KYLE Howarth says his experience will count for nothing when he takes on some of the best young riders in the country at the British Under-21 Championship final this evening.

Sixteen of British speedway’s brightest prospects will do battle in Coventry, with Swindon Robins hotshot Howarth likely to be to the fore.

The meet also carries the incentive of qualifying places for the World Under-21 Championship later in the season. Three spots are available to represent Great Britain, with the semi-finals to take place in Italy, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in late May.

Howarth will be one of the most experienced riders in the line-up at Coventry, having finished on the podium at the event in both 2012 and 2013, and is now in his fourth full season as an Elite League rider.

However, he reckons that is no guarantee for success at Brandon tonight.

“It’s definitely a meeting I enjoy, I haven’t done too badly in it in the past. I just need to make gates and have a consistent ride and hopefully that’ll help me do well,” said Howarth.

“I’ve got quite a bit of experience for my age but that doesn’t always count for a lot or work in your favour.

“There are lots of good kids there who can win, they’re there for that reason. They’ve all worked hard and deserve to be there.

“It’s a long meeting so you never know what’s going to happen. I’ll just take it race by race.

“I don’t want to say I’m going to win it or anything silly like that because that’s not how sport works sometimes. I just want to go out there and enjoy myself and go from there.”

Another thing in Howarth’s favour is his knowledge of the Brandon track, having ridden for the Coventry Bees in the Elite League last season before switching to the Robins over the winter.

“It will be good getting back out on the track at Coventry. I enjoyed my time there and it should be a good meeting,” added Howarth.

“It’s always tricky and you never know who is going to win but I’m not really thinking about it too much, it’s just another meeting.”

Meanwhile, Robins skipper Troy Batchelor says he is progressing well after suffering injury in the season opening defeat to Poole Pirates a week ago.

Batchelor has been out of action since suffering a concussion but is set to return in the first Grand Prix of the season in Warsaw on Saturday evening.

He said: “It has been a fairly quiet week and I missed a lot of racing, which I’m obviously not happy about.

“I’m doing nothing at the moment – just concentrating on Saturday. Every day is a lot better. I’m glad I’ve had around 10 days from the crash to the GP to get recovered. It’s still a little bit sore.

“It’s not too bad and there’s always a positive. I’m focusing on that now and I’m just happy to be in one piece.”