Championship League Riders’ Championship @ Sheffield

SCUNTHORPE skipper Josh Pickering swept through the card unbeaten to lift his second Championship League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield on Saturday.

Pickering was the class of the field on his home Premiership track, but he had to fight off a strong challenge from defending champion Chris Harris in the Final.

Glasgow captain Harris, who briefly led off turn two, had to settle for runners-up spot on this occasion with Poole’s Zach Cook taking third place after a consistent night where he reached that stage despite not winning a race.

Oxford’s Sam Masters missed out in the Final despite scoring 14 points in the qualifiers, which would have been a maximum but for a last-bend move by Pickering when they met in their opening rides.

Pickering said: “I’m very pleased, I’m happy; it’s obviously what I came here to do, but to execute it is another thing.

“In the Final, I knew Bomber (Harris) was coming off gate four and I knew it was going to be tight in that first corner.

“Bomber had the right run and he made the right decision in the first turn, but also credit to him for leaving me just enough room to sneak through, and that was enough to get the job done.

“I’m really pleased for everyone at Scunthorpe, especially those who came to watch me. I even had people from Edinburgh cheering for me and of course for the Sheffield fans who made a lot of noise for me too.”

CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP, Sheffield
SCORES: Josh Pickering 15, Sam Masters 14, Peter Kildemand 12, Chris Harris 10, Luke Killeen 10, Zach Cook 10, Richard Lawson 9, Dan Thompson 7, Kye Thomson 7, Danny King 7, Jonas Jeppesen 6, Drew Kemp 5, Leon Flint 4, Jody Scott 2, Simon Lambert 2, Justin Sedgmen 0.
SEMI-FINAL: Harris, Cook, Kildemand, Killeen.
FINAL: Pickering, Harris, Cook, Masters.

OFFICIAL REFEREE SCORECARD
Available here

Photo credit: CHARLOTTE FLANIGAN