It’s the Ledbury MCC ‘Full Throttle’ grasstrack event this coming Sunday, and there’s a very nice pot of prize money on offer, which should certainly guarantee plenty of close, intense racing! At the ‘Full Throttle’ there’s going to be action for Juniors and Intermediates Youth along with FGA Seniors, 250cc solo, 500cc solo, 500cc sidecars and 1,000cc right-hand sidecars.
Words and Images by Mike Wood
In the Juniors and fresh from his British Championship win, Rogan Wooley tops the entry along with, injury permitting, the runner-up at Wimborne, Brayden Blyth. Auto’s British Champion Levi Collins is also set to join the fun along with Albie South, Harry Little, AJ Bence, Lillie Mai-Warwick and Lilly Bence. At present, Archie Whitelam is the only listed starter in the Youth Intermediates class.
Providing a class for FGA Seniors, it’s the new ACU GT140 British Champion Wayne Broadhurst who will surely be the man to beat! Once again, one of his main rivals will be his son Max, but also watch out for the very experienced Graham Thomas. Over in the 250cc solos, that one could prove to be very interesting and unpredictable, as it features the likes of young Channel Islands rider Thomas Vining, Luke Wicks, who looked very quick in last weekend’s GT140 Championship, Richard and Shane Knight and Adam Hawker, the Ledbury MCC secretary. Also in the mix are Stuart Main, Chris Brook, Russell Little and Isaac Collins-Bullock.
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After a Wimborne Whoppa which did certainly not go to plan and included a couple of falls, young Max Perry will certainly be looking to make amends with a big performance at Ledbury this weekend and take home the big money on offer! Challenging him all the way though for the top prize will surely be Darryl Ritchings, whilst having completed his Buxton speedway commitments, Luke Harris is also someone who should be right in the mix. The 500cc entry includes the likes of John Cox, Tony Atkin, Simon Hammersley, Jake Breeze, Ryan and Liam Ashcroft, Karl Miles and Tim Curnock, whilst local rider Martin Williams is someone who, although having limited appearances, is always very competitive and quick!
The top three in the 2026 500cc British Masters sidecar championship all start at Ledbury, so it’s sure to be good! After their brilliant Masters win, Richard Webb/Ant Goodwin will be really up for it and looking for further glory. Looking to halt those plans, though, and get the better of the new champions will be Josh Goodwin/Scott Goodwin and Barrie Bennett/Rowan Lucas, who joined Webb on the podium at Wimborne. Also, in the 500cc sidecar entry are Paul Whitelam with son Lucas in the chair, along with Michael Skelding/Louis Skelding and Marcus Crutchingdon/ Louis Bennett.
In what is another stacked high-quality 1,000cc right-hand sidecar entry, it’s certainly very difficult to gauge who’s going to be taking home the £700 first prize. Wimborne Whoppa winner Mark Cossar, with Carl Blyth as partner, this weekend will be hoping to claim a quick double success. In the line-up, though, again there are Masters champions Gareth Winterburn/Frankie Courtney, Terry Saunters/Liam Brown, Will Penfold/Ricky Pay, Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb, Neal Owen/Jason Farwell, Clint Blondel/Lewis Davies and plenty of other very fast crews!
For spectators the place to be is the usual Ledbury MCC Sparrington Farm venue at Pencombe, Herefordshire, HR7 4SL. Admission for the ‘Ledbury Full Throttle’ is £15 Adults, £12 Concessions and Under 16’s FREE and camping is available from Friday, 9th October to Monday, 12th October. If you decide to get there early and spend the whole weekend at Pencombe, you can also watch round nine of the FGR grasstrack series which will take place on Saturday,10th October.
