Young speedway star grabs his golden chance

The 15-year-old speedway star-in-the-making beat off many of the top young riders in the country to win his race during the interval of the British Grand Prix.

Not only did he finish two seconds clear of his nearest rival (the two leading under-15 riders in the country - Josh Auty and Ben Taylor - were in his heat), but his time of 60 seconds dead was just 0.3 seconds slower than the winning time in one of the Grand Prix heats.

"He did exceptionally well," said grandfather, Tony Thompson. "He was the fastest racer by far (among the junior interval riders)."

As well as blitzing his contemporaries in front of 45,000 people in Cardiff, Lewis mingled with some of the sport's leading names, including Eastbourne Eagles rider, David Norris, who lent him a few pre-race tips. He was also interviewed by Sky Sports and praised by their expert analysts.

But that was just part of a hectic, yet dream weekend for the Bexhill-based rider. After practising with all the stars on Friday, he was whisked off by helicopter to Weymouth where he scored a 12 point maximum as his club, the Weymouth Wildcats, went top of the Conference League after thrashing Sittingbourne Crusaders.

It all came to a close on Sunday when Lewis was the highest Wildcats scorer in the Conference Trophy victory at Wimbledon Dons.