The BMX National Championships took place in Ratoath BMX club on Sunday 7th July, Ratoath’s first time hosting since 2018.
After a sunny start to the day, heavy showers made
conditions challenging.
The Challenge groups took to the track first, and
competition was stiff all day. This was especially evident in the Male 9-10, Male 11-12 and Male
13-14’s groups. There has been a massive surge in participation numbers in
these groups recently.
The youngest riders on the day were the Mixed U6’s with Jude
Byrne from Lucan BMX club taking the top step all day with Cian O’Brien and
Katie Brereton following with 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
In the Male 7-8 category, Nathan Murray from Belfast City BMX
Club took the overall top step at the end of the day, having taken first place in
all of his motos. Erin Choi from Cork BMX Club who also took first in all motos
but Murray pipped Choi to take 1st place overall.
Finn Noud from Lucan BMX Club held first position throughout
the day to take the overall win in the Male 9-10s. Noud fought off stiff
competition from Tommy Portis, Kyle Ashby and Jayden O’Connell to take the top
spot.
The Male 11-12’s title was taken by Lukas Kennedy from
Lisburn BMX. Kennedy just edged local rider Kurts Storkis from Ratoath BMX at
the line in the Final for the overall first place, and the pair were closely
followed by Joe Jordan and Tommy Caldwell. This group never fails to put on a
good racing display, with only seconds between them in finals.
The Male 13-14s category turned into a day-long three way
battle. David Oprey Mejia from Lisburn BMX came out on top, with his clubmate
Ashton Stewart taking 2nd and Evan Bartley coming in third.
Despite missing a number of National Series regulars due to
racing abroad, the female categories provided exciting racing throughout the
day. Lilly Walker from Lisburn walked away with the overall win in the Female
7-10’s class. The Female 11-14’s was dominated by Summer Glynn of Ratoath BMX
as she claimed several of first place positions throughout the day and overall
first place. She was challenged throughout the day by Samia Hughes and Abigail
Foran who took second and third place respectively.
Masters racing was dominated by Lucan BMX Club, as they took
all three top places with Fabio Fiorvante, Eamon Wyer and Joey O’Neill taking
1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The Junior Men provided an excellent spectacle of racing
throughout the day. Ratoath BMX dominated this category taking all three top spots
with Reuben Byrne, Charlie Jackson and Josh Whitley Halvey taking 1st, 2nd and
3rd respectively, as Jamie Dumigan from Belfast City Club came in a close fourth.
Round 4 of the BMX National Series was hosted by Lucan BMX
on August 4th. This round of the National Series also coincided with
the club’s 10th anniversary, and saw Fingal County Mayor in
attendance, in what was a fantastic celebration of the club and volunteers.
Wet weather met the riders, but all met the challenging
conditions head on. A massive turnout for male and female riders across all
categories made for a brilliant day’s racing.
A full gate in the U6 category saw local riders Jude Byrne
take top spot, followed by Finn Cohen and Cian O’Brien from Cork BMX in second
and third respectively.
The Male 7-8s was won by Nathan Murray from Belfast City
BMX. Erin Choi of Cork and Ollie Smith riding with Lisburn took second and third.
Kyle Ashby of Lucan BMX took top spot in the Male 9-10s,
followed closely by his club mate Jayden O’Connell, with Tommy Portis of
Belfast City BMX taking third spot.
Finn Noud made the jump up in age bracket to the Malle
11-12s, and took the win at his home track, ahead of Joe Jordan from Ratoath
BMX and Noah Kelly from Lisburn BMX.
The Male 13-14s was hotly contested all day, but Lisburn’s David
Oprey Mejia came out on top ahead of Lucan rider Devansh Nolan, with Noah Byrne
from Ratoath taking third in a very tight final. The narrowly beat out Ashton
Stewart and Kurts Storkis on the day.
The Male 15-29 category was won by Lucan rider Malachy O’Reilly
as Patrick Dyer from Cork BMX came in second and Evan Bartley from Ratoath
rounded out the podium.
Lilly Walker and India Bennett from Lisburn BMX took first
and second respectively in the Female 7-10s class, followed by Orlaith Dewis in
third.
A full gate in the Female 11-14 category saw tough racing
all day, but Samia Hughes from Lisburn came out on top. Amelia Martin and Lucy McClintock
took second and third places respectively.
Joey O’Neill grabbed top spot in the Masters category,
beating Fabio Fiorvante and Igor Souza rounded out the podium.
In the Female race Anna Szmyt from Lucan grabbed the win. She
beat out Demelza Franssen of Cork in second and another Lucan rider in Julie
Earley in third.
Superclass saw Cork’s Danny O’Gorman dominate all day. He
took the overall win on the day, as Charlie Jackson from Ratoath took second,
followed closely by Brandon Mallon in third.
Round 5 of the National Series takes place on Sunday, 15th
of September in Lisburn.