Oxford duo reach British Under-21 Final, with Harry Fletcher featuring on podium in Leicester semi-final
REAL MINI COMPANY Oxford Chargers’ duo Harry Fletcher and Senna Summers finished third and fifth respectively in the British Under-21 Semi-Final at Leicester yesterday afternoon (Sunday).
Both have qualified for the British Under-21 Final on Redcar on June 7. Oxford will have a quartet of riders on display on Teesside, since both Luke Killeen and Jody Scott are amongst the eight seeded riders for the final.
Track preparation was tricky for an afternoon meeting on the hottest day of the year.
16-year-old Fletcher came through in his opening outing in Heat 4 to finish second behind eventual meeting winner Ryan Ingram. He followed that with a hat-trick of wins to book his place at Redcar.
Fletcher was initially third in Heat 19, but pressured second-placed Ollie Binns into a mistake on the third lap. He overtook Binns, then held his opponent on the final lap, to finish second in the race behind Jordy Loftus and claim third overall.
Summers won Heat 3, and followed that by two second places and a third in a highly dusty Heat 15. After extensive track watering, the track was at its trickiest in Heat 17, but Summers led all the way to clinch his place at Redcar.
Harry Fletcher said: “I didn’t really expect to finish third today. I came here thinking I could make it through to the final, since I’ve had a good couple of meetings with Oxford this year and I went into this afternoon with a bit of confidence.
“I spoke to Ollie (Binns) before our last race, because we’re mates. He lifted during the race, and I came through to take my chance and that got me third place in the meeting.
“For my first four races, the track was perfect for me. But for my last ride, it was a bit slick after they watered it.
“Redcar is a track I like, but obviously the final is a harder line-up, because it’ll have more Championship riders in it and even some riders who are in the Premiership. But I’ll do my best in that meeting.”
Another couple of Oxford Chargers, Darryl Ritchings and Ashton Vale, won their respective classes in a grasstrack meeting at Frittenden in Kent on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mitch McDiarmid captained Australia to fifth place in the Speedway Of Nations 2 (World Under-21 Pairs Championship) in Prague on Friday evening. McDiarmid top-scored for the Aussies on 19 points, who only missed out on the top three on countback.
The next meeting at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium is on Wednesday (May 27) at 7.30pm, when the SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs take on Edinburgh Monarchs in their opening home meeting in the Cab Direct Championship. Tickets are on sale on this website at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
BRITISH UNDER-21 QUALIFIER, Leicester
SCORES: Ryan Ingram 15, Jordy Loftus 14, Harry Fletcher 13, Ollie Binns 12, Senna Summers 11, Max Perry 10, Charlie Southwick 9, Harry Sadler 7 (after run-off) (all qualify for British Under-21 Final), Seth Norman 7, Stene Pijper 6, Lee Harrison 5, Kenzie Cossey 4, Harrison Rogers 3, Dylan Huthwaite 2, Owen Booth 1, Laylen Richardson 1.
PHOTO: Podium at Leicester – from left, Jordy Loftus (second), Ryan Ingram (first) and Harry Fletcher (third) (pic: Young Lions Speedway)