LEICESTER Fox Cubs held on for a dramatic 46-44 win over Birmingham in their home National Development Trophy opener on Sunday.
15-year-old Will Cairns completed a brilliant 18-point maximum by repassing Darryl Ritchings in Heat 15 to see a depleted Fox Cubs side through to a notable victory.
The Bulls were favourites with a much more experienced line-up, against a Leicester team without three of their regular riders due to injury.
But fellow youngsters Sonny Springer and Cooper Rushen backed up Cairns superbly with double figure scores, and Ryan Ingram added a vital paid-six.
Fox Cubs looked set to open up with a 5-1 until Rushen came to grief on the last bend of Heat 1, and they found themselves four points down in the early stages.
However, Cairns and Rushen levelled the scores with a 5-1 in Heat 6 as Rusheen came from the back to get the better of Senna Summers and Matt Marson on the opening lap.
A close contest followed with Springer and Rushen taking the next two races before a dramatic Heat 9 where Rushen for the Fox Cubs and Summers for the Bulls were both penalised by SCB referee Seth Perkin for exceeding the time allowance.
However, Rushen made his way through the field and passed Marson for the lead on the last lap, with the Birmingham guest dropping to the back with mechanical trouble.
That gave the Fox Cubs the lead, and their advantage was increased to six points when Cairns and Rushen stormed clear of Ritchings in Heat 10, with Springer then getting the better of Connor Coles and Arran Burcher in the next.
Ingram picked up a vital second place at the expense of Summers in Heat 12, and a Fox Cubs 4-2 in the next put them six points up – but there was another twist when Birmingham collected a 5-1 in Heat 14 from Ritchings and Eli Meadows to set up a last heat decider at 43-41.
Cairns led away only for Ritchings to take the advantage and put the Bulls in position for a 4-2 and a 45-45 draw, which would have been followed by a Super Heat – but Cairns ensured that wouldn’t be necessary by coming back through for the lead as the Fox Cubs edged it by two points.
Manager Jen Crossland said: “It was a really good team performance, and there are definitely some learnings to take from it as well.
“The main thing for the Fox Cubs team was to get a win under our belts, and they worked well together in the pits, helping each other with bikes.
“We had two good guests, and I’m really pleased with Ryan, who’s just 15. We said there was no pressure on him when he came in to guest in the main body of the team, and his ride to beat Senna Summers was excellent.
“Will was outstanding, Cooper and Sonny both rode really well too, and when you look at them that’s two more 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old, and that’s what it’s all about at this level.”
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TROPHY
LEICESTER 46: Will Cairns 18, Sonny Springer 12, Cooper Rushen 10+2, Ryan Ingram 5+1, Max Broadhurst 1, Caydin Martin 0, Ace Pijper r/r.
BIRMINGHAM 44: Darryl Ritchings 13, Connor Coles 9+2, Eli Meadows 6+4, Arran Butcher 6+2, Senna Summers 6, Matt Marson 6, Sam McGurk r/r.
Birmingham win the aggregate point.
