Victor Chetta races to victory
Victor Chetta took the spoils as seven Friction Hydraulics medals and three Championships were decided in the penultimate round of the series.
The North Shropshire Wheelers’ 25, held on the Tern Hill- Shawbirch saw Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ ace Chetta take the win by a narrow 24 seconds from Paramount’s Simon Romei after stopping the watch on 54 minutes 37 seconds.
Starting just five minutes ahead of Chetta on the road, Simon Romei felt exactly the opposite about the strange conditions, citing a fast leg southwards but struggling on the long return to Espley island. His 55:01 took runner-up spot by exactly a minute from
Wrekinsport’s Tomos Hales claimed third place in 56:01, which gave him the points he needed to seal Friction Hydraulics bronze, the final medal in the overall series. He also led Wrekinsport into a 225-point lead over Paramount in the Top Club award with just one round to go.
Having hung his race wheels up for the season after recapturing the Friction Series title following round 16, Tim Beradmore was beaten at the last to the Friction Veterans’ title by Deb Hutson-Lumb, who also sealed victory in the Women’s Series with wins in both categories.
Hutson-Lumb recorded a fine +16:21 in the Veterans’ event for a clear win over Chetta (+12:18), and held off the challenge from bronze medallist Hayley Wells.
The final medal in the Veterans’ category was taken by Jonathan Mills-Keeling, who also had a morning off.
Helen Tudor finished third woman to take women’s silver, while Chester Romei sealed Friction Junior gold.
