By Ky Capel - Dorset Echo

Former Weymouth Wildcat Lee Smart stormed to victory in the last qualifying round of the Great Britain Under-21 Championship at the Wessex Stadium. The Birmingham Brummies' rider went the whole night unbeaten to claim his spot in the final showdown. Daniel Halsey came second while Lee Strudwick and Gareth Isherwood took third and fourth respectively.

But of the four current Wildcats on show, 16-year-old Kyle Newman put on the best display - picking up 11 points and narrowly missing out on a place in the final heat. The youngster was excluded in his first outing but hit back with three straight victories, and a second place, to help him reach the last chance play-off. But another exclusion saw him miss out on a spot in the final race of the night and a chance of making the championship final.

Tim Webster won his opening race but mechanical problems halted his progress. However, he managed to pick up three points in his final two heats for a total of six. Matt Bates also made a promising start with two second places and a first, but two zeros saw him finish on seven points altogether. Meanwhile Brendan Johnson, in reserve, raced twice and notched two points on his home track.

Wildcats' chairman Phil Bartlett said: "It was a cracking meeting, Lee won it by a mile as I thought he would but I was impressed with our riders too, and it was a good test for them. Kyle was awesome. He was unlucky to be excluded in his last race and he has definitely improved a lot over the winter months. The meeting gave our lads some good track time and they're all looking forward to next weekend's Devon & Dorset Cup meet with the Plymouth Devils."

Along with Smart, Halsey and Lee Strudwick qualify for the Lakeside finale on Friday, April 25 while Isherwood faces a run-off against other regional qualifiers to determine his fate.

Full heat details are available here and match photos here