The first ever OSET cup event to take place in the West Midlands was held at Leamington Victory Mcc’s fantastic field just outside Warwick, with a strong entry of 41 electric youth riders. 8 sections and 4 laps awaited them, which, thanks to the weather, had become a much harder challenge than anticipated when the course was set out on Wednesday. Some adjustments Friday evening, and more last minute adjustments on Saturday morning helped, but it was still a tough set of sections for the riders.
The beginner route was the largest with 16 riders. Section 4 offered up a big test for the little wheels at the end of the section, with an optional straight steep downhill, through a puddle and up a slippery bank, or around the outside and through a puddle, with a turn to exit. It’s fair to say the rain that persisted all day Friday, all night and into Saturday morning made this a real test for some. Milly Tillings and Ellyn Welch we’re fantastic here, dropping only 4 & 3 respectively over 4 sections. Thomas Tidd, at only 4 years old also had some fantastic rides. Sections 5-8 then turned back up the field towards the start, making use of a gully that was close to bone dry only two days before. Sections 5 & 6 saw lots of marks dropped, before a taped off course on 7 which riders enjoyed. Section 8 then had a challenge of crossing a muddy bridge. Max Surridge took the overall win, ending the day on an impressive 9 points. While Thomas Tidd was 1st youth E, followed by Harper Oliver and Tommy Sturgess. Youth D saw an all girl top 3! Milly Tillings just edged ahead her friend Ellyn Welch by only two points. Alexandra Canning was 3rd place. Stacey Finch, who couldn’t stop smiling all day, was 2nd in youth C behind Max Surridge.
The easy route saw higher marks as a couple of the banks had become very slippery. However there we’re still some cleans. With 4 year old rider Harvey Reynolds really pushing his OSET 16 hard to combat the mud. Young Harry Craig also had a fantastic ride, dropping only 6 points on sections 1,2, 3, 4 & 8. Tommy Wakeford had the longest journey, coming up from Portsmouth to compete and had his supportive sister running round after him. The persistent rain had turned section 7 from what would have been a fun hill to an almost impossible obstacle. Overall route winner was Gilbert Perrin on 35. 1st Youth E was Harvey Reynolds, followed by Tommy Wakeford. Youth D’s top 3 was Harry Craig, Thomas Herbert & Oliver Edmunds, Youth C was won by Gilbert Perrin, with Oliver Grilli & Taylor Jempson rounding off the podium. Jed Ayres was the sole youth B rider on this route, dropping 38 points.
The medium route was won by Hereford’s Benjamin James, impressing everyone with his smooth riding style at only 6 years old. The sections mainly deviated from the bigger obstacles of the hard route, with some slightly wider turns. Ben was first youth D, dropping only 8 points. Daisy Craig was second on her OSET 20, with 76 dropped. A mention for course clerk Andy’s son, Jack Rich, who dropped 9 while having to ride alone as Dad was busy. (Dad Andy decided to exclude him from the results) Youth C was won by Benjamin Whitehouse, on 42. Beau Perry enjoyed his first trial in a long time, he was second youth C. Special mention for Beau who spent his time at the end of the trial walking around to all the officials and thanking them. Amelie Godfrey was first place youth B, enjoying splashing round the course on her OSET 24.0
The hard route saw some of the best youth D riders around. Section 1 was tight and twisty, 2 had a slippery bank to tackle around a large rock. Section 3 was a big test for them. A tricky rock garden, transferring over to a small log and then ascending a running waterfall. A modification was made to the section 7am Saturday morning to allow the riders an option to either have a run at a hill, or a shorter route up a very slippery bank. Aaron Watson was the lowest scoring rider on this section, dropping 12, with Sam Lefevre and George Wareing impressing on 13 with their smaller 20 inch wheels. Mason dropped one more on 14, after a painful looking crash on lap 2. Section 6 was where the trial was decided, with Mason tackling the big rock at the end of the section well. The smaller wheeled bikes had some trouble here but all should be so proud for tackling this section in the wet conditions. Mason Tidd was the first youth D on 28, closely followed by the enormously talented Samuel Lefevre, to make a team MK Off Road top two. George Wareing was in 3rd after having to take some 5’s due to a mechanical issue with his Trs. A superb ride nevertheless. Aaron Watson was first youth C, dropping 37 on the day. A special mention for Alfie Shaw, who was due to attend but had broken his collar bone at school. Get well soon Alfie!
The finishers received an OSET medal, and the sections we’re left out to practice after the trial. It was great to see new friendships been made between riders and parents. Let’s hope for drier weather for the next one!
Huge thanks to all the observers and everyone else who helped out. Alan Halford, Leamington Victory secretary for all his hard work, and all at Leamington club for working with Andy on making this happen. The future of the sport looks to have a great future.
A video of event can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ1RUWlPy9w
Results here https://www.mkoffroad.co.uk/mkoffroadosetcup