GALLERY: Newcomers Wilkinsons crowned pancake champions

FIRST time flippers Wilkinsons were crowned winners of the 2012 Ely Standard Pancake Race on Tuesday.

Wilkos crack team of Anton Hill, Jack Byng, Jonny Hobbs and Alex Cook stormed ahead in the final straight to take the honours ahead of Tesco, with the Ely Standard, Star Radio and the Lighthouse Fellowship trailing in their wake.

Wilkinsons team manager and store assistant manager Matt Wright said: “We’ve had no practice but we are simply the best so we had to win. We will be back next year to defend our title as pancake race champions of Ely”.

In second place was the Tesco team with members Rhys Barrett, Ashley Davies, Rose Rowell and Daniel Arnold. The supermarket giants finished a few steps behind Wilkinsons in a gripping final 50-yard dash, despite dropping their pancake on the crucial last leg.

In third place, one better than last year, was the crowd’s favourite Ely Standard team of Debbie Davies, Daniel Mansfield, Andrew Papworth and Ben Greenwood.

In fourth was Star Radio, a welcome return for a very strong team who are two-time winners of the coveted prize pan. Team members this year were Ryan Taylor, Amy Carpenter, Adam Maisey and Isha Pit.

In fifth place was another new team, the Lighthouse Fellowship, with members Giles Cornell, Isabel Cutter, Jackie Smith and Nat Pk. The Lighthouse took a surprise early lead but faded in the latter stages. The team have promised to be back again next year.

The race was started by Ely’s official town crier Avril Hayter Smith, with the competitors cheered on by dozens of spectators who had turned out to who support the event.