THE final race of a busy BMX race season for Hayes Hawks was the South Championships in Gosport.

The club’s riders had travelled the length of the country, as well as to South Carolina for the World Championships and Verona for the Europeans.

In total, 57 riders tried their hand at racing during the 2024 season and 26 of them made the journey to the south coast to compete against the best racers in the South.

Fledgling racer George Cruikshank started riding only this year and has already shown great potential.
He and his Hawks club mates Acer Blake, Finn McLaughlin and Alfie Ford all battled hard in a stacked male 12 category.

George and Finn both made it into the semi-finals, but that’s where their race day ended.

Hawks had two riders earning the coveted 1S plate (1st in the South Region).

Veteran Zoltan Buday didn’t drop a lap all day and took a confident first place in his final. Robert Head, who was merged into the race category above, also triumphed in the 17-18 category.

In addition to the racing, BMX clubs across the South  were casting their votes on who would win the region’s Rider of the Year and Most Improved Rider awards.

Not only did Hawks have two nominations, but both triumphed.

Chay Young, 17, one of the Hawks youth coaches. was awarded the Most Improved Rider award. Chay regularly made National A finals and finished his season with a third at the British Championships.

He demonstrates the importance of resilience and hard work to achieve your goals, which are qualities he shows to the riders he coaches.

Rider of the Year was 15-year-old Cody Coker, who took both the National title and British Championships with barely a lap dropped and has been nothing short of outstanding.

Cody’s talent has also been recognised by British Cycling and he joins the crop of the UK’s brightest BMX stars on the Junior Olympic Development Pathway.

For anyone wanting to give BMX racing a go, the club holds beginner sessions every Saturday at 9am.

Visit www.hawksbmx.co.uk or email hello@hawksbmx.co.uk for more information.