MATCH REPORT: British Under 13 Championship
Edinburgh’s Kieran Swanson and Poole’s Macie Schmidt took the honours in the British Under 13 Cycle Speedway Championships at Redbraes Park yesterday.
Swanson showed a mixture of great determination and a cool head as he reeled off 5 wins to take the boys title in front of a noisy home support. However, it was far from plain sailing for the Falcons youngster, not least in heat 8 when a slight mistake when exiting the second bend of lap 3 allowed Bury’s all-action Tom Whitwam to take the lead. Swanson battled back though and a determined final bend saw him win the race to the line by the width of a tyre.
Swanson & Whitwam in a race to the line
Meanwhile, Harrison Bacon of Ipswich and James Bunting of Sheffield were also racing undefeated and after four races it was Swanson, Bacon and Bunting locked together on 16 points with Poole’s Callum Smith on 15. Incredibly, all four riders met in a winner-takes-all heat 19 and in the first-running it was Bacon who lead from the tapes. However, as the riders exited the second bend the Suffolk youngster over slid slightly and hit the deck, suffering an exclusion from referee Tulloch. As the riders lined up at the tapes for the re-run the tension amongst the home fans was almost unbearable, however Swanson kept his cool to rocket from the tapes with Bunting in close pursuit. Try as he might the Sheffield youngster was unable to find a way past the home favourite and after four laps of pulsating action it was Swanson who took the chequered flag, and the boys title, amidst emotional scenes in the pits. In what was arguably the greatest day in the Edinburgh club’s short history, Swanson’s team-mates Calum Cairney and Louis Kennedy also achieved highly impressive top six finishes while Sean Hewitson battled gamely for his 8 points.
Scorers: Kieran Swanson (Edinburgh) 20, James Bunting (Sheffield) 19, Callum Smith (Poole) 17, Harrison Bacon (Ipswich) 16, Calum Cairney (Edinburgh) 16, Louis Kennedy (Edinburgh) 16, Jay Berry (Kesgrave) 14, Tom Whitwam (Bury) 13, Max Evans (Astley) 12, Troy Brumpton (Ipswich) 11, Jake Vincent (Kesgrave) 9, Sean Hewitson (Edinburgh) 8, Evan Vincent (Kesgrave) 8, Fraser Garnett (Poole) 7, Sam Haines (Sheffield) 6, Nathan Goulden (Poole) 5.
Schmidt was in imperious form as she notched 4 wins to take the girls title by a point from team-mate Chloe Albin. Meanwhile, Swindon’s Alice Neighbour who, incidentally, was the youngest rider in the field, showed terrific determination to take third from Sheffield’s Charlotte Adams who had impressed when winning the Girls round of the British Youth & Junior League at Redbraes Park last month.
Schmidt leads Albin
Scorers: Macie Schmidt (Poole) 16, Chloe Albin (Poole) 15, Alice Neighbour (Swindon) 14, Charlotte Adams (Sheffield) 13, Chloe Pearce (Ipswich) 11, Niamh Morton (Sheffield) 11, Chloe Whitehead (Leicester) 8.
Edinburgh Falcons would like to thank meeting sponsor Davie Baxter and Scottish Cycling board member Tom Bishop for presenting the medals to the competitors.
Pictures (all taken by George Swanson):
