Former Monarchs star Bewley helps GB to world gold

Former Edinburgh Monarchs driver Dan Bewley and former Glasgow Tigers star Tom Brennen were in the Great Britain team that was crowned world champions at the Speedway of Nations final.

Cumbria’s Robert Lambert and Bewley overcame Australian pair Jack Holder and Brady Kurtz to secure gold in Manchester, overturning their defeat against the same nation in the final the last time the event was held two years ago.

It was the second time Lambert and Bewley had teamed up for world team glory at the Speedway National Stadium following their victory over Poland in 2021.

In a tight competition where the overall result was always uncertain, Great Britain reached the Qualifying Grand Final after scoring 35 points in their regular races, one behind Australia, while Sweden came third with 27.

This was a disappointment for the highly-coveted Poland and Denmark, who were eliminated and finished behind Germany, who came in a surprising fourth place.

With Australia directly through to the final, Great Britain opened up a 5-4 lead over Sweden to book their place in the final, with Lambert and Bewley comfortably behind Fredrik Lindgren, keeping Jacob Thorssell at bay.

The final turned into an epic one with Great Britain captain Lambert leading the way while Australia’s Jack Holder tried to slow Bewley to create a gap for his team-mate Brady Kurtz to pass Bewley, which they appeared to have achieved at the end of the second lap.

But Bewley, who had transformed his evening with a change of machinery after finishing last on the first two laps, then made a cut at the exit of the fourth corner and went around the inside of both Australian riders to take GB to the title.

Lambert said: “We had a great week with the boys and it showed in the pits and in everything we did. We kept our cool and took it race by race. It was a bit of a gamble when we needed to have the semi-final to get to the final, but we did it.

“Dan was really pushing hard to make sure we could take home the gold and I was just making sure I didn’t make any mistakes and stayed in front. We did a great job and I’m really happy with a second World Championship for GB.”

The victorious GB squad also included reserve Brennan along with team managers Olly Allen and Simon Stead.

IMAGE: Flashback action with Dan Bewley from our library