There was a good turnout at Carlisle Cycle Circuit last night despite the unseasonable weather.
The racing began in heavy rain for the Category 4 men and women of any category but fortunately it soon dried up, though the persistent windy conditions made it a challenging race.
That especially applied to several riders who were having their first experience of closed circuit racing.
It was a good night for the local riders with Ryan Johnston of Border City Wheelers taking the win from Carlisle Reivers CC’s Alan Strong, both of whom have only started racing this season but are already making their mark. Third place went to Newcastle’s Jon Bateman riding for The Endurance Academy.
The weather improved, somewhat, later in the evening and a strong field of experienced riders were able to race under blue skies.
Riders of any category competed in two 25 lap race and the first one, which included sprints on every 5th lap, had a very close finish with the top four riders separated by a tenth of a second.
The finish line video confirmed a win for Hugo Lutz – Atkinson beating his younger brother Max into third place with local rider Adam Bent sandwiched between them.
After a short break the spectators were treated to another speedy 25 lap race. The first two places on the podium were unchanged with Hugo Lutz- Atkinson denying Adam Bent the top step for a second time but the third place went to Scot Sam Barbour on this occasion.
First Category Hugo was definitely the dominant rider of the night as he added one of the sprint laps and fastest lap of the night to his two victories.
All the riders on the podium, plus the sprint lap winners, were all treated to tasty prizes donated by West Cumbria based bakers Fell Bar this week.
Only two more of the evening series now remain with next week’s event including races for both children and adults.
