European adventure awaits Shropshire's grasstrack stars

Driver Shaun Hughes and passenger Louis Bennett put all the cancellations and lockdowns behind them to finish as the second-best grasstrack riders in the entire country.

Hughes, from Pontesbury, and Bennett, from Telford, managed recover from a disappointing fifth in the opening British Championship race to claim two wins and a second, which placed them just one behind six-time British Champion, Josh Goodwin, and his passenger, Liam Brown, in third.

But it was enough to enter the sudden death race and nail-biting finish saw them claim second over all – and silver medal – which means they will be representing their country on the European stage next year.

The pair travelled to Ledbury MCC for the rerun of British Championship to compete against riders from all over the UK.

British titles were up for grabs in the 250cc and 350cc solo classes, as well as the 500cc continental and 1000cc left-hand sidecars.

Hughes, 21, and Bennett, 23, had already claimed a couple of podiums in the 500c sidecar class during another stop-start year of racing but admitted to being "where they had hoped" as the finals approached.

“With the return of the 2021 grasstrack season, we just winged it, really," said Bennett.

"We didn’t really know how many we were going to do due to the pandemic but we'd aimed to do a few races in preparation for British Championship.

"Ledbury, in Herefordshire, is classed as our home track and we love it there so we were mega happy to have the championships 'in our back yard', so to speak."

A crisp, fresh, autumn morning greeted Hughes and Bennett as they walked the track, to try and guess the best gearing to use for the course, but once practice came the sidecar "didn't feel right".

"The first heat came around and we had the choice of a deep rut or to go off the top, and chose the latter – but it was so slick the wheels just spun whilst everyone got away," added Bennett.

"We chased as hard as we could and managed to get a fifth. We racked each other’s brains and then went all out with some changes."

The second heat came around and this time the Shropshire pair flew off the start line to take victory, which was followed by another win in the third heat after they found a gap to exploit, got the correct drive, sent the bike up the inside – and "it just took off".

“After that we knew we were right back in the mix, with the possibility of qualifying for European, so we just kept plugging away," said Bennett.

"In the final heat, we met a crew who went unbeaten all day and after emerging third we chased hard to find a quick line, crossing the line in second.

“We knew we’d done pretty well but the first heat had thrown a spanner in the works.

"We hoped we’d finish in the top two, and go straight through to the European final, but we finished third overall in points.

"That was the goal, really, but missing out on second spot by a point was a difficult pill to swallow.

"But at the end of the day we’d had a safe and constructive meeting, so we were pretty happy."

The results meant Hughes and Bennett had qualified for the FIM European 500cc sidecar semi-finals, instead of heading straight to the finals, but there was still the little matter of the sudden-death race to declare the over all British champions.

Following a slow start, all the sidecars were scrambling for the inside line and after a move from Hughes the pair were holding second place, which they maintained until the chequered flag, to claim a silver medal, behind winners Mitch Godden and Paul Smith.

“It was a surreal experience, really, because when we first started racing we never thought we would get this far," said Bennett.

"On top of being Great Britain’s first choice for the European semis, we are now second in the country, but we'd like to wish a speedy recovery to Phill and Tom Rowland, from Oswestry, after their nasty crash.

"We have so many people to thank. Our biggest is our dads, Barrie and Eifion, who have cried and celebrated the whole journey with us, making so many sacrifices and investments.

"Our team of Lisa, Becki, Courtney, Zoe and baby Teleri give up their 'normal' weekends to follow us all over the UK, week in week out.

“Massive thanks also goes to sponsors RRE Speedway Spares, Titian’s of Dirt, Dave Brown International Race Services, Rock Oil, K & N Filters, GF Grigg, AB Sign Writing, RA Mouldings, T J Vickers, Wulfsport, Broomie Racing Ltd, CW Race Wear, Kenda Tyres, Cambrian Tyres, Richard Yorke Ltd and Moto Worx Wheel Building, as well as Geoff Mann, Rhona and Alan, Brian and Gill, and Dave Dyde."

"With our European qualification we are upping the game 10-fold so are on the look out for more sponsors, who would like to see their name or company name travel with across the UK and Europe next year."

Anyone wishing to sponsor the pair are asked to email Louis-Bennett@Hotmail.co.uk or call 07811 645617.