Race Reviews – 2021
Awesome Archie!
Archie Whitelam stormed to a 6 Ride maximum at the Formula Grasstrack Association’s 1st meeting of 2021. In perfect racing conditions, the Auto Cadet Rider from Nottingham dominated the class and continued his great form for this season. Bilbrook’s Charlie Fletcher rode to a consistent 2ndplace whilst John Cox Junior took 3rd in his first ever meeting despite a nasty tumble in his 2nd ride. Lily Childe showed improvement as the day progressed to take 4th place.
Crewe’s Ollie Binns was the comfortable winner of the cub class, Binns rival for several years, Harry Fletcher was plagued with mechanical gremlins and didn’t manage a race. 2nd place went to Winsford’s smooth riding Naythan Kukla, who improved as the racing unfolded and will be one to look out for as the season goes on.
Gino Casale joined Archie Whitelam as the only maximum men across the 4 classes. Casale’s fast starting combined with his smooth riding style was enough to secure a perfect 7 ride maximum. William Childe rode consistently to take 2nd place, winning 4 of his rides whilst Brierley Hill’s Joe Crewe took 3rd place with a win and a string of 2nd places. Ethan Childe was comfortable in 4th place and Debutant Dylan Wassall showed a good account of himself to finish 5th, despite a couple of non-finishes, the Great Barr rider managed a race win in his 3rd ride.
350cc Ace Wayne Broadhurst only dropped a single point in his return to FGA action. The Shrewsbury veteran was only beaten by hard charging Phil Thomas, who finished 2nd. Broadhurst was involve in the race of the afternoon when he was out gated by current champion Martin Adams. The two Shropshire protagonists rode side by side for three laps, Broadhurst edging Adams out on the final lap. Adams was to rue a 5th place finish in race one that would leave him down in 5th place at the end of the day. Crewe’s David Binns showed he was still a contender for the title with a triplet of wins and 2nd places to take 3rd place, finishing one point adrift of Phil Thomas. Steve Mace’s return from retirement proved to be a good decision as the Shrewsbury man secured 4th place ahead of Adams. Minsterley’s Andrew Rowson consistently scored to take 6th.
Andrew Binns was tied on points with the returning Tommy Astbury for 7th and 8th places. The A final would be the decider for them. In the final, it was Thomas who made a lightning start to head the field into turn one, chased hard by Dave Binns and Martin Adams, Broadhurst was left towards the back after a bad start, but he passed Adams on the 2nd bend to chase after the front two, passing David Binns to take 2nd place behind Thomas. The 7th place on the day was handed to Astbury who beat Andrew Binns into 6th place in the final.
Astbury would take Rider of the Day. Several year’s away from the sport and making his Senior debut, 7th place was a fantastic achievement.
Worth mentioning is the two former junior front runners Jake Breeze and Sam Hall, both making their Senior debuts, tying on points for 9th and 10th, with Breeze winning the B final, he took 9th overall. Hall was involved in an awkward looking tumble in leg 2 when Nick Bull fell in front of him, Hall collided with the stricken Bull to bring the two machines together. Both men walked away to race again. Wallasey’s Mike Flynn came to the tapes to race in leg 1 despite having 2 years added to his age by the secretary of the meeting! The 89-year-old continues his impressive running of motorcycle competition.
Round 3 takes place on Saturday 24th July at Hampton Hall near Malpas. This will also be the Jonathan Rodgers Memorial Meeting. More information can be obtained via Facebook or email office@formulagrasstrack.com.
Results
Autos
1st A. Whitelam 40pts, 2nd C. Fletcher 35, 3rd J. Cox 30, 4th L. Childe 25.
Cubs
1st O.Binns 48, 2nd N. Kukla 46.
Juniors
1st G. Casale 48, 2nd W. Childe 45, 3rd J. Crewe 43, 4th E. Childe 40, 5th D. Wassall 27.
Seniors (Top 10)
1st W. Broadhurst 47, 2nd P. Thomas 46, 3rd D. Binns 45, 4th S. Mace 43, 5th M. Adams 39, 6th A. Rowson 36, 7th T. Astbury 33, 8th A. Binns 33, 9th J. Breeze 31, 10th S. Hall 31.
Jake Breeze’s it!
Jake Breeze stormed to A final glory and the Jonathon Rodgers Memorial trophy, in the Senior class at the third round of the Formula Grasstrack Association’s 2021 championship. But veteran Wayne Broadhurst would take 1st place points for the championship, continuing his great form.
Although there was a smaller than normal entry in all classes, the racing was fantastic in the Cheshire Sunshine. Broadhurst would go unbeaten in the heats to take 1st pick of gates in the A final, 2nd place went to the returning David Meredith. Meredith showed his true class, having to cut his was through the field in some races after bad starts. Jake Breeze took 3rd overall, the Shropshire youngster took 3 wins on his way to the final. Steve Mace Tied with Andy Binns on points for 4th and would do battle in the final to decide who would take the 4th place overall. Andrew Rowson continued to impress, with a consistent meeting taking 6th with Rob perks and Kevin Gwillam tying on points to complete the A final.
As the Tapes went up on the Final race of the day, Breeze made a lightning start to lead into turn one, Broadhurst and Meredith were slow away and would give chase but there was no catching the Shropshire racer, and when Broadhurst’s machine expired on lap 3 whilst battling with Meredith, it was Breeze who took the silverware! Meredith 2nd and Rowson finishing a superb 3rd. Mace would claim 4th to take 4th overall and Kevin Gwillam took 5th and 7th overall. Andy Binns rounding out the 6 finishers in the Final. Perks was a victim of a close first corner, sliding off and out of the race.
In the Juniors, It looked like Gino Casale was going to continue his maximum run, taking 4 wins in the opening 4 heats but Joe crewe made a fight of it in the 5th leg, battling and leading casale over the line. In the last leg, Casale would crash out of the race on the 2nd lap whilst chasing the fast-gating Crewe, Gifting the Brierley Hill rider victory on the day. Dylan Wassall rode consistently to 3rd place.
In the Cubs, Winsford’s Naythan Kukla took victory in only his 2nd meeting and Newcomer to the FGA, Logan Price took 2nd with Harry Fletcher 3rd despite mechanical gremlins in two rides.
Highlights of the day was the returning Mick Jones who start well with a race win over David Meredith followed by and 2nd place, but the FGA veteran was struggling with fitness due to recovering from a sickness bug in the week and had to withdraw from the event. 89 year old Mike Flynn made the scoresheet with 4 points and would of scored more had it not been for mechanical gremlins. Newcomer Bruce Mills took a B final victory in the seniors, improving with every ride.
The FGA season moves south to Alveley for round 4 on 21st August. More information via the Formula Grasstrack facebook page or email office@formulagrasstrack.com
Results
Autos
1st Charlie Fletcher 48pts
Cubs
1st Naythan Kukla 41pts, 2nd Logan Price 37pts, 3rd Harry Fletcher 30pts
Juniors
1st Joe Crewe 44pts, 2nd Gino Casale 39pts, 3rd Dylan Wassall 37pts
Seniors (Top 10)
1st Wayne Broadhurst 48pts, 2nd David Meredith 45pts, 3rd Jake Breeze 44pts, 4th Steve Mace 41 pts, 5th Andy Binns 41pts, 6th Andrew Rowson 40pts, 7th Kevin Gwillam 37pts, 8th Rob Perks 37pts, 9th Sam Hall 31pts, 10th Paul Farley 30pts
Mildoon’s Maximum Men!
Formula Grasstrack’s 4 classes saw maximum points for the Winner’s as rider’s braved the elements at Alveley neat Bridgnorth, Shropshire.
The rain didn’t faze young Charlie Fletcher as he stormed to victory in the Auto Cadet class beating newcomer AJ Bence. Ollie Binns returned to FGA action after missing round 3 and dominated the mixed Cub and Junior class. His fast gating saw off the challenge of his nearest rival, Junior Gino Casale who would claim maximum points in the Juniors. 2nd in the Cubs went to Naythan Kukla and 3rd Harry Fletcher, who struggled with bike issues. Joe Crewe continued to put pressure on Gino Casale but was unable to get one over his championship Rival.
Wayne Broadhurst stormed to a 6 Ride maximum and Won the Senior A final to clinch the first running of the Steve Mildoon Memorial Trophy. Broadhurst wasn’t challenged at all and showed his class in the wet conditions. There was a 3-way tie for 2nd in the heats, Marcus Crutchington making his 1st FGA outing of 2021, David Binns and Jake Breeze all on 31 points, the final would decide their championship positions. Joining them would be Tom Crewe & Keith Murfin. Crewe returning to the FGA for the 1sttime in 2021 and Murfin having his best outing in some time. Broadhurst was clear after turn one and left Binns, Breeze and Crutchington to do battle. Breeze would just lose out by half a wheel to Binns for 2nd with Crutchington relegated to 4th. Crewe and Murfin finished 5th and 6th respectively. Champion Martin Adams was unable to ride due to illness.
Charlie Fletcher, Ollie Binns, Gino Casale & Broadhurst will be the 1st names on the Steve Mildoon Memorial trophies. Steve was a Former Senior double champion and a wonderful man that graced the Grasstrack community.
The next FGA meeting is at The Rally Site, Near Malpas on 4th September. Find us on Facebook, Search for formula Grasstrack association.
Results
Autos
1st C. Fletcher 36, 2nd AJ Bence 30
Cubs
1st O. Binns 36, 2nd N. Kukla 30, 3rd H. Fletcher 4
Juniors
1st G. Casale 36, 2nd J. Crewe 30
Seniors (Top 10)
1st W. Broadhurst 36, 2nd D. Binns 31, 3rd J. Breeze 31, 4th M. Crutchington 31, 5th T. Crewe 30, 6th K. Murfin 27, 7th S. Mace 24, 8th Andrew Rowson 23, 9th Antony Rowson 20, 10th N. Bull 20
Childe’s Play for Ethan!
The 5th round of the formula Grasstrack association’s championship produced some fantastic racing across all 4 classes on Saturday, at the regular Rally site venue near Whitchurch, Shropshire.
Archie Whitelam returned to take his 2nd win of the FGA championship in the Auto Cadet class. But Whitelam didn’t have it all his own way with Charlie Fletcher giving him a run for his money. Despite having a fall in his opening ride on a slick track, Whitelam remounted to take a crucial 3rd place which would help him take the win. Fletcher has made big strides throughout the season as he looks favourite to take the championship title. AJ Bence gave a great account of himself, riding consistently and getting in the mix with the front two in some heats. One to watch for the future, Bence was on a new machine in only his 2ndmeeting.
Ollie Binns once again dominated the Cub class. The Nantwich youngster was fast starting and was consistently at the front of the combined Cub and Junior Races. Former BMX racer Naythan Kukla rode to 2nd place overall.
Ethan Childe Dropped 2 points on his way to Junior Class victory. 4 wins and 2 2nd places was enough to see him beat championship contender Joe Crewe into 2nd place. William Childe would take 3rd with newcomer Max Broadhurst and Dylan Wassall tied for 4th. Broadhurst would beat Wassall in the final to take 4th place points for the championship. The Cubs & Juniors put on some fantastic racing in every race, a promising future lies ahead.
Dave Binns gave champion elect Wayne Broadhurst something to think about as they both tied for first place in the Senior class, Broadhurst would beat Binns in the 3rd leg of heats, but Binns would get revenge on his rival with a superb race win in the 6thleg. The Martin Parry memorial final would decide which one would take the 25 championship points. Shrewsbury’s Steve Mace took 3 race wins on his way to 3rd place overall. Jake Breeze would miss out on a top 3 finish with 4th place overall. The young Salopian took 2 race wins and would be in the mix come the final. Motocrosser Nick Bull continues to improve his Grasstrack skills, taking a race win and not finishing outside the top 3 in the heats to take a great 5th place. Hard charging Tom Crewe continued his return to FGA racing to finish 6th place. Andy Binns and Kevin Gwillam would complete the top 8 for the Grand Final.
A 6 Lap final for the Martin Parry Rosebowl lay before the top 8 senior riders. Broadhurst would make the start and storm away into turn one with Dave Binns and Jake Breeze in chase. Breeze would edge out Binns but couldn’t catch the former Telford Icespeedway champion who would take the prestigious Rosebowl home along with another 25 points. Disappointment for Tom Crewe, who pulled up with a puncture on turn one. Bull would take a fantastic 4th place in the final heading home Steve Mace and Andy Binns.
The Final FGA meeting takes place on 2nd October. A change to the fixture list due to the British Championships at Ledbury taking place on the original date for the season finale. The venue will be Alveley, near Bridgnorth.
Results
Autos
1st A. Whitelam 46pts, 2nd C. Fletcher 43, 3rd A. Bence 37.
Cubs
1st O. Binns 48pts, 2nd N. Kukla 35
Juniors
1st E. Childe 46pts, 2nd J. Crewe 41, 3rd W. Childe 33, 4th M. Broadhurst 28, 5th D. Wassall 28
Seniors (Top 10)
1st W. Broadhurst 47pts, 2nd D. Binns 47, 3rd S. Mace 45. 4th J. Breeze 42, 5th N. Bull 41, 6th T. Crewe 41, 7th A. Binns 36, 8th K. Gwillam 32, 9th C. Timms 31, 10th A. Rowson 30