Dan wins U19 Final

Dan Thompson was crowned British Under-19 Champion at Birmingham on Wednesday in his first meeting for over two months after a lay-off due to a dislocated shoulder.Thompson, who had a spell with the Brummies earlier this season, scored 14 points from five rides at Perry Barr which put him into a run-off for the title with Nathan Ablitt.

It was Ablitt who made the better start, but Thompson cut back cleverly off bend two before charging under his rival into bend three, and when Ablitt came to grief Thompson was declared the winner.

Said Thompson: “With this being that first meeting back I knew it was going to be tough. I was really pleased with the way I rode though, and the changes I made along the way.“Fair play to Nathan as well; I knew before the meeting he was probably going to be my main competitor and I had to keep putting the wins on the board to stay with him.

“I’m glad I’ve been able to win this one in my final year of doing it; I haven’t had much luck in events like this, so to finally get one over the line is a great feeling.”

Thompson’s brother Joe secured the final rostrum place on 12 points by winning his last outing when up against direct rival Ben Trigger, who was joined on the 10-point mark by Freddy Hodder.

Young Lions boss Neil Vatcher praised the competitors in Wednesday’s British Under-19 Final for putting on a fine show at Birmingham.

Vatcher said: “Congratulations to Dan who was, obviously, one of the standout riders of the night.“Along with Nathan, they both rode very well and while Nathan was disappointed with how his night finished, he obviously played his part in taking things right to the very end.“

A big well done to all 16 riders involved though; this was a first British Championship Final for some of them and that experience will stay with them and stand them in good stead I’m sure.“A big thank you to all the supporters that came out in such cold weather as well, your support for the lads and the event really was appreciated.

The official referee scorecard is available here