The track held up well after a full day of qualifying. The good weather ahead of the event continued into the weekend, and that greatly helped track conditions.
There had been a large and enthusiastic crowd attending on Saturday, so there was great expectation of even bigger numbers on race day. The rider’s presentation and autograph session preceded the action under a sunny sky before an appreciative crowd.
Race One (Groups A/B)
Two rows and the mass start gave us a huge thrill as the pack streamed into the first right-hander, with local rider Lukas Cerny with Bastien Chopin grabbing the lead. Again, just the same as in qualifying, there was a pile-up on the straight, with five teams tangled up. Cerny made the most of his start, but a battling Stuart Brown/Josh Chamberlain fought like terriers on the few early bends to muscle into second place. Brown knew he had to get out front, and they were very impressive all race long. From a second-row start, Marvin was incredible, and picked off first Heinzer, then Brown. It was not easy, but once in front he held a five-second margin over Brown in second with Dan Foden and Nathan Cooper in 12th place.
Great Britain sat well in the table behind the impressive Netherlands team after the close of play in this race.
Race Two (Groups B/C)
It had become decidedly colder after lunch, with the large crowd enjoying life. The much-publicised rain had not materialised, and extensive track repair work was carried out during the lunch break.
After yet another big crash off the line involving Team Italy, all the main players were safely through and fighting hard. The British crew Stuart Brown/Josh Chamberlain did not have such a clear run as the earlier race and had to work a bit harder. They were passed by Varik and dropped to third. Despite Gert Van Werven coming from eighth place through to fourth, he could not close the gap to Brown/Chamberlain, and that is where he finished. A strong ride by Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard had us all thinking he might ride home in tandem with Brown/Chamberlain, but it was not to be. A very rapid Gert Gordejev and Kaspars Stupelis made great progress, defeating Wilkinson/Millard on the penultimate lap and seeing them finish sixth.
The Netherlands were heading for team honours once again, but with one race to go, team Great Britain sat second.
Race Three (Groups A/C)
The third and final race in what had been an amazing weekend needed to be a good one to close proceedings. Barring mishaps, team Netherlands was on target to retain the title.
Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard did not start well but chipped away lap after lap gaining ground. A very creditable seventh place, with Dan Foden/Nathan Cooper eleventh, meant that team GBR finished runners-up. This was a great result and shows great promise for the new young team members.
Report by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC