Second time’s even better – Sam

Newly crowned British under-21 champion Sam Hagon revealed that retaining the title means more than initially winning it while firing a broadside at those who had questioned his ability.

The 20-year-old R.E.D Bandits, powered by STS star stood on top of the podium for the second successive year after a hectic afternoon’s racing in Glasgow  having kept his nerve amid a poor start to the title defence.

A last and two seconds left him on the brink of elimination before winning his final two races leapfrogged our Essex-based racer into the semi-final.

Gating was still a lost art but, having probed away on the outside for a couple of laps Sam executed a perfect inside pass to deny Redcar’s Jake Mulford progress as he tucked in behind former Bandits’ Academy star Luke Harrison.

In the final Sam, as the lowest scoring qualifier, was left with the unfancied outside gate but used it to his advantage in the rerun race again using the inside line to force a way past Joe Thompson.

There was still drama as Sam hugged the inside coming off the last bend, clipping the white line and then clattering into the fence as he took the chequered flag, ending up in an untidy heap in the first bend polyfoam barrier with his three competitors hitting the deck behind him in amazing scenes.

Thompson, whose twin brother Dan had been a red-hot post-meeting favourite for the title only to withdraw with shoulder and wrist injuries following a first race crash, finished runner-up with Harrison completing the podium and 15-year-old William Cairns finishing fourth.

Sam has had a tough year since first winning the Under-21 title, leaving treble-winning Poole during the winter, being dropped as Leicester’s Rising Star and initially finding points hard to come by in Berwick colours having been pushed into the team following Bastian Borke’s replacement.

A dramatic turnaround saw him grab a match-winning nine-point haul to defeat the Pirates on Saturday, finally showing the Borders’ fans the battling qualities that make him such a highly-rated property.

Like 2024 Sam began the afternoon badly with just four points from three rides and looked likely to miss out on the latter stages before rattling off two race wins to finish with 10 points.

After the final a delighted Sam said: “This meant so much more than the first victory. To be honest I’ve struggled ever since winning the first one and my first three rides today were c**p.

“A huge thank you to Jamie Courtney and Mark Courtney who have put so much into me the last few weeks. It all really began to click at Berwick last night. It is going to be one to celebrate.

“And for everyone who doubted me … this is what I can do!”

Pictures: Ian Adam