REPORT: Oxford Chargers give everything in tough meeting at Leicester
THE young riders of the Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers put in maximum effort at Leicester’s Beaumont Park yesterday afternoon (Sunday), before home side Leicester Lion Cubs won the WSRA National League clash by 56-34.
The two sides have traded the NL championship since 2022, with Lion Cubs winning in 2022 and 2024 and Chargers in 2023 and 2025. That sequence could continue this season, especially since Leicester have put together a very strong side.
Skipper Jody Scott top-scored for Chargers with 13 points and only dropped a couple of points when starting from a 15-metre handicap in Heat 13 after nudging the tapes.
His main back-up came from 16-year-old Harry Fletcher, who scored seven points. In his first appearance for Chargers since moving up from reserve to the No 3 berth, Fletcher produced the ride of the day in Heat 10, moving from last to first in the opening two laps, including flying around hugely experienced Leicester skipper Ben Morley – a rider double his age – at the halfway stage of the race.
Fletcher also took second place in Heat 12 after winning a ding-dong battle with Leicester reserve Seth Norman. 15-year-old Norman had guested for Oxford in both wins over King’s Lynn Young Stars in Chargers’ previous two meetings.
In between, Scott produced a captain’s ride in Heat 11, tracking Freddy Hodder both inside and out, before racing around him with a lap remaining.
Lion Cubs took a 12-point lead with three successive 5-1s in Heats 2 to 4. Scott and Oxford guest Jamie Halder took a 4-2 from Heat 5, and then Darryl Ritchings won Heat 6, beating Morley, as Chargers came more into the meeting. Ashton Vale was unfortunate that Heat 7 was not stopped, after he fell on the first turn.
Leicester extended their lead to 16 points, before successive 4-2s to Chargers in Heats 10 and 11 – after the heroics from Fletcher and Scott in those races – reduced the gap back down to 12 points.
But Lion Cubs finished with a flourish, despite Scott winning Heat 15 in the fastest time of the afternoon.
Chargers’ skipper Jody Scott said: “I was happy to score 13 points today. It was gutting to go through the tapes in Heat 13, because it would have been nice to get a maximum, but I was still happy with my own performance.
“I had a good battle with Freddy Hodder in one race (Heat 11). For the WSRA National League meetings, you’ve got to use them to learn, so I was trying all the lines, and eventually I found a way to go around him. It will put me in good stead, ahead of coming back here on Thursday, when I’m riding for my Premiership side King’s Lynn.
“It was a hot day. On the track, it’s okay because you’ve got a breeze out there, plus you’re concentrating on riding the bike. But, in between in the pits, you’re hot, bothered and sweaty. But it’s the same for everybody.
“I felt our team performance was good. Leicester have got a strong team all the way down to reserve, but our lads kept on battling. It was a hard meeting for us, but we gave it a good go. We’ve still got another chance at beating Leicester when they come to Oxford later in the season [Sunday, August 23].
“As long as everyone is giving 100 per cent, that’s all we can ask for. This is the league for learning and progressing. I’ve grown up in the National League, going in at the bottom to riding all the way through to a No 1 and also through to the other leagues. The boys are learning and if they stick at it, and kept putting everything in, the results will come.”
A reminder that the meeting that was due to take place this Wednesday (July 15) – between Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers and league leaders Edinburgh Monarchs Academy – has been postponed due to a direct clash with England’s football World Cup semi-final clash with Argentina.
Leicester Lion Cubs 56: Ben Morley 8+1, Tom Spencer 5+2, Max Perry 12+1, Ryan Ingram 7+2, Freddy Hodder 13, Eli Meadows 5+2, Seth Norman 6+1.
Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers 34: Jody Scott 13, Jamie Halder 4, Harry Fletcher 7, Ashton Vale 3, Darryl Ritchings 5, Lee Harrison 2+1, Max Broadhurst 0.
PHOTO by Steve Edmunds