Monday July 4, 2011 at 4:18pm
On Sunday the Halstead and District MCC held the annual Richard Fitch Trophy meeting at Wakes Colne near Colchester. The Richard Fitch Trophy meeting is held in memory of Richard Fitch who was a member of the Halstead Club when he unfortunately passed away at a race meeting in 2005, this year’s event was held in bright sunshine and featured great racing all day long.
The day started with each rider completing three races before the Grand Final of the day the Richard Fitch Memorial Trophy race. In the A group the three races wins went to Stuart Dyerson on the Colchester Kawasaki as he was followed home by Clint Wright in all three races. The third place went to Mason Law who was also the first Junior rider home in the three races. Fourth overall on the day went to Glen Walsh with three fourth place finishes ahead of Jordon Cutting who took home three fifths.
In the B class it was local club rider Bradley Howlett who took home three race wins, but the main action was for second through to fifth. In the first race Ollie Champness took the second place ahead of Scott Pope, Simon Daniels and Tom Swan in fifth place. Then in the second race Simon Daniels took second with Tom Swan in third, while fourth and fifth went to Ryan Chambers and Barnaby Bendall. The final of the three races saw Tom Swan take second place behind Howlett and in third place was Scott Pope while Simon Daniels took fourth ahead of Ryan Chambers in fifth.
Group C saw some great racing between Bradley Tomlin and Matt Bayliss for the race wins. Tomlin took the win in the first race but it was to be Bayliss that took the honours in the second and third races ahead of Tomlin. In the first race third to fifth place where filled by Brendon Mayer, Ross Clarke and John Hinz. The second race saw Ross Clarke take third ahead of Brendon Mayer and John Hinz and it was to be the same result again in the third race.
The D Group on the day featured some of the best racing with Luke Benstead taking two out of three race wins and a second place, while Syd Bales took the other win along with a second and third in the opening two races. Jason Morland rode well all day to finish in third place in the first and third races along with a second place in the second race. Lewis Tombs also took fourth places in all three races and Chris Bayliss took three fifth place finishes.
The final race of the day was the Richard Fitch Memorial Trophy race which featured the top 40 riders of the day. The race saw drama on the first corner as a number of the favourites were involved in a first turn crash, including Luke Benstead, Jason Morland and Bradley Howlett. At the front Bradley Tomlin took the early race lead and was being chased hard by team mate Syd Bales. Unfortunately Syd Bales suffered bike problems when the chain snapped and put him out of the race and allowing Tomlin to cruise to a comfortable victory ahead of Lewis Tombs and Stuart Dyerson, while fourth and fifth places went to Luke Benstead and Matt Bayliss.
Results
A Group
Race 1 Stuart Dyerson, Clint Wright, Mason Law, Glen Walsh, Jordon Cutting
Race 2 Stuart Dyerson, Clint Wright, Mason Law, Glen Walsh, Jordon Cutting
Race 3 Stuart Dyerson, Clint Wright, Mason Law, Glen Walsh, Jordon Cutting
B Group
Race 1 Bradley Howlett, Ollie Champness, Scott Pope, Simon Daniels, Tom Swan
Race2 Bradley Howlett, Simon Daniels, Tom Swan, Ryan Chambers, Barnaby Bendall
Race 3 Bradley Howlett, Tom Swan, Scott Pope, Simon Daniels, Ryan Chambers
C Group
Race 1 Bradley Tomlin, Matt Bayliss, Brendon Mayer, Ross Clarke, John Hinz
Race 2 Matt Bayliss, Bradley Tomlin, Ross Clarke, Brendon Mayer, John Hinz
Race 3 Matt Bayliss, Bradley Tomlin, Ross Clarke, Brendon Mayer, John Hinz
D Group
Race 1 Luke Benstead, Syd Bales, Jason Morland, Lewis Tombs, Chris Bayliss
Race 2 Luke Benstead, Jason Morland, Syd Bales, Lewis Tombs, Chris Bayliss
Race 3 Syd Bales, Luke Benstead, Jason Morland, Lewis Tombs, Chris Bayliss.
Richard Fitch Trophy
Bradley Tomlin, Lewis Tombs, Stuart Dyerson, Luke Benstead, Matt Bayliss