LEICESTER will hand British Youth talent Ryan Ingram his first opportunity in the National Development League next season.
Ingram, who will turn 15 next January to become eligible for NDL racing, becomes the second signing to be announced for the 2025 Lion Cubs team.
A former mascot at Peterborough, Ingram moved up to 500cc level last year and finished fifth in the British Youth Championship.
He made strong progress throughout the season and reached the Final of the meetings held at both Leicester and Birmingham, and now he’s excited at the prospect of moving into league racing for the first time.
Ingram said: “It’s obviously going to be a lot harder with racing against better riders, but I’m ready for it and I can’t thank Leicester enough for giving me the opportunity.
“I’ve done a couple of practices there, and hopefully in January or February sometime I’ll be able to get some more practice there so I’m ready for the start of the season.
“I’m sure we’re going to have a strong team, but I feel like it’s important to not put pressure on myself, so I just want to do the best I can and hopefully score a couple of points every meeting.
“There are some of the tracks that I haven’t ridden yet, but I’ll try my best to score some points for the team!”
And Ingram will have a familiar face in his pit bay where fixtures allow next season, as his elder sister is the partner of former Leicester rider Dan Thompson, who has offered Ryan plenty of help and support in recent years.
He said: “I’ve been talking to Dan and he’s going to try and help me out as much as possible, which I really appreciate.
“I first started going to watch speedway because my uncle used to ride, and then I started riding on a little pit-bike, and I’ve just come on from there really.
“I used to ride a 125cc speedway bike, but I’ve moved on to the 500 now and I’m really enjoying myself. I felt quite consistent throughout the British Youth rounds last season and I was quite happy with my performance.”
With Ingram and Ben Trigger now confirmed for the Lion Cubs in 2025, more news is expected this week.
