THE sixth round of the BMX South Region Summer series came to Hayes Hawks BMX Club at the weekend.

A total of 420 riders from London and the South travelled to battle it out on the track situated within Lake Farm Park.

Preparations had been ramped up throughout July, with 40 tons of new track surface delivered.

For the first time in the 23 years the club has used the site, track resurfacing became a simpler project, thanks to the most recent installation of mains water.

This would not have been possible without funding from Sport England, the Angus Irvine Playing Fields Fund via Access Sport and Affinity Water.

Club volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure the surface was laid and running smoothly.

Last-minute damage caused overnight, probably by motor cyclists, kept volunteers busy, but, as the gates opened at 8am, the track was in tip-top condition.

Race events are a good way for the club to raise funds for track development and the club organised a bake sale, while a raffle was well supported.

Among the 420 riders there were 40 Hawks riders.

Expert riders Tate Kitson, Zoltan Buday and Chay Young were all class winners.

Three new Hawks riders, Mya Lombo, Augustus Bartolini and Louie Arpino, all tried regional racing for the first time.

Mya finished eighth in the 7-8 female class, Augustus just missed out on an A final spot in his semi-final in the male sevens, while Louie Arpino had some good races but didn’t progress to the knockout rounds. He has only been riding since January.

Cody Coker raced with the elite riders. An impressive fifth-place finish against riders considerable older than him highlights the bright future he has.

The winners of the male and female elite classes were brother and sister duo Matt and Lucy Hutt from neighbouring club Runnymede Rockets.

The siblings have racing in their blood as their sister, Emily Hutt, heads to the Paris Olympics as the female reserve BMX race athlete for GB.

Some solid results across the day for many of the Hawks riders have seen the club move up the South Region rankings to sit in 10th place.

There are only 2 south region races left to go before many of the Hawks riders, coaches and volunteers descend on Derby BMX club for the British Championships over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

With British Champion titles on the line, Iris Hajda will be keen to retain hers, while many other Hawks riders will be hunting for first place.