Under-19 Individual Cycle Speedway Championships

Birmingham Monarch's Paul Heard was crowned 2009 U19 Champion at Wednesfield's Ashmore Park track on Saturday 8 August.

There was a 45 minute delay in proceedings due to an accident on the M5 which meant the majority of the line up had not arrived by the original 1pm start. Horspath's Mark Carmichael just made his place into the qualifying round with seconds to spare after continuous phone updates on his whereabouts between the motorway and Wednesfield. He rode beyond his years to ensure an overall 4th place on the day.

An early coming together between Heard and eventual 2nd placed overall Tom Reed of Exeter almost put their challange for the title in jepordy but with a quick brush down the 2 riders were up and competing in the re run.

Heard secured his championship victory by finishing second in his final outing and the first to congratulate him was team mate and 2008 winner Chris Timms who finished on 17points and gained a place in a four man runner up run off. Timms' front wheel slipped exiting the second bend on the first lap which saw his podium place slip away and allowed Tom Reed to win 2nd place and Sheffield Star rider Jamie Brown 3rd place.

The championships saw some excellent riding and was a great advert for a great sport.

There are several more examples of Andy's photo's below, with three big galleries linked above.

Results

Paul Heard 18, Thomas Reed 17, Jamie Brown 17, Mark Carmichael 17, Chris Timms 17, Jazz Abbott 13, Adam Stephenson 12, Ben Mould 12, Matt Beharrell 11, George Solomon 11, Matt Smith 10, Lee Smith 8, Nathan Groves 8, Daniel Osborne 8, Ben Dickenson 8, Matt Turley (reserve) 6, Ashley Birks 2 (withdrawn injured)

More Images