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THE draw has been made for the British Under-21 Final at Sheffield on Thursday April 14.Home star and former winner Josh Bates will appear in Heat 1 as he has been drawn at No.3, whilst meeting favourite Robert Lambert is No.6 and 2014 runner-up Adam Ellis is at No.11.British Youth boss Neil Vatcher said: “This draw looks to have set the meeting up as such a great event, as it is hard to single any one of the sixteen riders out.“Robert Lambert would start as favourite based on his form of 2015, but he has not really hit the heights at this early stage of the season, and many would argue that Adam Ellis is the man in form having already scored a paid maximum in the Elite League with his new club Poole.“And who would rule out the Sheffield whizz-kid Josh Bates, as we all have witnessed he can beat anyone on his day?“From my perspective it is so pleasing to see so many fresh faces competing at this level, and anyone who witnessed the semi-final at Kent on Monday night could not have failed to be impressed by the likes of James Shanes, Connor Mountain and Josh Bailey to name but a few.“With the first round of the Mitas British Youth Championship starting this weekend, it is also an incredible story of Birmingham's Jack Parkinson-Blackburn.“He has come right up through the Youth Championship himself, from riding in the 125cc, to 250cc then blitzing the 500cc class last season to now competing in his first British Under-21 Final at the tender age of 15 years old, and surely the youngest rider ever to compete at this level.“It’s now all set for a fantastic evening at the Yorkshire venue. Not only is there a British Title on the line, but Great Britain also have four places available in the FIM World Under 21 semi-finals, one of which is at Belle Vue on May 21. “There are also places up for grabs at the Under-21 World Team Cup in June, and any one of the sixteen riders that catches my eye could be in line for a call-up to compete in a semi-final, or even a place in the GB World Cup squad.”DRAW: 1. Oliver Greenwood (Buxton), 2. Danny Phillips (Newcastle/Stoke), 3. Josh Bates (Coventry/Sheffield), 4. Ryan Kinsley (King’s Lynn), 5. James Shanes (Kent), 6. Robert Lambert (King’s Lynn/Newcastle), 7. Nathan Greaves (Sheffied/King’s Lynn), 8. Josh Bailey (Scunthorpe/King’s Lynn), 9. Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (Birmingham), 10. Zach Wajtknecht (Somerset/Birmingham), 11. Adam Ellis (Poole), 12. Danno Verge (Kent), 13. Ellis Perks (Plymouth/Eastbourne), 14. Jack Smith (Birmingham), 15. Max Clegg (Wolverhampton/Edinburgh/Cradley), 16. Connor Mountain (Mildenhall). Reserves: 17. Alfie Bowtell (Mildenhall), 18. Danyon Hume (Birmingham).
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POOLE host Lakeside at Wimborne Road on Wednesday in an early clash of two of the Elite League’s in-form clubs.The Pirates notched home and away wins over Coventry in the Elite Shield before racing to a 30-point victory over Swindon on Good Friday.The Hammers, meanwhile, have won three of their opening four matches to top the table, including a rampant success at Leicester on Saturday.Poole promoter Matt Ford said: “Lakeside have certainly begun well and with every victory comes extra confidence so they will be keen to maintain their promising start and put on a good showing against us. “Likewise we have been solid ourselves this year and need to build on that so all in all the signs are that we should be in for an entertaining meeting on Wednesday, and hopefully we can attract plenty of support from the terraces.Hammers coach Kelvin Tatum said: “We’ve started the season well but we are going to face our toughest test yet at Poole. They are highly fancied of course, but we are going there in good heart and hoping to come up with a big performance.“We are in a position where we have nothing to lose, and with the spirit we have seen from the team so far I’d like to think we can come away with something.”
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NEW King’s Lynn signing Nathan Greaves is keen to make a good impression on his Young Stars debut when they host Eastbourne in the Travel Plus National League on Wednesday.The 18-year-old is the only new team member in 2016 after making the switch during the winter from Cradley to replace Jake Knight.Ironically, Knight lines up for the Eagles, who hand an official debut to Ellis Perks, with Luke Bowen guesting for the injured Kyle Hughes as they bid for a second away league win.Greaves said: “We’re one name that a lot of people haven’t mentioned before the season – that makes us underdogs and we’re more than happy to ride without that pressure.“I personally believe we can win the league. I think we’re going to have a very strong record around King’s Lynn so as long as we get things right on the road then I’m confident we can reach the play-offs where anything can happen.“Eastbourne look okay on paper but I’m focusing on King’s Lynn and I definitely think we can get the win on Wednesday.”Eagles director Connor Dugard said: “Track knowledge at King’s Lynn is vital and we have already seen exactly what Jake is capable of.“Luke Bowen is very impressive and a good guest. I am expecting a stormer from him.”Meanwhile Birmingham boss Graham Drury is targeting a clear first-leg advantage when his side face Rye House in the first leg of the KO Cup at Perry Barr.The Brummies will be at full strength for the first time this season, whilst the Raiders have signed Ben Hopwood as cover for Robert Branford who is currently in Australia for his sister’s wedding.Drury said: “This is a very exciting, young, British team we've got this year and I think they're going to prove that again against Rye House.“With no disrespect to our opponents, I'm expecting another dominant performance from ourselves on Wednesday.“I want us to build the biggest lead possible to ease the pressure in the tougher second leg at the end of the month.”
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MILDENHALL promoter Kevin Jolly has called on Premier League clubs to take notice of the progress being made by Fen Tigers youngster Connor Mountain.The 18-year-old booked his place in the British Under-21 Final by finishing runner-up in Monday’s semi-final at Kent, and Jolly says he now deserves a chance at a higher level.Jolly said: “I know we hear a lot of negative press about speedway at the moment and some of it is deserved, but meetings like Monday show that we do have some real talent out there and I feel strongly it is time that the likes of Connor and James Shanes are given a proper opportunity to further their careers in the Premier League.“You would be hard pressed to find a more professional pair than Connor and his father Andy, their equipment is always immaculate, Connor is extremely well organised and a polite and driven young man who should be challenging himself at the next level. “We cannot afford to let our future stars spend too long in the National League where they can stagnate if they are not being challenged enough. I am sure it can only be a matter of time before he gets his opportunity.”
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PLYMOUTH plan to resume their season with a League Cup match against Rye House at the St Boniface Arena on Friday April 15.The Devils, who recently announced new investment enabling them to continue operating in 2016, had initially hoped to stage a Four Team Tournament this Friday, but were unable to ensure a line-up of sufficient quality.Co-promoter Ashley Taylor said: “Because of the uncertainty over certain riders it was clear that we could not put on the kind of attractive meeting that we wanted to stage.“Ideally, we wanted to have Ben Barker in the Trelawny team while Leigh Lanham would have featured for Exeter.“Jack Holder dislocated his shoulder at Somerset last Friday and is currently having physiotherapy. We are currently not certain of his availability, but if there are any doubts we would not want to risk him for a challenge fixture.”
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WEDNESDAY APRIL 6:ELITE LEAGUE: Poole v Lakeside 7.30TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE: King’s Lynn v Eastbourne 7.30NATIONAL LEAGUE KO CUP 1st round 1st leg: Birmingham v Rye House 7.30
THURSDAY APRIL 7:ELITE LEAGUE: Swindon v Wolverhampton 7.30LEAGUE CUP: Redcar v Workington 7.30, Sheffield v Scunthorpe 7.30VINCE MAPLEY MEMORIAL TROPHY: Isle of Wight 7pm
FRIDAY APRIL 8:ELITE LEAGUE: Belle Vue v Leicester 7.30, Lakeside v Poole 8pmLEAGUE CUP: Edinburgh v Berwick 7.30, Peterborough v Sheffield 7.30CHALLENGE: Somerset v Isle of Wight 7.30
