A close race for the title as Joe holds two-point lead over twin
LEICESTER MASCOT JAMES ALSO LEADS INTERMEDIATE CLASS OF BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
LEICESTER’S rising teenage stars, Joe and Dan Thompson, were in top form on their first-ever appearance at Edinburgh’s Armadale Stadium in West Lothian on Saturday, writes Alan Jones.
The twins began the fourth round of the British Youth Championship joint level at the top of the leaderboard with 46 points apiece, seven ahead of the Mildenhall rider Elliot Kelly and eight in front of Belle Vue’s Harry McGurk.
It was Joe who took the honours on this occasion in the Scottish capital after easing his way through the qualifying section of the meeting with 11 points out of a possible 12, while Dan needed to win his last race to make the final after dropping points due to machine problems earlier in the afternoon.
Also making it through to the final were McGurk and Archie Freeman, but it was the Lions pair who proved too fast for their opponents with Joe finishing in front of his brother in a keenly-contested four laps of the track.
The result moved Joe two points ahead of Dan in the senior section standings of the event with the fifth and final round of the competition scheduled to take place in Manchester next month.
Senior Class 500cc Engine event standings (after four rounds): Joe Thompson 64 points, Dan Thompson 62, Harry McGurk 52 and Elliot Kelly 38
Meanwhile, it was also a double celebration for Leicester Speedway as their club’s mascot Max James triumphed in the intermediate section of the competition.
The 13-year-old pieced together a perfect score of 12 in the qualifying stage of the event during which he was involved in an exciting contest against his nearest rival Luke Harrison.
The outcome was a win for the Leicester rider whose decision to take a wider line around the bends paid off as he sped past Harrison who subsequently fell which ruled him out of the final.
In the final, James completed a perfect four laps ahead of secondplaced Ashton Vale to claim first place. The result extends the Lions rider’s overall lead in the competition to 16 points ahead of Harrison with one round remaining.
Intermediate Class 250cc Engine event standings (after four rounds): Max James 68 points, Luke Harrison 52 and Ashton Vale 42.