U21 & YOUTH CHAMPIONS
World Junior ( U21 ) Championship
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European Junior ( U19 ) Championship
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FIM Youth Gold Trophies
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National U21/Junior Champions
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National Youth Champions
WORLD & EUROPEAN JUNIOR SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS
Alf Busk - Denmark Emil Sayfutdinov - Russia Rafał Okoniewski - Poland
1st U21 'World' Champ 2x U21 World Champ 2x U19 European Champ
1977 2007, 2008 1998, 1999
The U21 Speedway World Championship, officially the 'FIM Individual Speedway Junior World Championship' was established in 1977 originally as a European competition for riders under 21, and which from 1979 allowed riders from other continents to compete, but was only renamed as a World Championship in 1988. Minimum age is 16: maximum age 21 years (up to the year-end of the 21st birthday.)
The 'European Speedway Junior Championship' is an U19 competition for 16 - 19yr. olds and run by the UEM (on behalf of parent body FIM.)
Double World Junior (U21) European Junior (U19) Championship, 2011:
Champion, 2009, 2010 MJ.Jensen, Piotr Pawlicki, V.Belousov. Darcy Ward of Australia
Three riders, Mssrs Jonsson, Havelock and Crump, have achieved a double by winning the senior World Championship after having been U21 World Champion, this progression having taken a minimum of 5 years, (9 years in the case of Jason Crump.) At the lower level, Lukas Dryml and Karol Zabik have progressed from being U19 Champions to become U21 World Champions. Time is running out for Dryml to achieve the next step: at 23 it's a possibility for Zabik, though injuries and their consequences presently make it seem unlikely. Double U21 World Champ Emil Sayfutdinov of Russia demonstrated in his first year of Grand Prix racing at the age of just 19, (and too busy with racing commitments to enter any further U19 or U21 Championships,) that with 3 Grand Prix wins including that of his first ever SGP, he is a possible future speedway World Champion.
U21 World Final, U21 World Final, U19 European Final,
Lvov, Ukraine, 1990 Olching, Gy, 1996 Gorican, Croatia, 2010
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FIM YOUTH GOLD TROPHIES 
To complement the senior and U21 World Championships (and UEM U19) the FIM has introduced during the last decade its 'Gold Trophy' series, - World Championships in all but name: 80cc Speedway and125cc Grass Track for 12 - 16year olds and more recently the 250cc Speedway and 250cc Long Track Youth Gold Trophies for14-17 year olds. The UEM has parallel 80 Speedway and 125 Grass Track 'UEM Cups'. With their long-standing youth development schools Denmark has not surprisingly dominated the 80cc competitions, - FIM and also UEM tournaments: only once in 11 years have Danes not taken the YGT podium 123.
FIM YGT 2010 @Slany: V.Grobauer,Gy; Eduard Krcmar,Cz; M.Hofmann Gy.
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NATIONAL U21 SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS
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National Youth Champions, (Age limit and title vary with nations.)
Historically, whilst the minimum riding age, determined by issue of an ACU licence, remained at 16 years old, - even permitting any ride outwith speedway meetings proper for practice or training could jeopardised a track's licence to operate within the ACU/SCB sphere - , the emergence of any team-place rider of teen age was the exception rather than the present-day norm, though surreptitious under-age races using aliases were not unknown, particularly where a family link to the sport might exist. ( AMCA licences were issued at 15 years of age, but their sphere was principally Scramble races, today's MotoCross. During the speedway pirate year of 1964 a few AMCA controlled grass-track speedway meeting were run for Provincial League riders' benefit.)
Today however 15 year olds may race in UK league competition and riders younger still may practice and race on licenced tracks with full approval. Under-15 Championships (and other intermediate ranges,) are widespread both in Europe, the States and the Southern hemisphere, at national and regional level, and there have even been U16 inter-national matches, viz. GB v Germany in 2001 and '02. Consequently the significance of U21 Championship competitions, World and Nationals, is not unimportant and on many occasions National (i.e. 'senior') titles have been taken by U21 riders.
The 3-page table below of National U21 and Junior Champions, (there is inconsistent terminology for the these categories, not helped by different cut-offs, viz. U19 and U18; U16 and U15, though there is presently a transition by nations to standardize with the FIM. The former British Youth U15 is now, in 2011, a U16 competition.) generates interest in permitting insight of the progress of riders that have ultimately made it ‘big time’ to SGP level, - Nicholls, Woffinden, Holder, Crump, Lindgren, Bjerre, Walasek, Sayfutdinov, etc. - , and therefore who, from today’s more junior levels may become tomorrow’s stars.
Riders who have been able to achieve 3 and even 4 U21 national titles, -Stead, 2x, Holder 4x, Wells 2x + 2x, Bjerre 4x (in 6 years !,) clearly have excelled at an extremely young age to win over others with potentially 4 or 5 years more experience. Youngsters like Ashley Morris UK, Nick Morris Aust, Arthur Sissis NZ, Neil Pettit SA, Patrick Hoogaard DK and Matej Kus CZ, will be watched with interest, by promoters, managers and fans alike for an insight to the sport’s future.
Graham Plant 1969, first British Junior Champion.
2011 British U19 Championship, 2010 British U15 Champions,
Ben Morley,Jason Garrity, Shane Hazelden. 500cc Brandon Freemantle, ctr, 250cc Robert Lambert, Rt.
(+ 125cc Support Class winner Keiron Vaughan, Lt.- photo, Nicholas Truscott)
Ashley Morris Neil Pettit Patrick Hougaard Matej Kus
British U15 Champ SA Jnr.Champ 2007 Danish U21 Champ Czech U21 Champ 2008+'09
2009 SA Champ 2009,2011 2007,2009 Czech Champ 2010
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