One rider from Queensland and one from New South Wales took the honours at this year’s 500cc U21 & 250cc U16 NSW Speedway Championships held at the Nepean Raceway last Saturday.
In an exciting final of the Under 21 Championship, Queensland Jacob Hook stalked local rider James Pearson from the start and finally pulled off a great pass on the final lap to claim the top spot on the rostrum. Following them home were two other local riders Harrison Ryan, who had joined the top duo as a direct qualifier for the decider, and Bradley whose consistent riding led to him winning the B Final.
Both Hook and Pearson have just returned from a full season of racing overseas while their final opponents have so far only raced at home.
Heat points
- Pearson (NSW)- 14
- Hook (Qld)- 13
- Ryan (NSW)- 12
- Page (NSW)- 11
- Hall (Qld)- 9
- Whalley (Qld)- 9
- Zischke (Qld)- 8
- Hayes (NSW)- 6
- White (NSW)- 4
B Final
B. Page 1. B.Whalley 2. T.Zischke 3. B.Hall. 4
A Final
J.Hook 1. J. Pearson 2. H. Ryan 3. B.Page 4.
In the Under 16 250cc Championship, Noah Grabham triumphed in a closely fought decider to hold off Queenslander Jordy Loftus, with Beau Bailey managing to claim third after he inconvenienced himself at the start before hauling in Lachlan Russell late in the race.
Heat points
- Grabham (NSW). 13
- Bailey (NSW). 13
- Loftus (Qld). 10
- Russell (NSW). 9
- Muddle (Qld). 7
- Loftus (Qld). 5
- Hawgood (Qld). 2
- Roberts (NSW). 0.
B Final
L.Russell 1. V.Muddle 2. A.Loftus 3. L.Hawgood 4.
A Final
N.Grabham 1. J.Loftus 2. B.Bailey. 3. L.Russell. 4.
Both Championships showed that there is some great young talent coming through the ranks in New South Wales and Queensland which augers well for the future of the sport. The Nepean complex looked in fine shape at present and despite some rain falling during the programme, the track remained good to allow the racing to continue.
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Report prepared by Peter Baker