Rob Holmes took the 2017 GBR Series after a solid campaign. The Friday before the All England he had tackled racing his younger sister in the opening round of the Dash for Cash with the hope of picking up the win before crashing out in the second round. The All England Championship win was a great response to this disappointment. It was not a straight forward win as he came form third after the first run, a quarter of a second off the lead, to win by four hundredths of a second from the 2018 British Ski Academy sponsored GBR Series winner, Toby Case with the Dash for Cash Winner, Rory Farren taking third. Harrison Evans and Joseph Thompson rounded out the top five.
While the Dash for Cash was a great innovative addition to the race scene, the lure and history of the All England means it is still a race that every dry slope racer wants to win. Case, Evans, Craig Speed to name a few all had their eyes on the prize. After the first run Case lead from Speed with Holmes in third, Evans in fourth and Farren in fifth. Rolling back the years and giving the younger racers a run for their money was Will Manns.
With thirteen racers crashing out from the Dave Eaves set first run course, by the time Ian Jackson, twelfth after the first run took the lead, the second run, set by Pete Cutler, was already proving to be destructive for many racers intentions.
With Jackson also rolling back the years, he went second behind Nathan Smith before Thompson showed why he is being spoken about with growing respect as he took the lead, holding it for four racers.
With Rory Farren looking to make it a Dash for Cash and All England double, he took the lead, dropping Harrison Evans before Holmes put his cards of the table and grabbed the lead. With a quarter of a second to make up on Case, had he done enough?
Before Case took to the course, it was the turn of Craig Speed, one of the most exciting racers on the dry mat scene this summer. Speed has learnt how to harness the speed he generates as his strength has grown but it was not to be his day as he crashed out.
Would it be Holmes in the finish or Case at the start who would win the 2018 All England?
Races can be decided by small margins and a few small errors by Case saw the pendulum swing in Holmes’s favour and when he crossed the line, the advantage was four hundredths in Holmes’s favour. Great racing and another exciting advert for the sport.
The age groups were won by Ryan Bunton (Under 14, 9th Overall), Joseph Thompson (Under 16, 5th Overall), Robert Holmes (Under 18, All England Champion), Rory Farren (Under 21, 3rd Overall), Chris Corr (Senior, 25th Overall) and Ian Jackson (Masters, 8th Overall).
The Under 12 age group was won by Frazer Cox with Lewis Parton taking second and Finlay Royle third. Izaac Ellison took the Under 10 win.
Full results
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