David Howe beat Lee Richardson in a dramatic ride-off at Armadale in the final of the British Under-21 Championship. Both riders were locked together on 14 points after the scheduled five rides. Howe drew the favourable outside gate and led all the way. Richardson fell on the last bend after making a last desperate attempt to overtake.
This confirms the steady progress made by the seventeen year-old prospect from Peterborough. Lee Richardson, the current World Under-21 Champion, had the disappointment of finishing second for the fourth successive year. This was particularly the case since he has no further opportunity at the Under-21 level.
The home riders had a disappointing time. Ross Brady never got going at all. He made no starts and struggled to come from the back on a track that did not encourage much in the way of outside passing. His bike seemed rather slow at times. Ross finished on 5 points to finished twelth.
Blair Scott fared little better but was at least involved in a run-off for progress to the next round. Blair did make some starts but was surprisingly vulnerable from the back. Blair was passed by Paul Lee in heat 8 and by Danny Bird in heat 9. This probably caost Blair fourth place. He finished on 8 points and was involved in a three-way tie for eighth place. He made a great start from the unfavoured inside gate in the run off but Gary Corbett hit the fence and all three were called back. Blair was beaten away by Andrew Appleton and Gary Corbett in the re-run. Blair made a valiant effort to come from behind but eventually finished third in the ride-off to take 10th place.
Scottish interest was kept alive by Barry Campbell, who finished fifth on ten points. Barry will travel to Poland for a qurter-final tie. Former Linlithgow and Glasgow rider Grant MacDonald also qualified in seventh place with a score on 9 points.
The Sheffield pairing of Paul Lee and Simon Stead tied 11 points for third place with Paul Lee winning the ride-off for a rostrum place.
The full list of qualifiers, excluding Lee Richardson, is David Howe (Peterborough), Paul Lee (Sheffield), Simon Stead (Sheffield), Danny Bird (Isle of Wight), Barry Campbell (Workington), Grant MacDonald (Newcastle), Andrew Appleton (Newport). Gary Corbett, a late replacement for the injured Paul Clews took the reserve place.
It must be galling for Blair and Ross to finish behind riders such as Lee, Stead, Bird, and MacDonald who they normally beat with ease in Premier League matches at Armadale.
The condition of the track may provide a partial explanation. The track staff had great difficulty with a deep frost present every day this week. While it provided a safe surface, it was certainly not at its best. The outside gate provided a huge advantage with eight heat winners. Both ride-offs for the rostrum places were also won from the outside. There seemed to be little in it for overtaking and this resulted in some processional heats. As is often the case, when the track is not behaving as normal, this causes more problems for the home riders than the visitors who never know what to expect anyway.
Blair Scott thought he had missed out on a chance for qualification overlooking the ineligibility of Lee Richardson. Blair added:
"I had already packed my bike away when I was told I was in a run-off, which was a bit stressful. Although I made the gate in the race, Corbett fell with no-one near him and the referee ordered a re-run. I think Corbett should have been excluded as the primary cause of the fall."
"However I started off badly, which given the standard of the opposition, I couldn't afford to do. I badly wanted to win in my first ride and didn't get it. I struggled after that and I'm miffed I missed out. I'm not bitterly disappointed about losing, just annoyed over that re-run."