2025 News

The 2025 British Youth Championship gets underway at Leicester this afternoon (Saturday, 5pm) for all classes, where including Finals there will be a total of 36 heats.

Eight riders compete in the 500cc class including current WSRA National Development League regulars Jamie Etherington, Stene Pijper, Lee Harrison and Ryan Ingram, eleven in the 250cc class, and a total of 13 riders across the 125cc and Support classes.

This round includes four female riders with Tia May Brant competing in the 500cc class and Demi-Blu Harris making her BYC debut in the 250cc class. Both Jessica Cox and Ella Marshall compete in the 125cc Support section.

British Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “It is a fairly late start in the season for the first round and I know all the riders who are competing today are chomping at the bit to get the series underway.

“We are all really looking forward to the start of another British Youth Championship, which this season will be over seven rounds, which again is fantastic, and credit to all the clubs that are hosting a round starting with Leicester today.”

The Young Lions would like to thank the Leicester promotion for their continued support as well as their Series sponsors – Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Wessex Marine, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, Friends of Speedway, Royle T Racing, HG Aerospace Engineering Ltd, Ignite Insurance Brokers Ltd, Rentruck of Rochdale and the BSP Ltd.

The second round for both the 125cc and Support classes moves onto Belle Vue tomorrow (Sundat) where they will compete after the WRSA NDL fixture between the Colts and the Oxford Chargers.

Sam Hagon successfully defended his British Under-21 Championship in an extraordinary finish at Glasgow on Sunday.

Berwick star Hagon recovered from failing to score in the opening race to make it into the semi-final, where he overtook Jake Mulford to take the last remaining place in the decider.

The Final was led by Joe Thompson for two and a half laps before Hagon came through on the inside, but there was major drama at the end when Hagon hit the fence on the run to the finishing line.

He took the chequered flag in front before crashing on the first bend, whilst behind him Luke Harrison also came to grief after clipping Thompson, and William Cairns was also caught in the carnage.

Thankfully all riders walked away with Thompson finishing second, Harrison third and 15-year-old Cairns was just off the rostrum. Jody Scott was the other rider to miss out in the semi.

Hagon said: “This meant so much more than the first victory.

“To be honest I’ve struggled ever since winning the first one and my first three rides today were c**p.

“A huge thank you to (Berwick owner) Jamie Courtney and Mark Courtney who have put so much into me the last few weeks. It all really began to click at Berwick last night

“And for everyone who doubted me … this is what I can do. It is going to be one to celebrate!”

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Photo credits: Ian Adam

The draw has been made for the British U21 final, which takes place at Glasgow Tigers Speedway on Sunday the 18th of May (2:00 pm)

1. Sam McGurk

2. Max Perry

3. Sam Hagon

4. Jody Scott

5. Luke Harrison

6. Ashton Boughen

7. Freddy Hodder

8. Ace Pijper

9. Joe Thompson

10. Ben Trigger

11. William Cairns

12. Nathan Ablitt

13. Dan Thompson

14. Vinnie Foord

15. Luke Killeen

16. Jake Mulford

Image: Channia Farr

Dates have been confirmed for two more rounds of the British Youth Championship to complete the 2025 schedule.

Belle Vue’s rounds will take place following WSRA NDL fixtures on June 1 (125cc) and July 6 (250cc and 500cc), whilst Workington will host all classes after their Cab Direct Championship match on August 9.

The full British Youth Championship schedule is:

Sat May 31 – Leicester (all classes)

Sun June 1 – Belle Vue (125cc)

Sat June 28 – Redcar (500cc/250cc)

Sun July 6 – Belle Vue (500cc/250cc)

Sun July 20 – Kent (all classes)

Sat Aug 9 – Workington (all classes)

Sat Aug 30 – Redcar (125cc)

Sat Sept 13 – Edinburgh (all classes)

Sun Sept 14 – Glasgow (all classes)

Regrettably the Women’s Championship, also scheduled to take place at Leicester on the 31st May has been postponed for the time being due to lack of entries.

Neil Vatcher commented ‘Due to the FIM Women’s Academy taking place in Croatia in July, it seems that all of the International riders are putting their focus into this event and haven’t committed to coming to the UK due to the cost.

Therefore regrettably we have decided to postpone this event for the time being, with the possibility of running it again towards the end of the 2025 season if there is enough interest from the competitors.’

The Young Lions would like to thank their series sponsors and the BSP Ltd for their continued support in 2025: Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Wessex Marine, Rentruck, Royle – T Racing, Friends of Speedway, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, Abrams Insurance Services and HG Aerospace Engineering.

Image credit: Dave Payne

Oxford’s Luke Killeen took victory in the British U21 Qualifier at the Plymouth Gladiators Coliseum, edging out Will Cairn & Ben Trigger.

1. Luke Killeen 14
2. William Cairns 13
3. Ben Trigger 11
4. Ace Pijper 10
5. Sam McGurk 10
6. Jody Scott 9
7. Max Perry 9
8. Freddy Hodder

All qualify for the British Under-21 Final at Glasgow

Other scorers: Senna Summers 8, Stene Pijper 7, Mickie Simpson 7, Cooper Rushen 4, Ashton Vale 3, Ryan Ingram 2, Jack Shimelt 2, Jamie Etherington 2, Charlie Southwick (Reserve) 1, Harry Fletcher (Reserve) 0

Plymouth host the British Under-21 Qualifier at the Coliseum tonight (Tuesday) with eight places available for next month’s Final at Glasgow.

Gladiators reserve Ben Trigger, who has made a good start to the season, will be amongst the favourites to make it through on his home track.

Also included are the Oxford Spires Rising Star Luke Killeen and Cab Direct Championship regulars Freddy Hodder, Max Perry and Ace Pijper, along with 15-year-olds Will Cairns and Cooper Rushen.

LINE-UP: Stene Pijper, Mickie Simpson, Luke Killeen, Senna Summers, Freddy Hodder, Sam McGurk, Jamie Etherington, Jack Shimelt, Will Cairns, Max Perry, Ben Trigger, Ashton Vale, Cooper Rushen, Jody Scott, Ace Pijper, Ryan Ingram. Reserves: Harry Fletcher, Charlie Southwick.

SCB Referee: Gary Allen

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

The Young Lions are delighted to welcome two new partners who will be supporting the 2025 British Youth Championship this season, HG Aerospace Engineering who are based in Hastings Sussex and also a long-standing supporter of the British Youth Championship, who wishes to stay anonymous.

British Youth boss Neil Vatcher commented:

“This is fantastic news for the British Youth Championship. This backing enables us to support the Young Lions riders in many different ways, be that training camps, supporting the Youth Riders who represent Great Britain at FIM events, along with many other opportunities which give the riders the very best start to their careers.

We already have fantastic partners on board who have supported us for many years, including the Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Wessex Marine, Rentruck of Rochdale, Friends of Speedway, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, Abrams Insurance Services and Brian Royle Racing and we are delighted that HG Aerospace Engineering and the long standing supporter have joined to support the Young Lions for hopefully many years ahead.

To learn more about HG Aerospace, click here

Main image: Brett Thurlow Photography

The draw has been made for the British Under-21 Qualifier which takes place at Plymouth on Tuesday April 29.

Eight places are available for the Final at Glasgow, with those who make it through joining the eight seeded riders at Ashfield on May 18.

Home racer Ben Trigger, who will line up for both the Gladiators and Centurions this season, is in the line-up along with top-flight Rising Star Luke Killeen and current British Under-19 Champion Ace Pijper.

GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “The quality of this Qualifier is extremely tough. Prior to making the draw I thought with the top eight riders not competing at this stage this Qualifier might have been a bit weaker, but absolutely on the contrary I feel this is the toughest Qualifier that we have had for many years.

“With only eight places up for grabs to qualify for the Final, this is really going to be a special event.”

DRAW: 1 Stene Pijper, 2 Mickie Simpson, 3 Luke Killeen, 4 Senna Summers, 5 Freddy Hodder, 6 Sam McGurk, 7 Jamie Etherington, 8 Sonny Springer, 9 Will Cairns, 10 Max Perry, 11 Ben Trigger, 12 Ashton Vale, 13 Cooper Rushen, 14 Jody Scott, 15 Ace Pijper, 16 Max James.

SEEDED TO FINAL: Sam Hagon, Dan Thompson, Joe Thompson, Ashton Boughen, Nathan Ablitt, Luke Harrison, Jake Mulford, Vinnie Foord.

The Young Lions would like to thank the Plymouth promotion for their continued support of British Youth Speedway and staging this event.

Great Britain Youth boss Neil Vatcher has hailed the big success of this week’s two-day training camp at Workington.

Thirty of the UK’s talented youngsters were on track at the GT Tyres Arena and received expert tuition from Tom Brennan and Leon Flint who have progressed through the Youth ranks in recent years and are now top-flight regulars.

Vatcher said: “The riders who attended these past two days could not have wished to have had a better pre-season camp where Tom and Leon put them all through their paces on track with starting procedures, track craft with the use of cones and plenty of track time for each and every one of them.

“On Monday evening we also had a classroom session where again both Tom and Leon explained to the group about the dedication and work ethic that is required to make a professional speedway rider.”

Image credit: Brett Thurlow

Over 30 riders who will compete in the 2025 British Youth Championship will be at Workington over the next two days as their new season gets underway in earnest.

The youngsters will be taking part in a two-day training camp at the GT Tyres Arena, following on from a successful event at the impressive venue twelve months ago.

This year’s camp will involve two days on track plus a classroom session, and Great Britain racers Tom Brennan and Leon Flint will both be on hand to offer tuition.

GB Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “It is thanks to our Young Lions sponsors that we are able to run the camp this week, in what will be a fantastic way for these riders to start off their 2025 campaign.

“We will have expert tuition from arguably two of the success stories of recent years of riders that have come from the Youth Championship, with both Tom and Leon in attendance.

“What is great is that today’s Youth riders can see what both Tom and Leon have achieved in such a short time, and with their own effort, commitment and hard work they can all achieve similar success.”

The Young Lions would like to thank Workington Speedway and the following for their continued support: Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club, Wessex Marine, Rentruck, Brian Royle, Northern Scaffolding Solutions, Friends of Speedway and Abrams Insurance Services.