By ACU.
The final round of the Thor British Youth Nationals championship, which was held last weekend at a sunny Cusses Gorse, saw Charlie Heyman, Ike Carter, Rossi Beard, Callum Green and George Grigg Pettitt crowned 2016 champions after some seriously close racing between the best youth riders in the country across all six rounds.
Charlie Heyman, who took another overall at the final round with a clean sweep across all five motos, has dominated the 65cc junior class all season winning all but one moto, and took his first British Youth Nationals championship win. Runner-up on the day was awarded to Bailey Johnston after some close racing with only a one-point advantage over Wal Beaney who was third, while Alfie Jones took second in the championship standings with his sixth on the weekend and Kiean Boughen rounded out the top three in the overall standings.
Ike Carter nearly dominated all of the races across the weekend with some exciting action between him, Bobby Bruce and Jack Grayshon. Carter took the weekend overall, and with it the 2016 British 85cc Small Wheel Championship, while Louie Kessell was second on the weekend with Bobby Bruce taking third place thanks to his moto three win on Sunday. Second in the series went to Bruce, while Grayshon, who finished fourth at the final round, rounded out the championship top three.
The British Big Wheel 85cc class produced some very impressive battles throughout all five motos, however by Sunday morning it was clear who was likely to be the 2016 champion, as Rossi Beard took the weekend’s overall and with it the series win. James Smith finished the weekend in second, with Josh Peters third, for second in the championship overall, while Dominic Lancett, who unfortunately crashed out of the final moto, took third in the overall standings.
The 125cc youth class certainly made for some exciting viewing with its bar banging action and incredibly close moments. Adam Collins, who was a final round wildcard, took the top of the podium on the weekend by one point, with Tom Grimshaw a closely fought second overall thanks to an outstanding performance in the third moto. Chris Mills, also a wildcard at the last race, finished the weekend third overall, while it was Callum Green who was crowned champion after riding a safe final round for sixth place. Todd Ritchie was this year’s runner-up by just four points with fourth overall at the final round, while Ben Clark was third in the championship at the season end.
The open championship also delivered some down-to-the-wire moments, with Dylan Woodcock and George Grigg-pettitt battling throughout the weekend. Grigg-Pettitt was the overall weekend winner and despite Alexander Brown looking like one of the favourites for the title, it was Grigg-Pettitt who was crowned champion with a minimal advantage of just eight points, while Brown was forced to settle for the runner-up spot having had a difficult final weekend and crashing out of the final race. Woodcock was second on the weekend, while Dexter Douglas was third overall for third in the championship.
“It’s been a great year once again for the Thor British Youth Nationals championship. The fact that most of the titles went right down to the wire shows how competitive the series is, which is great for the development of young riders in the UK. I’d like to thank all of the riders who came and took part, and congratulate all of those who succeeded in their 2016 goals, especially of course to our 2016 Thor British Youth National champions. The future is looking good as we have a lot of talent in the series, and I look forward to seeing those youngsters continuing their development next year,” said Director of RHL Activities, Gareth Hockey.
