Ipswich have been named as hosts for the 2018 British Under-19 Final – with the meeting set for Thursday May 17 at Foxhall.
A new champion will be crowned with last year’s winner Zach Wajtknecht now ineligible, and fellow 2017 rostrum finishers Dan Bewley and Kyle Bickley are likely to be amongst the favourites.
Young Lions boss Neil Vatcher said: “An impressive number of clubs showed an interest in hosting this Final, and I believe it is an attractive competition now, and it is always an exciting and entertaining evening.
“There will be no previous winners riding, although there will be a number of previous Youth Champions competing such as Kyle, along with the likes of Jack Parkinson-Blackburn and Tom Brennan.”
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Ipswich Witches promoter Chris Louis says that hosting more major events at Foxhall is something he would like to do and sees the U19 Championship as important as any other.
“It is always nice to have major events and whilst the U19 British Championship may be seen by some as one of the lesser events in the calendar, I don’t really,” he said.
“I want to make it a big event, I want to make them feel special as they deserve it. Whatever age you are whether it be U19 or U21, they are your first major events so we want to put on a good show for them.”
The likes of Drew Kemp and Jordan Jenkins are likely to be involved, two riders that Witches fans know well and Louis is hoping they have a successful night.
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“Our fans have seen them come through together riding around Foxhall as mascots for two or three years now so it will be nice to see them in competitive action. I am really looking forward to that and hopefully the experience they have had and will gain from now until the meeting will stand them in good stead and they will be at the top end of the field. It will be a very competitive field with the likes of Dan Bewley and Jack Parkinson-Blackburn likely to be there on the night. I am also looking forward to seeing Tom Brennan in action at Foxhall.”
The Witches season begins on Good Friday, March 30 with a double header clash with Lakeside.
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