Bewley wins Belle Vue's Peter Craven Memorial Trophy

Dan Bewley added his name to the legendary list of winners of the Peter Craven Memorial after triumphing in the 2021 epic at the National Speedway Stadium on Saturday. 

Bewley dropped just one point from his five qualifying rounds and roared straight into the six-man grand final with Nick Morris and former Belle Vue captain Max Fricke. 

The battle for the final three places was decided in a five-man semi-final, with Chris Harris, Ryan Douglas and Luke Becker all making the cut. 

It is only the second year since the club introduced the strikingly unusual format to round off the Peter Craven Memorial, and again it provided some edge-of-the-seat racing. 

It was close at the tapes but Bewley made a blinding start and remained relatively untroubled for the final four laps of his 2021 Speedway season. 

He joins the likes of Ivan Mauger, Ole Olsen and Chris Morton as the 19^th different winner of Belle Vue’s most prestigious individual event this year.  

He said: “I knew I had to make a decent start, to stay out of trouble if nothing else! With more than four riders in the semi and the final, it looked a bit chaotic at the start. 

“I chose Gate 2 and when I came to the tapes I tried to check out a little bit so I wasn’t distracted by all the bikes and all the activity around me. 

“It’s probably the best gate I’ve made all year, so I just focused on staying in front for the four laps. It is a very special way to end my Speedway season. 

“It’s an awesome way to wrap things up. It really is an honour to win this meeting. I only started racing Speedway in 2016 and I’ve made a lot of progress in just a short time. 

“I rode my first Peter Craven Memorial in 2018. I remember it like it was yesterday, I had Workington press and practice the following morning! 

“It doesn’t feel like it was all that long ago, but to be here on the top of the podium in this meeting this year is a very special feeling.” 

Belle Vue round off their calendar of events next Saturday, October 30 with the British Sidecar Championships and Flat Track Racing at the National Speedway Stadium. 

And as an added bonus, our very own Dan Bewley will feature amongst next week’s Flat Track stars, making this his final appearance in Manchester in 2021. 

RESULT – PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 @ 7:30PM 

SCORES: Dan Bewley 14, Max Fricke 14, Ryan Douglas 12, Chris Harris 12, Nick Morris 12, Tom Brennan 9, Luke Becker 8, Lewis Kerr 7, Jason Crump 6, Jye Etheridge 6, Jordan Palin 5, Norick Blodorn 4, Kyle Howarth 4, Charles Wright 4, Broc Nicol 2, Erik Riss 1. 

LAST CHANCE: Douglas, Harris, Becker, Brennan, Kerr 

FINAL: Bewley, Douglas, Fricke, Harris, Becker, Morris 

Words Hayley Bromley

Images Ian Charles