RACE REPORT
Alans BMX Grand Prix Invitational presented by Supercross BMX - 5th Sept.
Co-sponsored by Alans BMX | PWR Motors | Junction 4 Sports Village
Track photos: Adam Livesey
Freestyle photos: Fans
Last weekend Alans BMX partnered up with Preston Pirates for something completely new - a Pro/Am invitational race with a difference! 16 of the finest and fastest men and women from all over the UK, were invited down for a format they aren’t used to - a four final Grand Prix. The top-secret reasoning behind this was that Alans BMX are making a film - being in the business for 45 years they wanted to shoot scenes to replicate where we started with BMX back in 1981 versus where we are now. This event would show just how fast the riders are today in both male and female categories, and they didn’t disappoint.
Alans BMX race team manager, John Bentley, sent out the invites and attempted to carefully balance the in-form riders from the recent National Series and from some of the BC riders too. Unfortunately, at the eleventh-hour, British Olympians Ross Cullen and Kye Whyte had to pull out due so as not to risk injury ahead of flying to China this week in a bid to gain key Olympic qualifying points. Despite this, it was nice to see both riders attending the event to show their support - with Ross even serving coffee to the spectators at his local track and Kye making himself available to chat to the hordes of kids wanting selfies with the Prince of Peckham. The males were chosen from a mix of National Categories like the current Superclass No. 1, George Hunt, and the 19-29 No. 1, Tyreese Bradshaw (Benters’ tip to pull Ross down the first straight). Also in the mix, consistent annual world plate holder Brynley Savage, Theo Perterkin from Peckham and also a few local legends like recently crowned British Champ Cal Strickland and multi title winner Alex Brookes. Alex is never afraid to throw in a berm move! Jared Hill made the trip up from East Anglia despite being on his way back from injury and rounding out the field was wildcard entry, Ross Sharp. Ross was on the cusp of success around 10 years ago and fancied a little comeback ride.
For the ladies it was a little easier, Benters reached out to multi world champion Bethany Shriever, and she rallied round the girls herself, bringing fellow BC riders along. The line up looked mega for the ladies: Emily Hutt, Sienna Harvey, Lily Chiziwa, Emie Seward, Megan Gerrard, Betsy Bax, Megan Roy and of course Bethany herself.
Onto The Racing (Ladies First)
With the new Grand Prix format and Sqorz doing the random gate picks, the riders had to be prepared to get tactical. They were all going to get outside gates at some point, and the ladies were up first. As expected, Beth blasted her way out of the gate and into the lead, but we all know that the Preston track is a great leveler. Hard on Beth’s heels were the rest of the pack. A notable rider showing real promise, was Sienna Harvey; she wasn’t afraid to knuckle in and get aggressive going into the turns. No way was she pulling back, and this was rewarded in finals one and two with superb 2nd places in the opening finals. Sienna ended up 5th when riding from gate 8 in final three but fought back in final four to 3rd, rounding the day off on the podium in 2nd place. Emily Hutt was showing real promise in what is quickly becoming her trademark - riding through the pack for good podium finishes. Emily is still on the recovery trail back to full fitness but certainly didn’t disappoint. She wasn’t afraid, consistent all day and had two 3rd places, a 2nd and a 4th - just missing out on 2nd place overall on count back. Unfortunately, we had transponder issues with Bethany and Betsy, and times were not recorded for them, but the places were kept correct with Betsy coming home just off the podium in 4th with some major promise - particularly in final four finishing 2nd. Next up were the challengers for the future. I was blown away by the sheer speed of Emie Seward and Megan Roy, times do not lie and they were both right on it. Rounding out the places were both Lily Chiziwa and Megan Gerrard who certainly did not get left behind and were both right on the pack - proving that female racing is right where it needs to be in the UK, it’s fast, competitive and aggressive. All the girls certainly put themselves in the frame for what we were trying to achieve with the film, no more so than our queen of BMX, Bethany.. long may she rule! Four outstanding wins, she wasn’t just consistently rapid, she’s inspiring, and just a pleasure to be around. If you’re involved in BMX right now take note of how blessed you are to be riding in the same era as Bethany Shriever, only one word can sum her up ‘Class’.
The Boys
As we said with the boys, a late pull out from local Coffee boy Ross Cullen left the field wide open for victory. Some points to prove from riders who may or may not have messed up their gate at the recent Brits Event in Manchester! Of course this was Tyreese Bradshaw, the powerhouse from the midlands who was secretly still seething from the Brits, where local Preston legend, Cal Strickland, took the title. Final one gate dropped and although it looked like Brynley Savage got the drop on the field, Tyreese just turned up the afterburners and blasted his way around the track to finish first. George Hunt was doing what he does best; he rides aggressive and is always ready to pop a move in when it matters. It certainly wasn’t a case of ‘follow the leader’ and George epitomises that quote; he made moves all day and finished consistently on the podium with two 2nds and two 3rds to take overall 2nd on the day. Brynley Savage will rue final 3 where he backed off and rested the lap to finish 8th. Up until then he had had a 3rd and a 1st - but by his own admission he hadn’t rode his bike since the world championships in Australia and his fitness was lacking. He was feeling the burn, but he regrouped for the final run and finished 3rd, placing him in the money for the day and in a position to buy Beth her evening meal 😉. Fourth place went to local legend Cal Strickland, still proving that age doesn’t matter. He showed he deserved his Brits glory, despite being in an age category that he should really be well out of. To finish 5th place was amazing and he completely justified his inclusion - being able to flick a switch when it matters and even managing a great move in final 3 to swoop two riders in the 2nd berm to grab second place. 5th overall and a big thumbs up from dad watching goes to Ross Sharp. Get the bike out for 2027 Ross; you’re way too fast to just disappear. 6th place overall went to Jared Hill. Jared took a spill in final 4 or else we think he would have been right up there. The Hill family and Alans BMX go way back, so it was a proud moment to see Jared battling it out as a GB rider at this event. Theo Peterkin, one of my ‘ones to watch’ riders - I don’t know what they put in the water down there in Peckham, but I want a couple of bottles of Peckham Spring Water. I messaged Theo about the event, and he immediately sorted himself a return train to Preston. He just blew me away with his effort and consistency. It was so good to have someone representing London and his dedication was brilliant, what a rider, he never gave up and its notable that in final 4 he stuck in a 29 second lap! Amazing Theo.
Last and by no means least, was Alex Brookes. Alex took a bit of a knock to the head in final 2 whilst pushing himself right into the mix in true Brookes style - it was bad enough for the medic on duty to stop filming for a sec and say “do you need me” 😂. Seriously though, props to Alex for continuing through - although the lap times were showing he took the foot off the gas for the final couple of races. Finally, a big congratulations to Tyreese Bradshaw who brought his ‘A’ game to the event. Although he had a wobble in final 2, finishing 4th, he powered through from gate 8 in final 3 to finish 1st . He grabbed the win again in final 4 to take the top step, and the £500 prize money from Bill Ryan at Supercross. Tyreese was on it and even had Ross Cullen worried about his lap record, although I do need to explain to Ross that weather conditions on the day make lap records outdoor difficult to achieve accuracy ;)
I’d like to invite Tyreese up on a dry summer’s evening next year to put that to the test. Well done to Tyreese and all the riders attending the event, it was amazing.
Sidehacks
Making a very special appearance we have a few gate of sidecar crews who travel all the way from the North East , again at short notice and they put on fierce display with one final being a dead heat photo finish. What a spectacle! Even Beth Shriever couldn’t help having go later. 80’s Freestyle Demo
80’s Freestyle Demo
To cap it all off, for a scene in the film, just like in the old days we had a retro freestyle demo set up on the finish straight starring the amazing Tom Justice, Tom Russell and Harry Gorman (joined by Tom’s 7-year-old son Jesse and 9-year-old Vitor Owens). Most BMX racers have never seen the likes of this, particularly not on a 1980’s BMX Action Trick Team 5-foot-wide quarter pipe and trick ramp. In fact, I don’t think the guys themselves have ever ridden anything like that before, so to see the BMX race community stand open mouthed watching these guys pull tricks out the bag was unbelievable! Bob Haro himself would have been speechless. It just goes to show it’s so important to pull these BMX disciplines together going forwards - to inspire the future generations that yes, it’s okay to have a full-on carbon race bike, but also nothing wrong with buying a nice park bike and mix it up and vice versa. Massive thanks to Neil Stewart for the MC duties and to Preston Pirates for allowing us to put the event on and to all of the PP volunteers that helped on the day. Ideas are flooding in about more of this type of thing to bring back the fun into BMX and put on a show. #BMXforever
Results
Women: https://our.sqorz.com/org/ppbmxc/event/6a99ae9eb526711caba56ac0/class/PW_20
Men: https://our.sqorz.com/org/ppbmxc/event/6a99ae9eb526711caba56ac0/class/PM_20
Quotes
“It was a fun experience and I fully enjoyed myself. It was great to get involved with the BMX community and show case some fast and interesting racing! Great vibes and great atmosphere 🙌”
-Bethany Shriever
Olympic Gold Medalist, Toyko 2020 and World champion 2026, 2025, 2023, 2021
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“It was a sick event, racing was fast paced and super close on a tight track. Having only short breaks throughout made it a super entertaining show.”
- George Hunt
UK Superclass #1 2026
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“I absolutely loved the event — the race format was brilliant and made for some really exciting racing. I’d definitely love to see more events like this in the future!”
- Sienna Harvey
GB Olympic Development Rider
“It’s not often we get a chance to race in a format away from the norm. The event was a breath of fresh air with great prize money on the line too! I hope there’s more of the same next year.”
- Cal Strickland
Current Word plate holder, 2022 Masters World champion
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“Absolute class event. Bringing the best out of BMX. Both great to compete and spectate”
- Tyreese Bradshaw
World #4 and current UK 17-29 #1
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“Great event, enjoyed the racing definitely one of my favourite races of the year! Need more events like this! 🤘🏻”
- Brynley Savage
Consistent World plate holder, current W5
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“What an event! With almost no time to plan, I could not be prouder of what we achieved together. From the minute I caught wind of Alans idea, I was all in. I'd like to say a huge thanks to Alans BMX for trusting us to host their crazy idea, and an even bigger thanks to the incredible volunteers at Preston Pirates. The event could not have gone ahead without such incredible people as members of our club. The riders spoke for themselves on the day, the talent on our gate was world class, and I'm really proud to have had multiple Preston Pirates members up there battling with the best of the best. I'm not sure I have much to say about the sidehack racing... I'm still having terrifying flashbacks to barrelling out of the third berm with world number 7 James Cottrell as my co-pilot, heading straight for the grass no-mans land between the third and fourth straight, while hanging on for dear life to a bike that was definitely more hacked than side!”
- Romney Whybrow-Parker
Club Chairman, Preston Pirates BMX Club
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“With only a month to put this together as part of the film we are making, Preston Pirates were absolutely amazing to work with and I must thank the riders who made a commitment at such short notice and at the end of a grilling season. So many people to thank in addition to the above… Dave Arnold who made the ramps and worked with me on the film, Benters and Leanne for everything, Sam Davies-Bate for transporting the ramps - and everyone who came!”
- Alan Woods
Alans BMX
UK BMX National #1 1981
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Considering it was put together as a unique filming opportunity for the film, it ended up being a fantastic event inc it’s own right.
- David Arnold
Film Co-producer
Contacts:
Alans BMX
01942 826598
www.alansbmx.com
sales@alansbmx.com
Preston BMX Club
www.prestonpiratesbmxclub.com
prestonpirates@outlook.com
