Dan's The Man After Title-Winning Performance

Dan Bewley continued his meteoric rise onto Speedway’s world stage as he landed the British Grand Prix title at Cardiff’s Principality stadium on Saturday night.

The Cumbrian sensation became the first British rider to win the prestigious title in 15 years, and the victory marks an incredible journey to the top in just six years since he made his debut appearance as an unknown 16-year-old with the Belle Vue Colts in 2016.

Bewley was just eight years old when Chris Harris became the last home winner of the British G.P. but he swept aside the world’s best on Saturday night to firmly plant himself amongst the global elite.

The Belle Vue asset rocketed from the gate to take comfortable back-to-back wins in heats 4 and 5, setting the fastest time of the night in his opening race.

He looked to have made another good start in heat 12, but double world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik came around the outside on the opening bend to take the lead.

The Pole went on to take the chequered flag, as Bewley held off Britain’s triple world champion Tai Woffinden for second place, and at the interval, with all riders having had three rides, Bewley shared the lead with Zmarzlik on eight points.  Pole Patryk Dudek, Danes Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen, and Australians Jack Holder and Jason Doyle were all in close contention on six apiece.

Bewley made his worst start in his fourth outing picking up a point ahead of fellow Brit Robert Lambert but unable to make any impression on Dudek and Anders Thomsen up front.

However Zmarzlik also dropped points as he was outpaced by the Aussie duo of Holder and Belle Vue’s Max Fricke.

With one race each left before the semi-finals, Bewley, Zmarzlik, Dudek, Holder and Doyle all shared the lead on nine points.

Bewley rode a great opening lap to lead his final ride, but he was forced to do it all again when the race was stopped after Doyle fell.

Three points from the re-run meant that the home favourite led the qualifiers into the semi-finals; his third successive G.P. semi-final appearance of the year.

And though Dudek made the gate to win the semi, Bewley followed him home and into the first ever G.P. Final of his career.

Madsen and Zmarzlik came through the second semi-final, to leave the Bewley facing the world’s top three in the final.  

But any thoughts that he would settle for just reaching a final were soon dispelled as he made another blistering start and was roared home by the fervent Cardiff crowd.

The victory moves the Belle Vue favourite up to fourth in the world championship standings on 64 points behind Zmarzlik (96), Madsen (74) and Dudek (65).

Afterwards Bewley said “This is awesome, but there’s still a long way to go in the season.  I look forward to the next one, but this is one I’m never going to forget.”

Brady Kurtz, Charles Wright and Tom Brennan represent Belle Vue tonight (Thursday) in the penultimate round of the Premiership Pairs Championship at Sheffield.

Ipswich are runaway leaders of the competition on 38 points having won three of the four rounds so far.  King’s Lynn (26), Sheffield (24) and Belle Vue (22) are battling for second place.

The final round is at Belle Vue’s National Stadium next month.

The Belle Vue Colts face their toughest test of the season as they play host to a powerful Leicester side in their final home match of the regular season at the National Stadium tomorrow (Friday).

Both sides are at full strength and both are fighting for a place in the end of season National League play-offs.

Nothing less than a win will do for the Colts before they complete their league programme with trips to Armadale (Edinburgh) and Kent.

Admission to tomorrow’s meeting is free of charge to under 12s when accompanied by an adult.

Jack Smith and Harry McGurk represent the Colts in the National League Pairs Championship at Leicester on Saturday.

The Belle Vue Aces are next in Premiership action on Monday away at King’s Lynn in a match covered live by Eurosports TV.

Picture by Ian Charles