East London Cycle Speedway Club

JARVIS STARS FOR LONDON IN END-OF-SEASON CHALLENGE -

On a sunny and windy afternoon at Prince Regents Lane recreation ground, home of East London Cycle Speedway Club, a challenge match against the Hellingly Lions from Sussex, took place.

In the first half both teams were well balanced, with Hellingly getting the vital third places, leaving the interval scores at 45 each.  In the second half East London piled on the pressure, with Steve Jarvis making lighting starts from the outside grid and powering into the first corner ahead of the Hellingly riders.

Hellingly put on a fine show with many of its young riders new to the sport, a credit to George Hollebon and the Hellingly Lions.  Final score East London 95 Hellingly 84.

Scorers
East London ( Unidata) 95   
Stephen Jarvis 20, Denis Hubble 17+1, Les Stevens 15+2, Toby Millen 15+1, N.Gunkle 12,G.Hughes 8, D.Hughes 5 S.Harvie 4
Hellingly 84
Neil Hollebon 17+1, Zac Parsons 15+1, Martyn Hollebon 15 D.Bonniface 14, E.Riddly 11,S.Archer 5, R.Buchett 4+1

D1

Gt Blakenham               95

East London (Unidata)  85

Scores: Dennis Hubble 16+1, Toby Millen 16,Les Stevens 12+3, Stephen Jarvis 12+2, Nick Gunkel 10, Neil Lester 9,, Steve Harvie 5+1, George Hughes 3, Kevin Smith 2

D2

Gt Blakenham                           69+15=84

East London (Unidata)                         60

Scores: Nick Gunkel 13+1 ,Les Stevens 13+1, Kevin Smith 10, Steve Harvie 9+2 Toby Millen 8 , George Hughes 8,

SE Div 1

Hethersett                         95       

East London   (Unidata)    79

With work commitments and holidays East London suffered another defeat in both South East division 1 and division 2 on their travels to Norfolk. With only 7 riders London were always going to be down on power, this was not helped in heat 10 when Nick Stephens just returning from an ankle injury fell heavily and was taken to hospital with a broken knuckle and a dislocated finger. East London started off badly with 4 6-4�s against them and had to wait to heat 5 before Dennis Hubble then Stephen Jarvis won races. Dennis won another before Hethesett got a 7-3 to lead at the interval 50-38 alead of 12 points.

East London won 5 races in the 2^nd half with a fine 7-3 from Les Stevens and Dennis Hubble but overall struggled on a very tricky track. Dennis Hubble , Les  Stevens and Stephen Jarvis scored the bulk of the points with Nick Gunkle not having 1 of his better days.

East London Scores

Dennis Hubble 18+1. Steve Jarvis 16, Les Stevens 16, Nick Gunkle 11, Steve Harvie 9, Dave Hughes 7+1, Nick Stephens 2 (injured).

SE Div 2

Hethersett         91+30  121                 

East London (Unidata)    64                   

With tired legs  a 30 point penalty  and 5 riders East London battled away but could not match their younger fitter opponents the defending  division 2 champions. Some solid scores but Hethersett rode better on the day.

Les Stevens 15 Steve Jarvis 14,  Nick Gunkle 14, Steve Harvie 11, Dave Hughes 8+1,

Race Reports 22 / 23 August

Hubble out of luck in over 40’s Individual

  East London’s Dennis Hubble (50) fell whilst challenging in his penultimate ride at the British Veterans (40+) Final at Ipswich on Saturday to deny a podium spot after his winning success in the over 50’s equivalent at Bury last month finishing 4^th. whilst defending champion Steve Harris (Horspath) carded a full maximum. Team mate Les Stevens (59) got 3^rd. place in that race behind the meeting’s runner up Mark Newey (Leicester) and podium Mark Griffiths (Wednesfield) finishing with 10 points in 11^th. place.

  Full report in spokesman-online.

Good performances from EL riders in  SEGP at Canning Town.

  On another hot Sunday the Club hosted a round of the South East Grand Prix with a large crowd of mostly youngsters and parents from the East Anglian clubs present.

  With no local riders in the 2 Junior events EL riders were committed to refereeing and track duties whilst Catering Treasurer Sarah Smith was kept busy providing the hoards of youngsters with hot dogs and cold drinks with an injured Nicky Stevens taking over announcing from race co-ordinator Martin Jarvis whilst Dennis Hubble sat out the racing but offered advice and kept the track in order throughout the racing with Kevin Smith Clerk of the Course as normal. Brian Barnett was present again to record the action on camera.

  The main event for the aged 15 and over riders provided some excellent racing refereed by out of favour from British Cycling Dave Hunting involving 18 riders in a 20 heat qualifier followed by respective finals.

  Team members Les Stevens, Nicky Gunkel and Neil Lester finished behind series leader Garry Brown (Somersham) in the Senior final whilst Steve Harvie won the vets version with Dave Hughes sandwiched between David Chambers and Mel Perkins from Hethersett, both who had taken part in the Ipswich event.

  The other finals finished in the following order –

U16 “B” -  Patrick Kruger from Gareth Oliver (both Colchester)

U 16 “A” -  Dan Chambers (Hethersett), Jordy Stant, Ashley Hill and Lewis Roberts (all Ipswich)

U19 - Jamie Chittock (Ipswich) from Oscar Clayton (Colchester)

Senior “B” - Andy Turnbull from Graham Wright (both Kesgrave)

Full Results and Standings should be available from British Cycling and Spokesman – Online  websites.

Steve Harvie

East London (Unidata)         74       

Ipswich                                    103

SE Division 1

With East London firmly at the bottom of the league table they entertained a high flying Ipswich in a South East Division 1 and 2 fixtures on Sunday that resulted in the visitors winning both matches. This also saw the last match for Polish international Alex Zielinski the East London number 1 for the last 3 years, his 16 point return on Sunday will be hard to replace. However it was good to see the return of former British finalist and Thurrock rider Neil Lester.

Things didn’t start very well for London when Alex was excluded for moving at the tapes and Ipswich raced way for a 7-2 that was followed by an Ipswich 7-3 Dennis Hubble won the next race with Kevin Smith pushing hard but still feeling the effects of a recent injury. Alex continued the winning ways with 2 fine wins and Ipswich keeping up the pressure bringing the half time score to 37-52 a lead of 15 point to the visitors. Ipswich continued their winning ways in the second half with only Alex and Dennis  winning races with Les Stevens , Neil lester, Steve Harvie and George Hughes offering any resistance to a good Ipswich team riding well . The visitors  finally run out winners by 29 points. Dennis Hubble showed why he is British Champion with a fine 18 points. Alex Zielinski rode well shame he moved at the tapes in his first ride, Les Stevens showing consistency again and Neil Lester should have scored more but also has a tape exclusion:

East London Scorers:

Dennis Hubble18, Alex Zielinski 16, Les Stevens11, Neil Lester 8+1. Steve Harvie 7,

George Hughes 5, Dave Hughes 4 and Kevin Smith 7.

Ipswich scorers:

Dan Pike 18+1, Joss Brooke 16+2, George Soloman 14+1, Dave Soloman 14,

Leon Mower 13+3, Jamie Chittock 8+2 Jordy Standt 7+1 Laren Jacobs 9,

John Mason 5

East London (Unidata)         67

Ipswich                                    93

SE Division 2

The East London division 2 team fared slightly better losing by 26 points even though 5 of the team had ridden in the 1^st team match. Kevin  Smith and George Hughes starting  the run of 3 5-5 drawn heats with Steve  Harvie  and Neil Lester winning the next 2 heats, before Ipswich got 3 7-3’s to take a 6 point lead at the interval..Even though Neil Lester had 3 unbeaten  races in the 2^nd half and a fine win on his debut for mountain biker rider Ben Kirk could not stop  Ipswich winning in style.

Neil Lester and Steve Harvie were the main scorers ably backed by  George Hughes and Ben Kirk.

East London Scorers

Neil Lester 14, Steve Harvie 14,George Hughes 10+1 Ben Kirk 10, Kevin Smith 9, Dave Hughes 6:

Ipswich scorers:

George Soloman 17+2, Ash Hill 16+2 John Mason 16,Jamie Chittock 15+2,

 Laren Jacobs 15+1, Jordy Standt 14+2

East London Success in British over 50s Vets Individual

  East London CSC continued their 20 year participation in Cycle Speedway’s Veteran Competitions by providing their first British Champion in Dennis Hubble at Bury on Saturday 11^th. July.

  Dennis who was British Senior Champion in 1986 with Thurrock and Over 40’s Champion 10 Years ago (also at Bury) whilst with Oxford City, had to beat former Thurrock team mate Ian Lawrence in a run off to gain the title. The Filton rider, the defending champion, challenged too hard to overtake from the outside grid and fell on the 1^st lap leaving Dennis to claim the top prize in only his 4^th. race meeting of the season after a 6 year absence from the sport. Poole’s Dave Murphy was 3^rd.

  East London team mates Les Stevens who finished a creditable 6^th. and Steve Harvie who eventually qualified for the final finishing 13^th. were among the 23 entries, reduced to 18 with non appearances including East London’s George Hughes and Nicky Stevens through injury and work commitments, which gave a good days racing on a superbly prepared racing surface watched by a fair sized crowd containing several former British Champions and northern stalwards of the sport.

  Edinburgh’s Johnny Murphy claimed the over 60’s prize from John Whiting (Bury) and defending champion Colin Wheeler (Southampton) in the match refereed by Pete Ward.

  The East London squad, including Dennis’ partner Michelle and club gofer, masseur and chauffeur Kevin Smith joined others in the “Swan and Cemetery” (Brilliant post vets pub name!) for a celebration drink, continued in the local Travelodge later that evening.

Steve Harvie.

East London                                 72       

Gt. Blakenham ( Suffolk )                   105

South East Division 1

On a glorious Sunday afternoon East London had no answer to current league leaders Gt Blakenham.  The home team started well with a 6-4 against 2 drawn 5-5 heat and a good 7-3 when a GB rider excluded for moving at the tapes, things were looking good with a further 2 5-5 drawn heats. GB then scored  2 7-3’s to take the interval score to 40-48 a lead of 8 points. GB increased their lead in the 2^nd half and with an injury to Kevin Smith when he was baulked by an opponent putting further misery to the home club. GB kept up the pressure and finally run out winners by 33 points. Alex Zielinski consistent as ever with a good 16 points backed up well with Dennis Hubble and Les Stevens and a good performance by rookie Erik Moore.

East London Scorers:

Alex Zielinski 16+, Dennis Hubble 12 Les Stevens 11, Nick Gunkel 9+2 George Hughes 7+1. Erik Moore 7 ,Nick Stephens 4 Dave Hughes 4 and Kevin Smith 2 

East London                          65+15             80

Gt. Blakenham (Suffolk)     60+30             90

South East Division 2

Even though East London won the on the day in a very good sporting event they lost out on penalty points due to the inclusion of division 1 riders. A very even match though out with East London gaining 1 point every 4 heats as GB were 1 rider missing. The Londoners had to wait till heat 6 before gaining a heat advantage when Nick Stephens and Dave Hughes took advantage of an exclusion to race to a good 7-3. Heat 9 was also good heat for EL when  Erik Moore and Les Stevens raced away to a fine 7-3.

The last 4 heats were even with   a 5-5  and a  6-4 to East London and 2 7-3’s to GB bringing the score of the match 65-60 a 5 point win on the day to East London.

 An outstanding day for newcomer Erik Moore and a polished performance from Nick Stephens ably backed by the rest of the team.

East London Scorers

 Erik Moore 13+2, Les Stevens  12+2 ,Nick Stephens 12, Nick Gunkel 12 ,

George Hughes 10+1, Dave Hughes 6

At Great Blakenham on Saturday 30^th. May 2009

  Despite a poor start to the season East London CSC gave a good showing in the Vets Team Championship, the second time they have entered, at Great Blakenham where they eventually finished third in the final after convincingly winning their semi-final tie beforehand.

  The 5 man squad of Dennis Hubble, Les Stevens, George Hughes, Kevin Smith and Steve Harvie all performed well scoring 49 despite George being excluded by referee Steve Copping in a case of wrong identity to lead Horspath by a single point and 5 ahead of favourites Sandwell, then hosts Blakenham and Ipswich.

  Norwich won the harder 1^st. semi-final from Filton who just pipped Poole and holders Wednesfield.

  The final was a straight duel between the Bristol side and Norwich but Dennis’ good scores and placings from Les with support from the other 3 comfortably overcame Horspath again.

  Filton emerged as eventual winners despite a ”weakened” side depending on their “imported riders” just as Edinburgh had done 2 years previously. The match was refereed by Kesgrave’s Dave Hunting on a glorious hot summers day.

Veterans Club Championship at Great Blakenham
Final
Filton 50
Dave Frith 15, Norman Venson 13, Mike Burgess 12, Dave Palfreyman 10
Norwich 47
Dave Solomon 14, Gary Colby 13, Chris Cullum 11, Alan Parkins 9
East London 33
Dennis Hubble 13, Les Stevens 9, Geoff Hughes 5, Steve Harvie 3, Kevin Smith 3
Horspath 30
Steve Harris 15, Mark James 6, Martin Glover 5, Robyn Carter 4
Referee:  Dave Hunting (Suffolk)

Semi Final A
Norwich 45
Gary Colby 14, Dave Solomon 12, Alan Parkins 10, Chris Cullim 9
Filton 41
Norman Venson 13, Mike Burgess 12, Dave Frith 11, Dave Palfreymann 5
Poole 39
Pete Young 10, Richard Clanfield 8, Colin Wheeler 8, Dave Murphy 7, Andre Cross 6
Wednesfield 35
Mark Griffiths 15, Mick Aris 9, Roger Ellis 6, Steve Mullinder 5
Referee: Dave Hunting (Suffolk)

Semi Final B
East London 49
Dennis Hubble 15, Les Stevens 14, George Hughes 10, Kevin Smith 6, Steve Harvie 4
Horspath 48
Steve Harris 16, Martin Glover 11, Mark James 11, Robyn Carter 10
Sandwell 44
Phil Hemming 14, Ivan Darby 11, Tony Bowen 11, Mick Evans 5, Pete Dalley 3
Great Blakenham 42
Paul Brinkhoff 14, Ray Pyke 12, Andrew Grimmer 7, Terry Ashford 7, Dennis Grant 2
Ipswich 8
Tony Stant 4, Dave Hill 4, Carol Knights 0, Jim Knights 0
Referee: Steve Copping (Suffolk)

Kesgrave V East London

Kesgrave 94.5 
Dan Croft 20, Peter Ingram 16, Andy Turnbull 12, Graham Wright 11, Martin Berry 11, Chris Gooch 10, Ryan Jay 7.5, Scott Mcdowall 7
East London B 63.5
Nicky Gunkel 13, Dave Hughes 11, George Hughes 10.5, Kevin Smith 10, Eric Moore 10, Nicky Stephens 9
Referee: Dave Hunting

South East Division 1

Ipswich           103

East London    74

East London travelled to Ipswich for a SE division 1 & 2 fixtures down on strength due to holiday and work commitments. After a 5 year lay off former British champion Dennis Hubble started well but a rare slip cost him his first win but backed by Smith the East London stated with a 5-5. In heat 2 Ipswich started putting with their first 7-3 over Stevens and Harvie. Jarvis gated to the front  in the next heat but was gradually worn down finishing 2^nd with Ridgwell 3^rd for a 5-5 another drawn heat then Ipswich gained another 7-3 followed by a 6-4 . East London had to wait to heat 9 before they won a race with a fine win by Les Stevens bringing the interval score to 52-37 Ipswich had a lead of 15 points Ipswich kept up the pressure on in the 2^nd half  with –-further 7-3’s and 6-4’s. Jarvis won heat 14 and Stevens won heat 17 but East London had no answer for the power of Ipswich finally losing by 29 points. On a brighter note Dennis Hubble and Les Stevens rode well for their 14 point tally with Kevin Smith showing a good run of form. 

East London Scorers:

Dennis Hubble 14 Les Stevens 14 Steve Jarvis 12+1 (4Rides) Lee Ridgwell 10+1 Kevin Smith 9+2 Steve Harvie 7  George Hughes4+1  (3rides) Dave Hughes 4 (4 rides)

South East Division 2

Ipswich           77.5 + 30 =      107.5  

East London                            82.5

East London started 30 points down due to the inclusion of 2 of the division 1 riders.  Hubble was winner of heat 1 followed by a good 7-3 from Stevens and G.Hughes.

5 drawn heats followed until  Ipswich raced to a 6-4. East London held a slender 3point lead at the interval. A 6- 4 and a 7-3 to East London  then  a 6-4 to Ipswich with 2 drawn heats brought East London a 5 point win in the match but a  21 point loss overall.  

Good scoring again but Hubble Stevens and Ridgwell with G.Hughes and Harvie giving good backing.

East London Scorers:

Les Stevens 19 Dennis Hubble 18 Lee Ridgwell 15.5+1 George Hughes 10+1   Steve Harvie 10 Kevin Smith 7  Dave Hughes 3 (3 rides)

Sunday 22 March

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Hubble's Return is Good News For East London

2 March 2009

Report & Images: Brian Barnett

Dennis Hubble's return to Cycle Speedway after being out of the sport for 5 years has been a breath of fresh air to East London. With East London's first match of the new season scheduled for 22 March 2009, against Norwich, Dennis has been putting the team through its paces and Brian Barnett caught up with their latest training session on Sunday 1 March 2009.

Dennis Hubble looking happy to be back with East London.

Kevin Smith outside Dennis Hubble inside, with Les Stevens blue top and Nick Stephens orange top chasing

East London had 2 representatives racing in the British Indoor Championships at Walsall on Sunday 30th.