In an Under 16’s Challenge match, a Buxton Hitmen side lost narrowly 44-46 against their visitors, the Carmarthen Dragons on Sunday.

Continuing their policy of promoting the youngsters in British Speedway, Buxton held a special meeting for the Under 16 year-olds and it included the top two racers from the British Under 15 Championship. Winner Jason Garrity lined up for Buxton while runner-up James Sarjeant was in the Carmarthen race jacket.

As it turned out, the opening heat ultimately had a bearing on the final result. Both sides were hit with late withdrawals through non-availability of riders and, as it was a Challenge match, Jack Butler swapped from the Hitmen to the Dragons to give each side five riders. Garrity led the opening race from Carmarthen’s Scott Meakins until the Dragons rider fell on the third turn of the second lap. Unfortunately Garrity’s partner Ashley Morris was too close behind Meakins to avoid the fallen rider and he picked up a hand injury in the crash that caused him to take no further part in the meeting. Kyle Howarth took Morris’s place in the re-run and he followed Garrity home to give Buxton maximum points.

Howarth was out again in Heat 2 and led from the start but he ran a little too wide on the second turn of lap 3 and Carmarthen’s Richard Andrews nipped through to take the win. With Butler retiring, the points were shared 3-3. Lloyd Barrett came in for Morris in Heat 3 but he could do no more than follow Sarjeant and Jack Hirst home as the Dragons levelled the scores on the day with a 5-1 of their own. Garrity again left the rest in his wake as he stormed to victory in the next race but Hirst beat Howarth to restrict Buxton to a 4-2 advantage and that slender lead was gone in the following heat as Sarjeant, this time partnered by Meakins, scored the visitors second maximum as they took a two point lead.

Heat 6 was shared as Meakins and Andrews took the minor placings behind Garrity after the British Champion passed Meakins on the inside as the riders came off turn two on the third lap. The opening turns of the next race were a tight affair as Howarth and Sarjeant were neck-and-neck with Hirst on the outside. Howarth gained the advantage as the y exited the second turn but Hirst was squeezed out and this allowed Barrett to pass him. Sarjeant pressured Howarth but he rode four good laps to take the win and the 4-2 to the Hitmen tied the scores at 21-21.

Buxton regained the lead after Heat 8 when Howarth beat Meakins but Butler’s fall on the last lap handed third to Barrett and the 4-2 to the home side. Garrity took his fourth win out of four in Heat 9 but again the Dragons countered this by taking second and third to share the points. Sarjeant made a good start in Heat 10 and was side by side with Garrity as they entered the first turn and the stayed locked together until Garrity took advantage of being on the inside of Sarjeant as they entered the third turn. The race was stopped when Buxton’s other representative Cameron Hoskins fell and the race was awarded as a 3-3 to keep the Hitmen in front.

Heat 11 followed the same pattern as a Buxton racer won with the Dragons filling the next two places as Howarth defeated Meakins and Andrews. Carmarthen mad e a decisive move in Heat 12 as Sarjeant won his third race and with Andrews second ahead of Barrett it was the Dragons who led by two. At this point Morris’s injury in the opening race told as the Hitmen ran out of riders and could only track one rider in Heats 13 and 14. Although Garrity and Howarth won the races, the Dragons shared the points to go into the final race in the lead.

Again it was frustration for the home side as they couldn’t track their best two riders as Howarth had completed his seven rides so Hoskins came out to partner Garrity against Sarjeant and Andrews. If Hoskins could pick up any points then the Hitmen would have got something from the meeting but sadly he was left at the back after the first turn and while he kept Andrews honest, he couldn’t get close enough to affect the result. Garrity won the race to clinch a deserved 21-point maximum but the 3-3 gave the Dragons a 46-44 win.

This Sunday the Buxton Hitmen are at home to the Belle Vue Colts in the rearranged Conference Challenge. This will be the last action of the season and is a chance for the riders like Ben Taylor and Gareth Isherwood, top scorer for the Hitmen in the recent Conference League Fours, to say their goodbyes for the year after the final race. The meeting starts at 3pm and will be a close contest with local pride at stake.