British speedway stars take to track at Workington

British speedway stars of the future take to the track tomorrow as the curtain comes down on 2025 racing at Workington’s GT Tyres Arena, Northside.

From 1pm, 16 talented teens will line up for the British Under-19 championship final.

They include 2025 Workington rider Vinnie Foord, who is hoping to make the most of his experience around Northside during an eventful season for the team.

He said this week: “I should have a bit of an advantage being on my home track, but it is a track that a lot of riders turn up to and like, so it’s a hard one.”

Foord joins a stellar under-19 line-up which includes reigning champion and former Workington rider Ace Pijper, who was a member of the Comets’ National Development League squad in 2023.

Pijper, also formerly of Glasgow Tigers, now rides for Redcar Bears, who bowed out of the Cab Championship play-offs at the semi-final stage last week-end.

However, Pijper and his Bears team-mates are still fighting for silverware on two fronts in both the MAXiCab Knockout Cup and BSN Series.

In Saturday’s competition, Ace will line up against his younger brother, Stene, who has some laps of the GT Tyres Arena under his belt after guesting for Glasgow against Workington during a league meeting in August.

Another former Workington rider, Scunthorpe’s Luke Harrison, also has designs on the national under-19 title. Harrison goes into this weekend’s meeting on the back of representing Great Britain at the FIM Speedway of Nations 2 last Friday in the Polish city of Toruń.

Ben Trigger is also included in the Workington line-up. He heads to West Cumbria having emerged from a competitive field last Thursday to win the Poultec Young Stars Pride of the East at Kings Lynn.

At that event, Trigger got the better of runner-up Cooper Rushen and Will Cairns and he will go head-to-head with Rushen, aged 15, and 16-year-old Cairns at the under-19 championship tomorrow.

Hot prospect Cairns joined Poole Pirates mid-way through the 2025 season and is in the midst of a hectic end of season with his club — treble winners in 2024 — who are again fighting for the Championship, Knockout Cup and BSN Series titles.

In the Championship play-off final, Poole take on Glasgow, who are represented in the under-19 championship by both Freddy Hodder and Max Perry.

Also heading to Workington are Jordy Loftus, Ryan Ingram, Jody Scott, Ashton Vale, Jamie Etherington, Charlie Southwick and Harry Fletcher, the latter replacing Sam McGurk this weekend. The two reserves are Lee Harrison and Harrison Rogers.

After the under-19 final, the British Youth Championship for 125cc and 250cc competitors gets under way at 3.15pm.

Organisation of Saturday’s event has been a real team effort with Workington Comets Supporters Club selling sponsorship packages.

Adult admission for 44 heats of speedway is £17 (cash only).

For students it’s £10, children pay £3 — youngsters under-five are free — and a family ticket costs £38.

The meeting is also live on Comets TV: https://www.workingtoncomets.tv

Past winners of the British under-19 speedway title include GP stars Tai Woffinden and Dan Bewley, along with Drew Kemp, Leon Flint and Dan Thompson.