Hawks begin title defence in style

Hethersett Hawks/Swinton cycle speedway team opened their defence of their Norfolk & Suffolk League title with a visit of a strong-looking Kesgrave side.

Even without former British Champion Phil Howells, they completely swamped the Suffolk side, especially with determination and superior tactics on the first bend.

Three of the 18 heats were drawn but Hethersett won all the rest to romp to an impressive 114-65 victory. Nick Myhill and Dan Chambers were unbeaten while Dave Martin and Jazz Abbott were also on top form.

Scores: Hethersett 114, Kesgrave 65 (N Myhill 19, D Martin 17, J Abbott 17, B Collins 14, S Wilcox 13, P Adams 12, Dan Chambers 10, D Adams 7, H Hamill 4, Dave Chambers 1).

Kesgrave are the only A side in Division Two of the South-East League so were able to track the same riders while Hethersett B had five restricted.

However, the Division Two champions were not fazed by this and took the initiative with two 7-3 wins in the first four heats.

They had a couple of breaks which allowed them to retain their lead but also some determined riding by Harley Hamill and a maximum from David Adams led them to victory. Tim Grimes also exploited some gaps well to win two races in style.

Scores: Hethersett B 84, Kesgrave 75 (Dan Chambers 18, D Adams 17, P Adams 14, H Hamill 12, T Grimes 11, Dave Chambers 7, C Grimes 3, A Johnson 2).

The Hawks successfully staged a very busy Regional Round of the Wosskow Brown British Youth and Junior League with 74 riders arriving to compete.

The Hawks' older juniors rallied the team into third place but they will need to recruit a lot of six to 12-year-olds if they want to compete with Ipswich and Kesgrave.

There were successes for Hethersett in three age group Grand Prixs with Dan Chambers (U16), Jazz Abbott (U18) and Carly Grimes (Girls) winning their events.

Scores: Ipswich 255, Kesgrave 213, Hethersett 127, Gt Blakenham, 122 Colchester 33, Norwich 4 (S Grimes 15, J Abbott 15, T Collins 14, B Collins 12, O Forder-Wilcox 11, H Hamill 10, D Chambers 10, C Grimes 10, P Adams 9, N Hamill 6, K Adams 6, A Johnson 5, O Nicholas 4).

Next racing for the Hawks is on Sunday April 19 at home to Great Blakenham.