Brighton Preston Pk 2008

Brighton’s Preston Park track will be the place to be on Wednesday evenings during the season, with the usual exciting racing taking place from 23 April to 13 August inclusive. April and August meets will begin at 6.45pm, with 7.00pm being the kick-off time in the other months.

Following last year’s successful pre-season “Try the Track” sessions, the format is being repeated this year. These evenings will run on 2, 9 and 16 April, starting at 6.00pm. For fixed-wheel bikes only, they will involve some structured coaching and will be free of charge.

A number of interesting innovations are being brought in by the organising Sussex Cycle Racing League. Primes will be on offer for seniors every meet, while under-16s and under-14s will be on fixed-wheel machines for the first time. These two youth categories will also have separate 2-lap and 3-lap dashes most weeks. With the aim of increasing the already-high attendance figures, a new rule will be in place which means that riders will have to take part in at least six meets to qualify for overall awards.

One of the highlights of the season will be the sprint championship evening in June, with title races for all categories, culminating in the much-awaited battle of the senior big guns. Robin Thompson will be defending his title, but he’ll have his work cut out. Reigning world junior team sprint champion Pete Mitchell will be eager to win, as will last year’s overall league champion 15-year-old Felix English, while several times ex-champ Lee Povey can be relied upon to do his utmost to regain the crown that has eluded him since 2005. To add more than a little spice to the occasion, East Sussex County Council’s Road Safety Team will be in attendance, operating a traffic speed-gun and also one of their Speed Indicator Devices to display riders’ speeds at the finish. Will any rider manage to make the machine show the magic 40mph?

Preston Park’s traditions will of course feature as usual: the legendary refreshments, the prize fund in excess of £1,200, three thrilling championship evenings with instant first-3 awards in each category, the monthly newsletter, race commentary, weekly reports, the dedicated team of officials and helpers, the sea views (almost), and above all the unique friendly atmosphere.

While much of the focus will be on the battle for senior supremacy, there will be fascinating tussles between the youth riders, notably all the young stars of VC Jubilee, Preston Park Youth CC and In-Gear Development Squad.

Website
or more information and registration forms contact Vern McClelland on 01903 814351 or see website at www.scrl.co.uk.

A full season’s preview will appear early in April.