PREVIEW: Best British youngsters on display at Oxford (meeting now postponed due to rain)

PLEASE note that this meeting has now been postponed (rain). The new date will be confirmed in due course.

OXFORD SPEEDWAY will proudly stage the prestigious British Under-19 Final at Sandy Lane on Sunday afternoon (3pm).

The competition was first staged in 2004 – when it was the British Under-18 Championship – and won by Danny King, who is still going strong as a speedway rider twenty years later.

Subsequent champions include treble World Champion Tai Woffinden (in 2007 and 2008) and current Grand Prix star Dan Bewley (in 2018), who won the British Grand Prix at Cardiff last month.

Oxford will be represented by four members of the Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers powered by SD Timmo Car Sales – skipper Luke Killeen, Jody Scott, Ashton Vale and Senna Summers.

A fifth Oxford representative Ashton Boughen has withdrawn from the leg injuries he sustained at Redcar in the Championship League Riders’ Championship last Sunday.

It’s a top class line-up. All sixteen riders compete in the WSRA National League, seven of are also part of a one-to-seven in the Cab Direct Championship, while Killeen rides in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership for the OXS Oxford Spires.

19-year-old Killeen will start the afternoon as one of the favourites, but he will face stiff competition from the likes of Max James, Vinnie Foord, Luke Harrison and 15-year-old wonderkid William Cairns. Jody Scott – aged 17 – can’t be discounted, as he looks to profit on the experience gained by his recent appearances for the Monarch Oxford Cheetahs.

16-year-old Ashton Vale is in his first full of NL racing with the Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers powered by SD Timmo Car Sales.

Vale said: “I’ve had a really enjoyable time riding for the Oxford Chargers this season. We all get on well as a team, while I’ve learnt a lot from the Oxford skipper Luke Killeen, because he also rides in the higher leagues.

“I rode for Kent at the end of last season, but Oxford is very different, because it’s such an impressive stadium. It was maybe slightly intimidating to race around Oxford at first, but once you’ve got the fans cheering you on, it’s great and it’s been good for my confidence.

“It’s also been fantastic having Peter Schroeck as my team manager. I’ve known him for a long time – he helped train me up when I was a little boy at Rye House. He’s always encouraging us and pushing us on so that we progress as riders.

“During this year, I moved up from reserve to the main body of the side, and that was quite hard, because you’re then facing the heat-leaders more often, and many of them also ride in the Championship, but that’s all part of improving as a rider so it’s all good.

“I also got the opportunity to be the No 8 for the Oxford Cheetahs at both Redcar and Glasgow. Sam Masters and Scott Nicholls are top riders and when I’m around them, I try to be like a sponge and take in as much information as possible.

“Of course, every rider in the British Under-19 Final wants to end up as the champion. I’ve got this year and another three years after this year to do that. I’m looking for a good afternoon at Oxford, to do as well as I can, to figure out where I stand compared to the guys in it who already ride in the Championship, and to give my confidence a further boost.”

Tickets are already on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

Admission is available at the early bird price of just £12 for all adults, which increases to £14 on Race Day. All under-16s go free. A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting.

Season Passes are NOT valid on Sunday or for the remainder of the season. All 28 meetings (12 Spires, 11 Cheetahs and 5 Chargers) covered by the Ultimate Pass have all taken place.

Tickets are also on sale on the website for the first leg of the Cab Direct Championship play-off final next Wednesday (September 25) between Monarch Oxford Cheetahs and the Poole Pirates. A large crowd is expected.

Line-up: 1. Sam McGurk, 2. William Hocaniuk, 3. Freddy Hodder, 4. Jody Scott, 5. Sonny Springer, 6. Luke Killeen, 7. Ben Trigger, 8. Vinnie Foord, 9. William Cairns, 10. Ashton Vale, 11. Max Perry, 12. Stene Pijper, 13. Ace Pijper, 14. Luke Harrison, 15. Senna Summers, 16. Max James. Reserve: Jamie Etherington.

PHOTO: Ashton Vale and Senna Summers (pic: Steve Edmunds)