CHRIS Harris has thanked everyone involved in his Testimonial event which proved a major success at Brandon on Sunday.
Australian star Jason Doyle took the individual honours as he held off the challenge of three-times World Champion Nicki Pedersen in the A-Final, but all of the riders contributed to a thoroughly enjoyable day of racing.
Pedersen, on a rare appearance in the UK, was well received by a bumper crowd and responded with a fully committed performance with several close battles along the way.
Both he and Doyle finished on 12 points, Pedersen edging their first meeting in Heat 20, and they were joined in the Final by Rory Schlein and Scott Nicholls, the two former Coventry men both giving consistent displays.
Doyle hit the front in the decider whilst Pedersen found himself at the back early on, and although he moved from fourth to second he was unable to catch the Swindon No.1 in time for the flag, whilst Schlein completed the rostrum places.
Coventry’s Krzysztof Kasprzak picked up an award for fastest race time as he won his first two heats, and his Polish compatriot Kacper Woryna gave another spirited performance as he gains track time at Brandon.
Belle Vue’s Richie Worrall arguably deserved more than his seven points having been a major factor with his fast gating; whilst three of Kyle Howarth’s four points came in a shock Heat 2 win over Harris and Pedersen, and Edward Kennett also scored four but was involved in one of the races of the day with Pedersen in Heat 10.
Harris himself had five points from his first two rides but eventually finished one point short of the mark required to reach the A-Final.
He also took charge of the first race from the referee’s box – with three attempts required to start it! – and a well-run event was completed by 5pm with a total of 33 races having taken place including nine for the popular British Youth series riders.
Harris said: “I was really pleased with the turn-out, and I can’t thank everyone enough for coming, and also the riders for giving up their time and putting on a great show.
“I was even surprised myself with how hard everyone was going, but at the end of the day they’re all racers, which is what I wanted.
“I’m glad it’s over and I can concentrate on my racing now - it’s been stressful for me, but even more for (partner) Emma. She’s worked hard, so a big thanks to her and everyone on the committee, and all the sponsors and the fans.
“I wasn’t expecting that size of crowd, it blew me away, so I’m really thankful to them and hopefully they enjoyed it as much as I have.â€
CHRIS HARRIS TESTIMONIAL, Coventry Nicki Pedersen 12, Jason Doyle 12, Rory Schlein 11, Scott Nicholls 10, Andreas Jonsson 10, Chris Harris 9, Craig Cook 8, Krzysztof Kasprzak 8, Sebastian Ulamek 7, Richie Worrall 7, Kacper Woryna 6, Jason Garrity 5, Max Fricke 5, Kyle Howarth 4, Edward Kennett 4, Kenneth Hansen 2. D FINAL: Hansen, Fricke, Kennett, Howarth (ret) C FINAL: Worrall, Woryna, Ulamek, Garrity (ns) B FINAL: Jonsson, Cook, Harris, Kasprzak (ret) A FINAL: Doyle, Pedersen, Schlein, Nicholls
