2024 News

The 2024 British Youth Championship got underway at Workington on Saturday for both the 250cc and 125cc classes,  and as expected the determination and effort of all riders did not disappoint.

Nine riders were originally programmed to take part in each class but unfortunately when warming up prior to the event 250cc rider Liam Morris seized his engine and was unable to take part, leaving only eight riders in that class.

Once racing commenced there was some real competitive action on track,  in particular in the 250cc class where pre-meeting favourite Cooper Rushen certainly did not have it all his own way.

15-year-old Jamie Etherington, who recently made his debut in the National League guesting for Middlesborough, was super quick and in heat 8 although Rushen tried every part of the track but could not quite get enough speed to get past and Etherington claimed his 2^nd win of the day.

Etherington and Rushen clashed again in heat 14, but on this occasion, it was Rushen’s turn to hit the front and, in this race, Etherington could not catch the super quick Rushen.

The whole 250cc class was impressive but a special mention to Caydin Martin who won two races, and also to Archie Rolph and Charlie Southwick who both looked good on their 250cc debuts.

Seth Norman had a day to forget with mechanical issues therefore hampering his total score on the day.

The 250cc Final was a fantastic race with Rushen and Etherington clashing on the first bend but both managing to stay on their machines and Rushen went on to take his first win of the 2024 Championship.

In the 125cc class Oliver Bovingdon was the standout rider and deserved his favourite tag before the Championship began and went on to win Round 1 with a 15-point five ride maximum.

In this class five riders had stepped up from the support class in 2023 and all five impressed, none more so than Lewis Hague and Rocco Webb who ended up second and third respectively.

Kane Newby and Reuben Marsh, two more riders who had stepped up in 2024 also claimed a race win during the heats.

Like Norman in the 250cc class, Casper Kluczniak had a day to forget with mechanical issues therefore missed out on a place in the final.

In the final Bovingdon went on to claim an impressive victory but a special mention to the unlucky Charlie Luckman who was placed second in the final, only to crash on the last lap and miss out on a podium finish.

Our thanks again to the Workington Promotion and to all of our series sponsors.

Championship Scores:

250cc 

• Cooper Rushen – 18 Points
• Jamie Etherington – 16
• Archie Rolph – 14
• Caydin Martin – 12
• Charlie Southwick – 11
• Seth Norman – 10
• Emerson Betty – 9
• Harry Fletcher – 8

125cc

• Oliver Bovingdon – 18 Points 
• Lewis Hague – 16
• Rocco Webb – 14
• Charlie Luckman – 12
• Casper Kluczniak – 11
• Kane Newby – 10
• Reuben Marsh – 9
• Kayden Mundy – 8
• Archie Whitlam – 7

The new series of the British Youth Championship gets underway on Saturday afternoon when the 250cc and 125cc classes launch the 2024 series at Workington, following the Comets Championship clash with Glasgow.

The eagerly awaited series will visit 9 tracks across the season, with some rounds being hosted as 2^nd half events, whilst the rounds at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Plymouth and Leicester will be stand-alone meetings.

In each class at the first round, 9 riders will take part meaning a 2^nd half event of an additional 20 heats.

In the 250cc class, 2023 SGP3 Finalist and previous British 125cc Champion Cooper Rushen will start as the pre season favourite to win his first 250cc British Championship, however any of the other 8 riders will have a different opinion and all the riders in this class this year will be aiming to claim their first 250cc British Title.

Reigning British 125cc Champion Oliver Bovingdon will be the hot favourite to retain his crown in this class, but will be receiving some tough competition from all the other competitors.

250cc Riders:

Emerson Betty,  Harry Fletcher,  Cooper Rushen, Seth Norman,  Caydin Martin, Liam Morris, Archie Rolph ,Jamie Etherington and Charlie Southwick 

125cc Riders:

Oli Bovingdon, Rocco Webb, Lewis Hague,  Archie Whitelam,  Charlie Luckman, Rueben Marsh, Kane Newby, Casper Kluczniak and Kayden Mundy

The series again in 2024 have some fantastic support on board which enables the Young Lions to give the riders as much support as possible so thank you again to – Nuneaton Speedway Supporter’s Club, Wessex Marine, Brian Royle, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, AGF Plant, Rentruck of Rochdale, Abrams Insurance, Friends of Speedway, Gordon Pairman and In Memory of Speedway Nut and the continued support from the Members of the BSP Ltd.

Due to circumstances out of the control of the Edinburgh promotion, the British Youth Championship round scheduled for Armadale has had to be re-arranged.

The meeting was due to take place on Saturday June 15 but it will now take place on Saturday September 14.

Young Lions boss Neil Vatcher said: “This is an extremely disappointing change of fixture as the original date meant a double weekend of meetings at both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

“However, with all levels of speedway due to various different reasons sometimes fixtures cannot take place on the original scheduled dates, and we are very grateful to the Edinburgh promotion for giving us the opportunity of visiting later in the season in what will be expected to be the ninth and final round of the 2024 Championship.”

The series gets underway at Workington this Saturday.

Sam Hagon led the qualifiers for the British Under-21 Final with a 15-point maximum at Plymouth on Tuesday.

The Poole and Belle Vue Colts racer won the event for the second season running after also triumphing at Workington last year, and he will now look to make a major impression on the title itself at Glasgow on June 2.

Hagon was joined on the rostrum at the Coliseum by Leicester Lion Cubs rider Vinnie Foord who scored 12, whilst Berwick’s Freddy Hodder, who is also a Colts team-mate of Hagon, picked up 11.

The other six qualifiers for the Final were Ben Trigger, Luke Killeen, Ashton Boughen, Luke Harrison, Jody Scott, Max James and Mickie Simpson.

Plymouth stage the British Under-21 Qualifier tonight (Tuesday) with ten places available for the Final at Glasgow.

Local youngster Ben Trigger, who rode for the Gladiators last season, is included in the line-up along with 2023 British Youth Champion Ashton Boughen who now rides for Oxford in both senior leagues.

LINE-UP: 1 Sam Hagon, 2 Stene Pijper, 3 Ashton Vale, 4 Chad Wirtzfeld, 5 Senna Summers, 6 Ashton Boughen, 7 Freddy Hodder, 8 Ben Trigger, 9 Luke Killeen, 10 Mickie Simpson, 11 Luke Harrison, 12 Max James, 13 Sam McGurk, 14 Vinnie Foord, 15 Jody Scott, 16 Sonny Springer. Reserves: Kai Ward, Eli Meadows.

*LIVE STREAMING: https://www.gladiatorslive.com/

Sonny Springer and Senna Summers have received call-ups to the British Under-21 Qualifier at Plymouth on April 30.

The two riders, who are making their full-time WSRA NDL debuts this season with Leicester and Oxford respectively, come in to replace Archie Freeman (retired) and Elliot Kelly (business commitments).

Reserves for the event will be the new Middlesborough signing William Hocaniuk and Kai Ward, who is based in Devon.

News of Leicester’s staging of the 2024 Women’s Open Championship has generated excitement and interest both in the UK and worldwide.

The event takes place at the Pidcock Motorcycles Arena, Beaumont Park on Saturday August 31, where it will run alongside a round of the British Youth Championship series.

Applications for the Women’s Open have been received not only from the UK, but also from Europe and one from Australia!

Great Britain will be represented by their top two female riders, Katie Gordon and Rachel Hellowell, both of whom currently compete in British Speedway’s Development Leagues.

There are currently three German riders registered to take part – where undisputed World No.1 Celina Liebmann, who races for Workington in the Cab Direct Championship, will be joined by 16-year-old Hannah Grunwald and 20-year-old Patricia Erhardt.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Teagan Pedler is making the trip from Adelaide, Australia, to help make the event a true international occasion.

SCB co-ordinator Neil Vatcher said: “Having staged the event for the first time in 2023, this year’s Championship seems to have caused even more excitement and interest.

“Along with the FIM, British Speedway is working hard to encourage more women to participate in the sport, and with the influx of the International riders along with Katie and Rachel, this year’s event will be one not to be missed.”

Any other female competitors who would like to compete in the event can still register by emailing neil@scbgb.co.uk .

The dates for the British Youth Championship rounds at Redcar have now been confirmed as follows:

Friday 26^th July (Following the NDL Fixture) for the 500cc and 125cc Support classes

Friday 23^rd August (Following the Championship Fixture) for the 250cc and 125cc A classes

Our thanks to the Redcar Bears promotion and all of our series sponsors.

The Young Lions prepared for the 2024 season at a three-day training camp at the impressive Workington venue between February 19-21.

Although the rain stopped the riders from getting on track on the third day, there were plenty of positives taken from the camp and each and every one of the riders (and Dads) learnt a lot over the three days, especially from the coaches Scott Nicholls and Paul Hurry with Tom Brennan and Leon Flint also in attendance on the third day having just flown in from their trip to America.

The first day was a full day on track, with drills being set out to improve the riders’ riding techniques and racing lines, as well as a couple of free riding sessions, as this was the first time riders had been back on track since the end of the 2023 season.

Day 2 was spent with the morning session in the Xtreme Fitness Gym in Lillyhall close to Workington, with fitness trainer James Luckman taking the session along with Scott Nicholls, and each and every rider were push to their own fitness levels, as well as a discussion on nutrition.Tuesday afternoon was back to the track and more time spent with the riding coaches going through drills and riding techniques.

Day 3 was a full classroom session day discussing bike maintenance and technical information as well as detailed track walk and discussion on starting techniques.

British Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “It was a fantastic start to the 2024 season for the riders who were able to attend, and the help and advice from the coaches will be invaluable to all who were involved.“Workington is such a great venue, and we also had the privilege of attending the fantastic Xtreme fitness centre in Lillyhall which is just a couple miles away from the track.”

Without the valued support of the British Youth sponsors these events would not be possible so a massive thank you to: 

Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Wessex Marine, Brian Royle, AGF Plant Ltd, Friends of Speedway, Ignite Insurance Solutions Ltd, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, Rentruck of Rochdale, Gordon Pairman and In Memory of Speedway Nut.Also, our thanks and appreciation to the Workington Promotion of Andrew Bain, Steve Lawson and their staff, as well as all the coaches Scott Nicholls, Paul Hurry, James Luckman, Tom Brennan and Leon Flint.

The preparations for the start of the 2024 speedway season begin in earnest this week, as a mix of 125cc, 250cc and 500cc riders who will be competing in this year’s British Youth Championship, will be attending a 3 day training camp taking place at the impressive Workington Comets venue.

Monday and Wednesday will see track days with coaches Scott Nicholls, Paul Hurry and Tom Brennan in attendance, whilst Tuesday commences with a gym session in the morning,  with fitness coach James Luckman, followed by an afternoon session of bike maintenance and preparation with the coaches, as well as the SCB Technical team of Jim McGregor and John Jack.

British Youth Boss Neil Vatcher commented: 

This is a fantastic way for our riders to prepare for what is going to be a busy season with 9 rounds of the British Youth Championship planned,  as well as many other events during the season.

We are very privileged to have some great sponsors on board again in 2024 for without their support these types of events would not be possible.

Our  appreciation to: Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Wessex Marine, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, Brian Royle, Friends of Speedway, Rentruck, Ignite Insurance Solutions Ltd, AGF Plant Ltd, Gordon Pairman and In memory of Speedway Nut for their continued support in 2024, and to The Workington Comets.