Sports Insure British Final @ Belle Vue

DAN Bewley successfully defended his Sports Insure British Final crown as the Belle Vue star emerged on top at the National Speedway Stadium.

Bewley and his rivals defied adverse weather during the day to put on a spectacular show in tough conditions, and a storming first lap in the Final from the outside took him to back-to-back titles.

Runners-up spot went to Steve Worrall, a former Aces rider who was second for the second time in his career, and this time it was enough to book the Wild Card spot for the British Grand Prix at Cardiff.

And third place was a return to the rostrum for Ben Barker for the first time since 2014 in a welcome boost for Cab Direct Championship side Plymouth, whilst Richard Lawson just missed out on the top three after coming to grief in the Final.

Bewley said: “It’s a thrill to be British Champion again. It’s been a tough night and a pretty sketchy track at times with all the rain, but we battled hard all night.

“Coming into the Final, anything can happen. I knew whoever got to that berm of dirt first would be away. I just wanted to get there as soon as I could and put some yards on the other boys.”

Meanwhile the Nigel Pearson Award, decided by a supporters’ vote for the most entertaining rider, went to Chris Harris who went out of the meeting in the semi-final, as he took 40% of the vote with Simon Lambert second on 29%.

SPORTS INSURE BRITISH FINAL, Belle Vue
QUALIFYING SCORES: Dan Bewley 12, Steve Worrall 12, Ben Barker 12, Adam Ellis 11, Chris Harris 11, Richard Lawson 9, Tom Brennan 9, Simon Lambert 8, Charles Wright 8, Danny King 7, Connor Mountain 6, Kyle Howarth 5, Leon Flint 4, Joe Thompson 2, Danyon Hume 2, Freddy Hodder (res) 1, Sam Hagon 0.
SEMI-FINAL: Lawson, Barker, Ellis, Harris.
GRAND FINAL: Bewley, S.Worrall, Barker, Lawson (f.exc).

OFFICIAL REFEREE SCORECARD
Available here

Photo credit: IAN CHARLES