GLASGOW star Ace Pijper believes it will be a “super-tough” British Under-19 Championship.
The cream of homegrown youth talent is on track at Birmingham tonight, live on Brummies TV.
Pijper has made a sensational start to his Cab Direct Championship career with the Allied Vehicles Tigers.
But he knows it will be a fierce battle at Perry Barr. He said: “I did pretty well there in the Under-21. I scored six in the end which I was happy with.
“I think it will be super-tough again. I did well in the recent Under-21 semi-final at Workington so I will go to Birmingham wanting to get a medal at least.
“But there’s no pressure on me. Only the pressure I put on myself. I’m just going to try and put together as many good starts as possible and see what happens.”
On-form Belle Vue Rising Star Jake Mulford will start as favourite but it’s a wide-open field.
Brummies CEO Nigel Tolley added: “I think the supporters are in for something special. When you look at the draw and the names of the riders involved, it’s almost impossible to pick a winner.
“Dan will obviously fancy it around his new home track, it’s now a very early chance for Sam Hagon to make a good impression on the Brummies supporters and there are a few other names in there that will want to throw themselves into the mix and be a bit of a surprise package if you like.
“We were all very impressed by Ashton Boughen when he won the Youth Championships at Birmingham last month, Freddy Hodder has ridden in lots of our second halves as have Max Perry, Max James and Luke Harrison – so it’s really difficult to pick a winner, which is great ahead of an event like this.”
LINE-UP: Nathan Ablitt, Sam Hagon, Ben Trigger, Max Perry, Jake Mulford, Max James, Dan Thompson, Ace Pijper, Luke Harrison, Jody Scott, Elliot Kelly, Sam McGurk, Mickie Simpson, William Richardson, Ashton Boughen, Freddy Hodder. RESERVES: Mark Parker, Eli Meadows.