GB QUALIFIES FOR WORLD CUP FINAL

Feature photo: Dan Bewley

Great Britain racer Robert Lambert believes the Lions have their best chance for generations to win Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup gold as they prepare for Semi-Final 1 in Wroclaw on Tuesday.

The sport’s original team competition returns after a six-year absence as nine nations battle it out for the iconic Ove Fundin Trophy at Wroclaw’s storied Olympic Stadium, venue for the first modern-day FIM SWC Final in 2001.

The Lions take on Sweden, Czech Republic and Germany, with Semi-Final 2 featuring FIM Speedway of Nations world champions Australia, Denmark, Finland and France on Wednesday.

The winners of each Semi-Final join hosts and reigning champions Poland in the Monster Energy FIM SWC Final on Saturday, with the second and third-placed nations contesting the always-epic Race Off on Friday, which also sees the winners book their place in the Final.

Lambert is no stranger to the Monster Energy FIM SWC, having made his debut in the competition as a 17-year-old in 2015. Just six years later, he inspired GB to their first world title in 32 years at the FIM Speedway of Nations Final in Manchester – and the Brits nearly retained the title in 2022, just losing out to Australia in the Grand Final in Vojens, Denmark.

While Lambert has already made history with his country, GB has not won the sport’s World Cup tournament since England triumphed in the 1989 FIM Speedway World Team Cup Final in Bradford.

None of the current GB team, which also features triple world champion Tai Woffinden, 32, and three-time Speedway GP winner Dan Bewley, was alive when their country last took gold over the four-team format. But Lambert believes Britain’s current golden generation, backed up by FIM SWC debutants Adam Ellis and Tom Brennan, can write their own piece of history. 

He said: “I was born nine years after they last won the World Cup. I haven’t seen it in my lifetime and to add a World Cup win to the history books would be pretty incredible. 

“Winning the SON was something special. I hope that we will continue that form. We had a little bit of bad luck last year in the Final of the SON. But I think we have the best chance possible in the SWC. 

“I have obviously been in the GB squad and racing since I was 17 years old. I have had a fair bit of experience of racing in the World Cup and Speedway of Nations. 

“It has been a long road to get success for GB and in Manchester in 2021, we made it happen and we got the gold. It was great to do it in the SON, but now they have brought back the World Cup and we will definitely be pushing to get some kind of medal in that also. 

“I would love to add that to my collection and CV, so we will do everything possible – individually and also as a team – to make that a reality. I think we have a good chance, and the odds are very high on us getting a medal.”

It’s the first time for two decades that the Lions have gone into an FIM SWC tournament among the favourites. They won silver in 2016, but their closest brush with gold came at British track Poole in 2004, when now FIM Speedway pits reporter Scott Nicholls was pipped to gold by Sweden’s Peter Karlsson in a dramatic last-heat decider.

The Brits have not won a world team championship outside of the UK since Peter Collins and Chris Morton won the 1984 FIM World Pairs Championship in Lonigo, Italy.

GB faces stiff competition in Semi-Final 1 from a Swedish side led by Speedway GP world title contender Fredrik Lindgren, plus a Czech team starring former SGP finalist Vaclav Milik and German outfit led by a strong top two of Kai Huckenbeck and former 2014 FIM New Zealand Speedway GP winner Martin Smolinski.

But the Wroclaw track could suit the Lions. Woffinden has raced for the host club in Poland’s PGE Ekstraliga since 2012, while Bewley has also competed for Wroclaw since 2020 and won the 2022 Betard FIM Wroclaw Speedway GP here, with Lambert placed third.

Lambert hopes the Lions can make the most of their track knowledge – without putting too much pressure on their shoulders.

He said: “Everyone is looking at Team GB, but I think we have to try and block that out and just focus on our racing.  We all know we can perform well in Wroclaw and give the other guys a run for their money. We are looking forward to it and we are keen to see what we can achieve.

“We are all good on this track, but this is also a track where anyone can have a good day, so we can’t write anybody off. We need to be fully focused. We need to keep building those points up and see what we are left with at the end.

“We have our best team in 20 years or so and we can potentially do something good. I think that fills us with confidence after the last two years of getting a medal in the SON.”

 

Tickets for this week’s Monster Energy FIM SWC events are still available online. Book HERE NOW. 

 

MONSTER ENERGY FIM SWC SEMI-FINAL STARTING LINE-UPS:

SEMI-FINAL 1 – TUESDAY, JULY 25

GERMANY – RED

1. Kai Huckenbeck ©

2. Kevin Wölbert

3. Norick Blödorn

4. Martin Smolinski

5. Erik Riss

Team Managers: Sascha Dörner / Mathias Bartz

 

SWEDEN – BLUE 

1. Fredrik Lindgren ©

2. Jacob Thorssell

3. Antonio Lindbäck

4. Oliver Berntzon

5. Kim Nilsson

Team Manager: Morgan Andersson

 

GREAT BRITAIN – WHITE

1. Tai Woffinden ©

2. Dan Bewley

3. Robert Lambert

4. Adam Ellis

5. Tom Brennan

Team Manager: Oliver Allen / Simon Stead

 

CZECH REPUBLIC – YELLOW

1. Jan Kvěch

2. Hynek Stichauer

3. Petr Chlupáč

4. Daniel Klíma

5. Václav Milík ©

Team Manager: Zdeněk Schneiderwind

GB QUALIFIES FOR WORLD CUP FINAL

Great Britain cruised into Saturday’s Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final after a convincing victory in Semi-Final 1 in Wroclaw on Tuesday. The Lions topped the score chart on 43 points finishing ahead of Sweden, who scored 32. The Swedes now contest the Race Off on Friday and they are joined by the Czech Republic, who snatched third place on 23 points in a dramatic last-heat decider ahead of Germany, on 22 points.

Tai Woffinden : “Thanks Wroclaw for the support. There were plenty of British flags in the crowd. Adam Ellis was the only Brit to win a race in the first block, so he set the bar pretty high for us. All the other boys followed up and we let Tom Brennan have the last ride, so he got some track time as well. To jump in that late in the meeting and show pace was pretty good. Great effort. Well done!” 

Dan Bewley: “The Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup is my favorite meeting as a fan. Big shout out to everyone for coming here in mid-week. It was also pretty cool to see Darcy Ward too. Woffy, him and a few other riders are the reasons I wanted to be a speedway rider. It’s awesome”

Oliver Allen (Team Manager): “The boys did a fantastic job. Tai Woffinden’s captaincy has been really good since the team was announced. The Wroclaw boys have shared as much information as they can. Everyone has worked as a team. We expected our top 3 riders to do very well but Adam Ellis was amazing winning from gate one, despite the pressure that was on him. And when Tom Brennan came in at the end, considering he hadn’t been out all day, I was really pleased with him. Congratulations to all!“

MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW

SCORES: Great Britain, 43 pts, Sweden, 32 pts; Czech Republic, 23 pts; Germany, 22 pts

BEWLEY READY FOR WORLD CUP FINAL

Great Britain hero Dan Bewley can’t wait to test himself in his first-ever Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final this Saturday after the Lions powered to victory at Semi-Final 1 in Wroclaw on Tuesday night.

Cumbrian racer  Bewley topped the GB score chart on 14 points as the 2021 FIM Speedway of Nations world champions triumphed on 43, joining Monster Energy FIM SWC hosts Poland in the Final, where they will also face the winner of Wednesday’s Semi-Final 2 between Australia, Denmark, Finland and France.

Sweden took second place in Semi-Final 1 on 32 and now contest the Race Off, where they are joined by Czech Republic after two points from captain Vaclav Milik in a last-heat decider saw them snatch third place on 23, with Germany eliminated in fourth spot on 22. The Swedes and Czechs meet the second and third-placed countries from Semi-Final 2.

But the Monster Energy FIM SWC’s opening night belonged to a confident GB team, which delivered its best performance in this competition outside of the UK for a generation.

Bewley was brilliantly backed up by Robert Lambert, who scored 13 points, with triple world champion Tai Woffinden adding 10 points from four rides, before making way for No.5 Tom Brennan in his final outing, with the Lions reserve claiming two points in heat 19. GB debutant Adam Ellis also impressed with a sensational opening ride to beat Swedish talisman Fredrik Lindgren in heat one on his way to four points.

Bewley can’t wait to take on three of the sport’s superpowers in Saturday’s Final after an impressive display on his much-anticipated Monster Energy FIM SWC debut. 

He said: “Whatever four teams are in the Final, it’s going to be pretty tough. I am just looking forward to it. We will see what we can do. 

“It’s always nice, racing in Wroclaw. I am stoked to have raced in my first World Cup. I think it’s the best meeting there is. I am just stoked to be here. 

“Being a motocross rider and coming into this, it’s a little bit like the Motocross of Nations. There is just something special about this meeting. As a fan, you have a rider to support in each race. 

“I think the best meeting we have out of all of them. As we only have it every few years, it’s going to be a pretty special one.”

Ellis’ opening-race win over Lindgren kickstarted GB’s momentum as he handled his Monster Energy FIM SWC baptism of fire perfectly. Bewley admits it wasn’t just the level of opposition that put his teammate under pressure.

He revealed: “It was pretty funny. We had been bigging him up for the last few days about having gate one in heat one, saying, ‘You can’t miss!’ 

“If ever he was going to blitz a set of tapes, it was in that race because we were bigging him up so much. There was probably more pressure on him there than in any race we are going to have, so fair play to him. I think he rode well all night. Sometimes he got pinned down on the inside and the track didn’t come to him, but all in all, all five of us have good speed.”

Bewley was delighted with the backing the GB team received from the Olympic Stadium stands – both from travelling Brits and the Polish fans who got behind Sparta Wroclaw heroes Bewley and Woffinden at their PGE Ekstraliga home track. He said: “For sure there were a lot of British flags out there tonight. I saw a lot of my t-shirts actually. 

“Thanks to the British fans for coming and for the Polish people who were supporting us too. We had some friends everywhere. It’s midweek and it’s tough for people to come here. I think there will be an even better turnout for the weekend.”

Swedish skipper Lindgren, who topped his team’s scoring on 12 points, called on his side to fight back at Friday’s Race Off.

He said: “I know it was tough for us tonight. We are close enough to the GB team to push them, but they rode very well. We have to regroup and try and be better next time out on Friday.

“We just have to come to the Race Off open-minded. Today the Brits were definitely a lot better than us and were getting better speed on the track. We have to look into what we can fix with things like our line choices. But overall, we will go in with a fresh mind on Friday.”

Czech captain Milik celebrated wildly after taking his side into the Race Off, leading the charge on 11 points, while Jan Kvech backed him up on 10. He pledged to keep fighting in Friday’s showdown at the Olympic Stadium – his old home track in Poland.

Milik said: “I think that was a good result for the Czech Republic. It was a hard meeting today for us, but we fought and third place for us is good. We go into Friday for the Race Off fighting for the best result.”

MONSTER ENERGY FIM SWC SEMI-FINAL 1 SCORES:

1. GREAT BRITAIN 43: 1 Tai Woffinden 10, 2 Dan Bewley 14, 3 Robert Lambert 13,    4 Adam Ellis 4, 5 Tom Brennan 2.

2. SWEDEN 32: 1 Fredrik Lindgren 12, 2 Jacob Thorssell 8, 3 Antonio Lindback 6, 4 Oliver Berntzon 5, 5 Kim Nilsson 1.

3. CZECH REPUBLIC 23: 1 Jan Kvech 10, 2 Hynek Stichauer 0, 3 Petr Chlupac 1, 4 Daniel Klima 1, 5 Vaclav Milik 11.

4. GERMANY 22: 1 Kai Huckenbeck 11, 2 Kevin Wolbert 7, 3 Norick Blodorn 1, 4 Martin Smolinski 1, 5 Erik Riss 2.