TOM Whitwam’s hopes of a National British Youth under 12s crown took a blow when he suffered a heavy crash at Hull on Saturday.

The 10-year-old qualified in first place from the Northern region and won the first three heats in the National British Youth round one before taking a heavy slide in the last heat and taking no points.

Twelve points from three races saw Whitwam miss out on the B final by a single point, but the youngster recovered to win the C final to put him third nationally behind Kesgrave’s Lewis Brinkhoff and Exeter's Owen Tidball.