Sam through on a drama packed night

NEWS Tuesday 29th April 2025, 9:39pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs Academy

There were plenty of bright young riders on show at the Plymouth staging of the British Under-21 semi-final, and amongst them Sam McGurk of the Monarchs Academy rode very well to take a qualifying slot. He will ride in the British Under-21 Final at Glasgow on Sunday May 18th.

Sam scored points steadily and the highlight of his night was heat 6 when he pulled off a really clever first bend cutback to shoot past Jody Scott and Max Perry for a win. Sam finished equal fourth with Ace Pijper on 10.

Livestream coverage from Plymouth is always good (Ben Barker always a good talker!), the racing can be close and eventful though it is not easy to pass on the very small circuit. Make the gate and ride the line is the usual advice.

The main target was qualifying and the top scorers were Luke Killeen 14, William Cairns 13, Ben Trigger 11, Sam McGurk 10, Ace Pijper 10, Max Perry 9, Jody Scott 9 and Freddy Hodder 8. Senna Summers, Aaron's son, also scored 8 but missed out on cutback.

There were a couple of big pileups. The first featured the amazing Stene Pijper, who went over the bike of Ashton Vale which bounced off the fence and appeared in his path. In spite of a very heavy tumble, Stene made the rerun! A gutsy lad indeed.

There was an extraordinary conclusion with a four times run heat 19, in which Killeen and Cooper Rushen came together twice entering the first corner. Unfortunately Rushen had to withdraw. At the third attempt a red flag was shown during the race and so we had a fourth rerun with Killeen this time winning to take the meeting. This was Sam McGurk's final heat in which he came second.

Rushen undoubtedly is another major talent but he took too long to get going on this occasion. It was an impressive display of British talent considering there are another 8 riders already seeded to the final.