MARK PLUMMER catches up with a new British champion for his latest ‘Friday Feature’ . . . it’s Under 19 king Ollie Greenwood . . .
Anyone who has ever had a conversation with Ollie Greenwood will know he is not your typical teenager.
The newly-crowned British Under 19 champion is as modest as they come. There’s not a hint of cockiness or arrogance and absolutely no chance of hearing him utter the sort of big, bold statements that plenty of his peers choose to air.
“I just enjoy riding my bike,” says Greenwood in typically under-stated fashion.
That is sure to have been the case on Monday when he scorched to a 15-point maximum to lift the national crown on offer at Kent. The Central Park circuit is clearly one that suits him as he also went through the card when guesting for the Kings in a National League fixture earlier in the season.
“I like it down there,” added Greenwood, who succeeded his Coventry Storm team-mate Stefan Nielsen – the Under 19 winner for the past two years - as champion. “And it was my last chance to race in the Under 19s.
“You don’t win a British title every day and I’m very proud to have done it.
“It is the biggest meeting I have ridden in so far after missing the British Under 21 Final for the past two years.
“I pulled out this year because Peterborough were riding on the same night and last year I was out injured after breaking my collar-bone.”
Greenwood’s triumph earlier this week could prove to be part of a major individual double as he lines up in the National League Riders’ Championship next Sunday (September 28).
The Walsall-based teenager will have the benefit of home advantage at Rye House – the club where he has spent the second half of the Premier League season after a broken collarbone led to his release from fellow second-tier side Peterborough.
He added: “It is all about making starts at Rye and it is all about being consistent in an event like the NLRC.
“When you have a meeting full of riders of very similar standard and speed, the starts and first corners tend to be where races are decided.
“I’ve got on quite well there since joining Rye House in the summer. I’ve probably scored better round there than I did at Peterborough.
“They could hardly be more different as home tracks, but it is something that will only help my development.
“It was a shame I couldn’t get back into the Peterborough team after my injury. They tried to re-declare but it got rejected and Trevor (Panthers co-promoter Swales) couldn’t have been better about me going somewhere else.”
And while Rye House look set to land the wooden spoon in the second tier, Greenwood does still have hopes of team honours with Coventry Storm.
They face Kent in the National League play-off semi-finals with all previous form pointing towards a mouthwatering all-Midlands final showdown against table-topping reigning champions Cradley.
Greenwood has risen to the top of the Storm averages - something he 'did not expect' to happen in the current campaign but despite his fine form he insists he has no regrets about snubbing the chance to be part of the inaugural Fast-Track Draft in the Elite League for financial reasons.
“I’m not making any money out of speedway at the moment,” he continued. “So there is no way I could consider giving up my job and trying to race full-time.
“I wouldn’t be in a position to keep my machinery up to scratch and there is no way it would work out for me.
“Anyway I believe the Premier League is currently much more competitive than the Elite League for a rider like myself. Every ride is a tough one and that’s what you need to keep improving.
“I’ve done a few guest bookings in the Elite and all team managers ask is that you try to beat the other reserves and in most cases that is other people from the National League.
“I won’t really give my future too much thought until the close season but I definitely want to be racing in the Premier League again next year.
“The obvious next step is to get up into the main body of a team at that level. I will just need to evaluate the other options.”
And he is likely to have plenty . . .
Share This:
OUR PARTNERS
UPCOMING FIXTURES...
16/08/18 1930 Swindon v Belle Vue (Premiership)
16/08/18 1930 Ipswich v Glasgow (Championship)
16/08/18 1930 Sheffield v Newcastle (Championship)
16/08/18 1900 Isle of Wight v Mildenhall (TPNL)
17/08/18 1930 Edinburgh v Sheffield (Championship)
17/08/18 1930 Glasgow v Ipswich (Championship)
17/08/18 1930 Scunthorpe v Berwick (Championship)
17/08/18 1915 Plymouth v Mildenhall (TPNL)
18/08/18 1900 Berwick v Peterborough (Championship)
18/08/18 1900 Workington v Ipswich (Championship)
18/08/18 1900 Stoke v Kent (TPNL)
19/08/18 1830 Newcastle v Peterborough (Championship)
19/08/18 1500 Buxton v Coventry (TPNL) 19/08/18 1500 Mildenhall v Belle Vue (NLKOC) 20/08/18 1930 Belle Vue v Leicester (Premiership)
20/08/18 1930 Somerset v Poole (Premiership)
20/08/18 1930 Wolverhampton v Swindon (Premiership)
20/08/18 1830 Kent v Plymouth (TPNL)
21/08/18 1900 Isle of Wight v Young Lions Select (Ch)
22/08/18 1900 King's Lynn v Wolverhampton (Premiership)
22/08/18 2045 King's Lynn v Wolverhampton (Premiership)
22/08/18 1930 Poole v Swindon (Premiership)
22/08/18 1930 Somerset v Leicester (Premiership)
22/08/18 1930 Birmingham v Stoke (TPNL)
23/08/18 1930 Ipswich v Peterborough (Championship)
23/08/18 1930 Redcar v Workington (Championship)
23/08/18 1930 Sheffield v Edinburgh (Championship)
24/08/18 1930 Edinburgh v Glasgow (Championship)
24/08/18 2000 Lakeside v Newcastle (Championship)
24/08/18 1930 Scunthorpe v Ipswich (Championship)
24/08/18 1930 Belle Vue v Buxton (TPNL)
25/08/18 1900 Workington v Lakeside (Championship) (prov)
25/08/18 1930 Eastbourne v Coventry (TPNL)
26/08/18 1500 Glasgow v Edinburgh (Championship)
26/08/18 1830 Newcastle v Lakeside (Championship)
26/08/18 1930 Workington v Redcar (Championship)
26/08/18 1500 Buxton v Kent (TPNL)
26/08/18 1500 Mildenhall v Birmingham (TPNL) 27/08/18 1200 Belle Vue v Wolverhampton (Premiership) 27/08/18 1930 Leicester v King's Lynn (Premiership)
27/08/18 1230 Poole v Somerset (Premiership)
27/08/18 1930 Swindon v Poole (Premiership)
27/08/18 2000 Wolverhampton v Belle Vue (Premiership)
27/08/18 1830 Kent v Birmingham (TPNL)
29/08/18 1930 King's Lynn v Poole (Premiership)
29/08/18 1930 Somerset v Wolverhampton (Premiership)
29/08/18 1930 Birmingham v Coventry (TPNL)
30/08/18 1930 Ipswich v Scunthorpe (Championship) 30/08/18 1930 Redcar v Newcastle (Championship)
30/08/18 1915 Isle of Wight v Eastbourne (TPNL)
LATEST RESULTS...
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 15:
PREMIERSHIP Somerset 42 (Jason Doyle 14) Belle Vue 48 (Craig Cook 11) Premiership points: Somerset 0 Belle Vue 3
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Birmingham 55 (Tom Bacon 12) Buxton 34 (Danny Ayres 14) National League points: Birmingham 3 Buxton 0
Belle Vue v Kent - OFF
MONDAY AUGUST 13:
PREMIERSHIP Leicester 58 (Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 15) Belle Vue 32 (Dan Bewley 8+1) Premiership points: Leicester 3 Belle Vue 0
Poole 47 (Josh Grajczonek 12) Somerset 43 (Jason Doyle 12+1) Premiership points: Poole 3 Somerset 1
King’s Lynn v Wolverhampton - OFF
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Kent v Belle Vue - OFF
F.A.S.T. GOLDEN HAMMER, Cradley 1 Tom Bacon 15 2 Danny Ayres 14 3 Max Clegg 12
SUNDAY AUGUST 12:
CHAMPIONSHIP Newcastle v Workington - OFF
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Coventry v Birmingham - OFF
Mildenhall 60 - Ryan Kinsley 12+2
Stoke 29 - Max Clegg 9
National League points: Mildenhall 3 Stoke 0
SATURDAY AUGUST 11:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Scandinavian Grand Prix, Malilla 1 Nicki Pedersen (Den) 2 Matej Zagar (Slove) 3 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 4 Martin Vaculik (Slova)
STANDINGS after Round 6 of 10 1 Tai Woffinden (GB) 91 2 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 74 3 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 70 4 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 69
Workington 52 – Dan Bewley 14 Scunthorpe 38 – Jason Garrity 11+1 Championship points: Workington 3 Scunthorpe 0
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Buxton 32 – Connor Coles 9+1 Mildenhall 58 – Danny Ayres 14+1 National League points: Buxton 0 Mildenhall 4
SATURDAY AUGUST 4:
TEST MATCH, Glasgow Great Britain 33 (Tai Woffinden 12) Australia 57 (Chris Holder 11+2)
TRAVEL PLUS NATIONAL LEAGUE Mildenhall 50 – Josh Bailey 9+1 Belle Vue 28 – Kyle Bickley 8/Tom Perry 8 Abandoned after Heat 13 (medical cover) – Result stands National League points: Mildenhall 3 Belle Vue 0
