British Under 21 Championships
Final
Lothian Arena, Armadale
Friday 7th April 2000
The Final was won by David Howe after a ride-off against favourite and current World Under-21 Champion Lee Richardson. This gave Richardson the incredible record of being runner-up in the event for four successive years, once behind Leigh Lanham, twice behind Scott Nicholls and now behind Howe. David Howe was on balance a deserved winner and the Armadale crowd warmed to him.
The original field consisted of:
Some changes were enforced. Darren Groves and Paul Clews were injured. They were replaced by the next two down from the Isle of Wight semi-final. Armadale specialist Gary Corbett was promoted from reserve and was joined by Glen Phillips. Adam Allott replaced Jamie Birkinshaw at reserve and Derek Sneddon came in for Corbett.
The extreme weather conditions made life difficult for the track staff. There was a hard frost every morning and the track was slick. The track offered little for outside passing opportunities. The outside gate offered the best prospects for starting. The day was cloudy and while there was a hint of rain in the air the showers forecast never materialized.
Heat 1: Lee Richardson, Simon Stead, Chris Neath, Ross Brady [57.2]
Lee Richardson made a brilliant start from gate four to head Simon Stead. Ross Brady from gate 2 was squeezed between Neath and Stead and trailed. Brady tried the Peter Carr inside line but made no progress. He then switched to his normal outside line. Despite a number of surges that seemed set to get him past Neath he failed.
Heat 2: Paul Lee, Barry Campbell, Gary Corbett, Aidan Collins [59.3]
Paul Lee, also from gate 4, made the start and was never challenged.
Heat 3: Danny Bird, Grant MacDonald, Matt Read [60.1]
Bird made the start as Olly Allen failed to take advantage of gate 4. Matt Read hit Allen on the exit from the second bend. While Read somehow managed to keep going, Allen hit the fence. For some reason Allen was excluded although it mattered little as Allen was taken to hospital and took no further part in the meeting. Bird won the re-run from MacDonald.
Heat 4: Andrew Appleton, David Howe, Blair Scott, Glen Phillips [59.7]
Appleton made the start from the outside trap and David Howe could do nothing to get back on terms but stayed ahead of Blair Scott.
Heat 5: Andrew Appleton, Chris Neath, Matt Read [59.9]
Andrew Appleton won a second successive heat with Chris Neath weighing in for a Newport '5-1' Aidan Collins looked good for third until his bike produced a shower of sparks and he fell on the last lap.
Heat 6: Gary Corbett, Grant MacDonald, Ross Brady, Glenn Phillips [59.3]
Ross Brady missed the start once more but quickly moved through to second. He tried everything to round Gary Corbett but couldn't quite make it. He made one last try on the last bend but hit a hole and lost a place to finish third.
Heat 7: David Howe, Simon Stead, Barry Campbell, Danny Bird [59.1]
David Howe got back on track with a win over former teammate Simon Stead. Barry Campbell took third ahead of Danny Bird looking rather wild.
Heat 8: Lee Richardson, Paul Lee, Blair Scott, Adam Allott [58.6]
Another very convincing win for Richardson. Blair Scott made the start but couldn't live with Richardson. Blair seemed set for a second place until he allowed Paul Lee to pass him on the inside of the third bend.
Leading positions after two rides each:
Lee Richardson 6, Andrew Appleton 6, David Howe 5, Paul Lee 5.
Heat 9: Danny Bird, Blair Scott, Gary Corbett [59.4]
Blair Scott again made a start but Danny Bird had enough momentum on the outside line to pass on the third bend.
Heat 10: David Howe, Ross Brady, Aidan Collins, Derek Sneddon [58.7]
David Howe won from Ross Brady.
Heat 11: Paul Lee, Simon Stead, Matt Read, Adam Allott [59.1]
Glenn Phillips taped and was replaced by Allott. Other great win for Paul Lee over Simon Stead.
Heat 12: Lee Richardson, Barry Campbell, Andrew Appleton, Grant MacDonald [59.4]
Another good ride by Barry Campbell gave him second place behind the dominant Lee Richardson. Andrew Appleton dropped his first points.
Leading positions after three rides each:
Lee Richardson 9, Paul Lee 8, David Howe 8, Andrew Appleton, Danny Bird 6, Simon Stead 6.
Heat 13: Barry Campbell, Chris Neath, Adam Allott, Derek Sneddon [59.6]
Glen Phillips was two-minuted. This brought in Adam Allott to join fellow reserve Derek Sneddon in for the injured Allen.
Heat 14: Paul Lee, Danny Bird, Ross Brady Andrew Appleton [58.8]
Paul Lee kept up his form with a win over Danny Bird. Ross Brady again made no impression although he did keep Appleton at the back.
Heat 15: Grant MacDonald, Simon Stead, Blair Scott [59.5]
Blair Scott made a fair start but got into trouble on the second bend and slipped to last. Aidan Collins spun straight onto the centre green. Grant MacDonald won from Simon Stead.
Heat 16: David Howe, Lee Richardson, Gary Corbett [59.1]
David Howe used the outside gate to make the start ahead of Lee Richardson. Howe held on to tie the scores overall with one heat left for each rider. Matt Read fell.
Leading positions after four rides each:
Lee Richardson 11, Paul Lee 11, David Howe 11, Simon Stead 8, Barry Campbell 8, Danny Bird 8.
Heat 17: David Howe, Grant MacDonald, Chris Neath, Paul Lee [58.8]
Paul Lee missed that start and was stuck at the back ending his Championship hopes. Howe won from MacDonald to ensure at least a ride-off against Richardson.
Heat 18: Blair Scott, Barry Campbell, Ross Brady, Matt Read. [60.1]
Blair Scott kept his qualification hopes going with a win from the gate. Ross Brady was second but couldn't keep out the marauding Barry Campbell.
Heat 19: Simon Stead, Gary Corbett, Andrew Appleton, Derek Sneddon [60.2]
Simon Stead won his first heat, while Corbett beat Appleton to set up a three-way tie for the final qualification place.
Heat 20: Lee Richardson, Danny Bird, Aidan Collin, Derek Sneddon [59.4]
Lee Richardson won the heat to deny David Howe an outright win.
|
Scores after five rides each |
|||||||
|
David Howe (Peterborough) |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
14 |
|
Lee Richardson (Coventry) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
|
14 |
|
Paul Lee (Sheffield) |
3 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
11 |
|
Simon Stead (Sheffield) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
11 |
|
Barry Campbell (Workington) |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
10 |
|
Danny Bird (Isle of Wight) |
3 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|
10 |
|
Grant MacDonald (Workington) |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
|
9 |
|
Andrew Appleton (Newport) |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
8 |
|
Gary Corbett (Arena Essex) |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
8 |
|
Blair Scott (Edinburgh) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
8 |
|
Chris Neath (Newport) |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
6 |
|
Ross Brady (Edinburgh) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
|
Matt Read (Arena Essex) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
F |
0 |
|
3 |
|
Aidan Collins (Glasgow) |
0 |
F |
1 |
X |
1 |
|
2 |
|
Adam Allott (Sheffield) [Reserve] |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|||
|
Glenn Phillips (Isle of Wight) |
0 |
0 |
T |
M |
0 |
|
0 |
|
Oliver Allen (Swindon) |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
Derek Sneddon (Linlithgow) [Reserve] |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
Ride off for eighth place: Andrew Appleton, Gary Corbett, Blair Scott [59.5]
Blair Scott didn't realize he was still in with a shout because he had forgotten that Richardson was not eligible to progress. He had packed away his bike but got it out to contest the ride off. Blair was drawn in the unfavourable inside gate but managed to make the start and moved wider and seemed to have things under control when Corbett fell off at the back with no one near him. He was controversially allowed back in the re-run. Appleton made the start the second time with Blair trying all the way but eventually finishing third.
Ride-off for third place: Paul Lee, Simon Stead [58.9]
Paul Lee took full advantage of an outside gate to beat teammate Simon Stead for a rostrum place.
Ride-off for the championship: David Howe [58.8]
David Howe, also from the outside gate beat Lee Richardson away and held on. Richardson had a last gasp attempt on the fourth bend and fell.
Qualifiers: David Howe, Paul Lee, Simon Stead, Barry Campbell, Danny Bird, and Andrew Appleton.
Reserve: Gary Corbett
Howe is seeded through to the Semi-final in Germany while Lee, Stead, Campbell, Bird and Appleton will be in the quarter-finals in Poland or Portugal or the Czech Republic.
John Lowe