Speedway young guns to be tested
The cream of Australia’s young speedway riders will be in action at Mildura’s Olympic Park Speedway next Saturday, 16th January, when the SportZprint 2010 Australian Under 21 Speedway Championship is conducted at the famous venue.
Many of the riders are currently engaged in the senior Solo championship meeting, the last of the three rounds is being held at the Newcastle Showgrounds on Saturday 9th January.
A strong field on riders have nominated for the Under 21 meeting, which will feature the current World Under 21 Champion, Darcy Ward, from Queensland. Ward has a couple of compatriots in Josh Grajczonek and Tyson Nelson in the field, but the current field is jam packed with young talented riders from NSW. One Queenslander, Mitchell Davey, has withdrawn from the meeting citing expense of travel after just having been at Mildura and not making it through the senior Title Qualifying meeting as a problem for him.
The large group of New South Welshmen includes, Alex Davies, Sam Masters, Richard Sweetman, Hugh Skidmore, Michael Penfold, Taylor Poole, Mason Campton and Todd Kurtz.
These riders will be pitted against the Victorians, who include local riders, Ryan and Justin Sedgmen, Jake Anderson and Dakota North and the lone Englishman, Josh Auty.
This group of sixteen will contest the SportZprint Australian Under 21 Title as a one of meeting, with the top selection being able to qualify further onto the 2010 World Under 21 scene, where hopefully the Australians can dominate and have similar success to 2009 when Ward was so successful.
The NSW contingent is a very slick group as both Alex Davies and Sam Masters have shown so far in the senior Australian Championship series. Both lads have acquitted themselves very well in their first senior title, showing superior skills even before they both get to have their first season in the tough British League. Sweetman and Skidmore already have that experience and will want to use it to their best advantage while Poole has good speedway breeding, which should give him some advantage at the meeting.
The two local Mildurians, Ryan and Justin Sedgmen, should acquit themselves well, especially Justin, who has had a most successful Australian senior Title campaign already, taking some significant scalps in the first two rounds and positioning himself in sixth place overall in the series, prior to Newcastle, which is a wonderful effort in his first attempt at the senior Title.
Jake Anderson, from Shepparton is the best performed of the two Goulburn Valley riders, qualifying through into a reserve position ahead of Dakota North, who is a former Australian Under 16, or Junior Champion.
The other rider, who will give all of this fellow competitors some anxious moments is the classy, Josh Auty, from England, who has shown some good form at Olympic Park twice already this season. Auty is a real goer, so all riders will have top be aware of his range of skills as he could easily finish on a podium position.
Download this press release – PRE – 2010 Sportzprint Aust Und 21 Title (local)