The youth training programme held at the Plymouth Coliseum is continuing to produce some outstanding young talent, with riders achieving impressive success on tracks around the country.
Under the guidance of youth training officer Barry Bishop, and Mark Phillips Promoter, the programme has helped develop a number of promising riders, and recent performances from Charlie Southwick and George Climo have once again highlighted the strength of the Plymouth set-up.
Barry Bishop said: “It’s fantastic to see the hard work the riders are putting in paying off. The youth training sessions at Plymouth and Isle Of Wight are all about helping young riders develop their skills, confidence and racecraft, and the results Charlie and George have achieved recently are thoroughly deserved. They are both excellent ambassadors for the programme and for Plymouth speedway.”
Former Plymouth Centurions rider Charlie Southwick enjoyed an excellent weekend in the British Youth Championship, including victory in the 500cc round at Workington.
Reflecting on his success, Southwick said: “It was a busy weekend of racing for me at Workington and Belle Vue for the British Youth Championship. At Workington I scored 10 points which got me into the final. In my final race my seat bracket snapped, however after having a hard battle for first I got the win and I was really happy to get my first British Youth Championship round win and it is one I will never forget.
“The next morning me, my mum and my dad all got up early to wash the bikes and get prepared for Belle Vue. Unfortunately in my first heat at Belle Vue I got a puncture which meant I really struggled to get speed and ended up with a third.
“In my second heat I had a really fun race with Seth Norman where we was passing each other every lap but fair play to Seth as he got the win. After that heat we made some changes as I was spinning a lot and went back out and got a heat win.
“Unfortunately I didn’t make the final at Belle Vue, but it was really close as I missed out on countback. Overall it was a really successful couple of days for me as I finished first at Workington and although I didn’t make the final at Belle Vue, I had a lot of fun races which I learnt a lot from and well done to all the boys.”
Meanwhile, George Climo also enjoyed a hugely successful meeting after competing in the Amateur Speedway Meeting at Scunthorpe on May 10.
Climo capped off the weekend with a clean sweep of victories and was delighted with both his performance and the experience of racing at another new circuit.
He said: “Finished off the weekend at Scunthorpe. Went with no big expectations but was going to give it my all.
“Great to give another new track a go and it didn’t disappoint, some good close racing. Chuffed with my results today with a clean sweep.”