IPSWICH and Kesgrave breathed new hope into their British Youth and Junior League title aspirations by topping the score charts at Great Blakenham on Saturday.

IPSWICH and Kesgrave breathed new hope into their British Youth and Junior League title aspirations by topping the score charts at Great Blakenham on Saturday.

The meeting was the second round of the national four-round series, and after the disappointment of finishing out of the top two at Astley & Tyldesley a month ago, both Suffolk clubs needed to bounce back – and they did just that.

In the end it was Ipswich who grabbed top spot, courtesy of a strong finish to the meeting, to beat their Suffolk counterparts by seven points.

Kesgrave had too many riders unavailable, or unable, to race to maintain their early season form that saw them beat Ipswich in three regional rounds. There were more than 160 riders on show throughout the afternoon, with some excellent racing that began at 12 noon and finished at 9.45pm.

A nasty crash to Swindon rider Ethan Greenslade, saw him take an ambulance ride to Ipswich Hospital, where a broken rib was the diagnosis.

On the track, there were plenty of good performances from local riders, with home star Lewis Brinkhoff leading from start to finish in the under-eights A final to claim 25 GP points.

The under-10s were again the biggest section on the day, with 36 riders taking part, and Kesgrave’s Pierce Bacon once again made the A final but was left disappointed after only finishing third.

Former under-10 British Champion Philip Day made a rare appearance for his club Kesgrave in the under-12s. And a superb effort saw him defeat Astley’s Adam Phillips after a rugged first lap. Ipswich’s Sam Thompson also rode well throughout to claim fourth place.

There was more local success in the under-14s, as Ipswich’s Charlie Rumbold continued his good form with an A final place, while Marcus Szyszlyk, also from Ipswich gained 18 GP points, with a third place in the under 18s.

Ipswich’s Laura Dale completed a fine day for the Whitton Sports Centre-based club with victory in the girls section and those final points from the Ipswich girls were enough to give the club overall victory on the day.

Full results

British Youth and Junior League National Round two at Great Blakenham

Ipswich 239.5, Kesgrave 232, Poole 210, East Newport 147, Wednesfield 104, Sheffield 80

Under-8: 1 Lewis Brinkhoff (Gt Blakenham), 2 Owen Tidball (Exeter), 3 Max Russell-Sharp (Horspath), 4 Harrison Todd (Horspath)

Under-10: 1 George Horsley (Horspath), 2 Will Tidball (Exeter), 3 Pierce Bacon (Kesgrave), 4 James Elston (Bury)

Under-12: 1 Philip Day (Kesgrave), 2 Adam Phillips (Astley), 3 Lee Kemp (Bretford), 4 Sam Thompson (Ipswich)

Under-14: 1 Matt Mildon (Poole), 2 Louis Harvey (East Newport), 3 Charlie Rumbold (Ipswich), 4 Jake Read (Stockport)

Under-16: 1 Leyton Glover (Poole), 2 Aaron Morgan (Poole), 3 Matt Smith (Sandwell), 4 Scott Millward (Sandwell)

Under-18: 1 Dan Osborne (Norwich), 2 Philip Adams (Hethersett), 3 Marcus Szyszlyk (Ipswich), 4 Sam Hearn (Poole)

Girls: 1 Laura Dale (Ipswich), 2 Tiffany Collins (Hethersett), 3 Charlie Ellitts (Wednesfield), 4 Carly Grimes (Hethersett)