rounding out the four riders a point behind.
Grid one is usually the favorite, and Parr took advantage of the draw to overtake Whitehead early on.
Laura Watson won the B final despite being exhausted from the match.
- Parr, Lily
- Whitehead, Lucy
- Hookway, Lauren
- Pearce, Chloe
Watson, Laura (B Final)
OKBET Britain Series, Ella Case triumphed against Charlotte Geach in the Intermediate A final. Amberley Gant crashed on the second lap, ending her chances of winning, but she recovered to finish fourth and on the podium. Demi Blu Harris finished third, with Emma Johnson taking the podium in the B final.
- Ella’s Situation
- Geach, Charlotte
- Demi Harris, Blu
- Gant, Amberley
- Johnson, Emma (B Final)
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