The Workington Meteors will be presented officially with the Northern Junior League Trophy on Saturday at Northside when parent club the Workington Comets face the Poole Pirates.
They clinched the title with a win at Edinburgh against the Armadale Angels when their local rider Laylen Richardson and their guest Mason Watson had stepped up into the Cab Direct Championship side as well as riding in the NJL fixture afterwards.
The Meteors had gone into the match needing a win or draw to seal the Northern Junior League title.
It was not a simple task as they were without both 125cc riders Casper Kluczniak and Charlie Luckman as well as 500cc rider Ben Rathbone meaning it was a patched-up Meteors side who had to fight for the victory at Armadale.
Last minute changes also meant that the Meteors went into the meeting with only one 125cc rider in Ollie Binns.
The 500cc races saw two 4-2 heat advantages for the Snif-Snax sponsored Meteors after Richardson battled into third place in Heat 3 to gain a four-point lead on the night and a share of the spoils in Heat 5 after he ran out of steam from his busiest night on the bike, completing his sixth race of the evening.
Watson rode to a perfect nine point maximum ensuring that the Armadale side couldn’t gain any heat advantages leaving lone 125cc Meteor Ollie Binns the task of bringing home the victory. Binns rode three impeccable races, picking up a full nine point maximum which was vital for the Meteors in picking up the victory on the night.
Team Manager James Wilson said: “2024 Northern Junior League Champions sounds good! I am so proud of the guys for what they achieved at Edinburgh. Mason and Laylen rode 13 heats between them, but both gave their absolute everything to ensure we picked up the victory to seal the title.
“Laylen was full of emotion and fighting spirit all night, and on a night where he picked up his first Championship league point, he was so determined to bring home the victory for the Meteors.
“Ollie rode a perfect three races and I’d just like to say a huge thanks to him and his Dad David for agreeing to ride for us especially as he was on his own and didn’t let this bother him one bit.
“It’s been an amazing season, with its ups and downs but to end on such a high and to bring home the trophy is something we will remember forever.
“I just want to say a huge thanks to every rider who has gave us their time and effort to race for the Meteors this season either as a guest or our regular side.
“These guys race for free to develop their riding and I believe that we have gave them all the platform to show what they can do, and thanks to their efforts we are now the Champions.
“Ben, Laylen, Casper and Charlie have been incredible this season and I’m sure we will celebrate together very soon!
“Also a huge thanks to Andrew Bain and the rest of the promotion for allowing us the opportunity to compete and also to the Workington fans who have stayed behind to cheer us on home and away, we appreciate you all.”
