GREAT Britain’s young Lions will be going for glory at the Under-21 World Cup Final at Rye House on Sunday, September 5 (2pm).
The cream of young British speedway talent will be taking centre stage against their counterparts from Sweden, Denmark and Poland and will be hoping to further improve on the result of when the same four teams coincidently met in the senior World Cup Final earlier this month in Vojens, Denmark.
On that occasion the Brits finished fourth behind Poland, Denmark and Sweden, but with home track knowledge in their favour for this Under-21 event, there is confidence in the British camp that they can go all the way and win the gold medal.
Great Britain Under-21 Team Managers Phil Morris and Neil Vatcher have selected Wolverhampton’s Grand Prix star Tai Woffinden to be their inspirational skipper, and he will be joined in the five-man team at Rye House by Lewis Bridger, Kyle Hughes, Josh Auty and Joe Haines.
Non-riding squad members Jerran Hart, Kyle Newman, Paul Starke and Kyle Howarth, will also be present in the GB pits to lend their support for what promises to be a thrilling and memorable event.
The team to do Under-21 battle for Great Britain was unveiled at a specially arranged media launch at Wolverhampton Speedway on Monday evening, with all the nine squad riders (apart from injured Josh Auty), Team Managers (Phil Morris & Neil Vatcher) and GB Coach (Graham Jones) present. The riders and management team were all smartly kitted out in their matching GB attire and thanks must go to Dickies Workware who have helped fund the clothing.
Speaking at the launch, team boss Morris said: “I’m really confident the lads can pull off a positive result, but we need to work hard as a team and all pass on track knowledge to each other. Also having someone like Tai (Woffinden) to lead the side is a fantastic boost as the lads will look up to him as a strong figure-head.
“There will undoubtedly be some very tough competition from the three opposing teams, but we have to focus on our job and keep the points tally going throughout the meeting. Most of the riders in the squad have good knowledge of the track, so I really hope the fans get behind the team and help push us on to the top of the podium.”
Woffinden also commented: “I’m proud to be asked to captain the team and the lads are all really up for it. We are going to Rye to win and it’s good we have already got together like this so we can all start to get some team spirit going.
“Having ridden in the senior World Cup, it has given me some experience that I hope will be beneficial and I can pass this onto the lads. As captain I want to lead by example by scoring my points, help the team and ultimately get that gold medal.”
