Villads Pedersen is the 2023 FIM Speedway Youth Gold Trophy winner following a dominant display at Holsted in Denmark this afternoon.
Racing on home soil, the fast thirteen-year-old won all five of his Heats to run out a clear winner of the event for riders aged between eleven to fifteen on 85cc machines.
First held back in 2001, over the years the FIM Speedway Youth Gold Trophy has been virtually monopolised by up-and-coming Danish riders and the latest edition proved to be no different with Pedersen claiming the nineteenth victory for his nation.
After finishing fourth last year, Pedersen was in no mood to settle for anything less than the top step of the podium and when the opening Heat of the programme got under way at the second attempt following a false start the young Dane made his intentions crystal clear.
With the first block of racing compete, Pedersen shared the lead with his compatriot Philip Ekfeldt and the Germany pairing of Carlos Gennerich and Tyler Haupt.
With Haupt and Ekfeldt beaten into second and third by Pedersen in their second Heat, the Dane’s main opposition came from Gennerich – who was eighth in 2022 – who maintained his undefeated run until he was matched against Pedersen in the third block of Heats.
There could be only one winner and Pedersen progressed with a perfect score as Gennerich’s chances of overall victory suffered a severe blow when he trailed home in third behind Denmark’s Niklas Bager.
Victory in his fourth Heat only served to underline Pedersen’s fantastic form, but Gennerich kept his hopes alive with his third win of the day as another Dane, Elias Jamil, joined the battle for podium places when he won his fourth Heat.
Holding a two-point advantage heading into the fifth and final block of Heats, Pedersen put the result beyond doubt by maintaining his perfect record and Bager then took his second win of the afternoon to remain in contention for a top-three finish.
The final two podium positions were only decided in the afternoon’s dramatic concluding Heat which put Jamil and Gennerich head-to-head and it was Jamil who took the chequered flag in front for second overall with Gennerich’s second-placed finish good enough to take the final step on the box by a single point from Bager.
Despite taking two wins, Ekfeldt ended the event in fifth after failing to score in his final Heat.
Results here
FIM Communication