The new speedway world under 21 champion is David Kujawa. He took the title after scoring twelve points in the final🐎 at Peterborough on Sunday afternoon.

Kujawa, from Poland, races for Zielona Gora in the Pol🏅ish Extra Leaওgue, was rated by most experts as little more than a 'spoiler' but proved to be much better that that.

W🀅ith two wins and two second places from his first four rides, Kujawa headed the field along with one of the main p💖re-meeting favourties - Chris Slabon.

Whichever rider finished the better in his final ride looked odds-on to be crowned champion. Kujawa had first go in heat sevent❀een but could only finish a distant second to Lukas Dryml. Slabon lined up in the next heat knowing that a win would make him champion.

Unfortunꦿaꦚtely Slabon suffered a puncture early in the race which cruelly put pay to his hopes and handed things on a plate to Kujawa.

Another pre-meeting fancy, Lukas Dryml, opened up with a first ride zero but then hit big form to hit home a second followed by three heat wins which was good🦄 enough for s🦄econd place on the rostrum.

England's S🧔imon Stead meanwhile was going quietly about his business and without managing a heat win was on the fringes throughout. His tally of ten points was enough for a tie for third place with Slabon and Rafal 💙Okoniewski - another Pole.

Okoniewski started well enough with a win before a third followed by a last made him look like an also-ran. But a win 💫over Stead in heat sixteen was followed by another win in the final heat to put him൲ from nowhere in to a tie with Stead and Slabon for third.

That trio had to go head-to-head in a run-off for the final rostr🌱um place🐠.

Stead lead early but was passed by both Okoniewski and Slabon. ✅Okoniewski's overall third place quite remarkable after looking out of things with just four points from three opening rides. Of the other supposed leading contenders, Jarek Hampel never got in to it and home track rider David Howe fell away badly after a bright start.

A slick track (David Howe indicating it was the slickest he'd eveℱr seen it) was not conducive to good racing but that takes nothing away from Kujawa who found things very much to his liking - a fast sta𒆙rt and a fast bike being the order of the day.

As the meeting progressed, riders did manage to find some grip and drive by taking a wider line as demonstrat♔ed by Slabon (round the field in heat twelve) and Dryml (a superlative third to sec🎉ond effort in heat fourteen before duelling wheel to wheel with Ruud over the last lap).

Slabon will be left cursing his luck after his puncture, do🐬ubtless Dryml will be wondering what might have been if his first ride was not so bad and Stead wishing he'd won a race or two.

Instead, congratulations to David Kujawa - 2001 World Under-21 champio📖n, who said afterwards: "All I did was put in my best. I wasn't thinking about other riders. Maybe tomorrow it will sink in that I am world champion"

Scorers:
David Kujawa 12
Lukas Dryml 11
Rafal Okoniewski 10
Chris Slabon 10
Simon Stead 10
David Ruud 8
Matej Zagar 8
David Howe 8
Jarek Hampel 7
Freddie Eriksson 7
Lukas Romanek 7
Bjorn Hansen 6
Roman Chromik 6
Krzyztof Kasprzak 4
Tomasz Chrzanowski 4
Miroslaw Fencl 2