Speedway: Sheffield boss Simon Stead heaps praise on two of his youngest riders after impressive displays in Top Gun Individual Championship.

Drew Kemp and Zaine Kennedy both reached the Grand Final at Owlerton in a meeting won by Jordan Stewart. Kennedy passed his team-mate in the closing stages to snatch third place.

It was another encouraging afternoon for the pairing and Stead says he’s been impressed overall by their early season form.

“It was another positive performance from them both and to have the two Sheffield riders in the Final was obviously a big plus,” Stead said.

“More than anything it was good for them to get some laps in in a competitive environment and it will do them good going forward.

“They both tried a few different things and they’ll have learnt a bit more.

“I’ve been impressed with how Zaine has settled into British Speedway and he’s already finding the fastest ways around Owlerton.

“I’ve mentioned how impressed I’ve been by Drew’s willingness to learn and he was great to work with and help again.

“It was a shame neither of them could nick it in the Final but I’m pleased for both of them and it will have been a boost for sure.”

The meeting was won by Redcar racer Jordan Stewart - who was a late replacement for Sheffield’s Kasper Andersen following a hand injury sustained in Denmark on Saturday night.

The Aussie took advantage of Kennedy’s tight tussle with Jedd List in the opening bends as he performed a textbook swoop around his opponents.

Surprise package List prevailed in his elbow-to-elbow battle with Kennedy in the opening bends in a confidence boosting performance from the youngster who was axed by Scunthorpe earlier this month.

And after initially been relegated to the back, Kennedy charged after Kemp to blast around the outside down the back straight of lap three.

But Kemp can take plenty of positives from the event having dropped just one point from his four qualifying rides - that on the back of narrowly missing out on a top four finish in Saturday’s British Under-21 Final at Berwick.

Tigers are back in team action at Owlerton next Sunday (May 5) when they host Championship newcomers Birmingham in their home league opener with a slightly later start time of 4.30.

QUALIFYING SCORES:

Drew Kemp 11, Jordan Stewart 10, Jedd List 10, Danyon Hume 9, Ryan Kinsley 8, Zaine Kennedy 7, Josh McDonald 5, Leon Flint 4, Tom Woolley 3, Jamie Halder 3, Anders Rowe 2, Ryan MacDonald 0.

SEMI-FINAL 1: Kennedy, Kemp, McDonald, Hume.

SEMI-FINAL 2: Stewart, List, Flint, Kinsley.

GRAND FINAL: Stewart, List, Kennedy, Kemp.