There was a strong Workington Comets connection at the final night of the prestigious Australian Speedway Centenary held in Brisbane.
Former Comets Dan Bewley and Rasmus Jensen, along with incoming Workington rider Tate Zischke were all involved – and all three reached the semi-finals.
Workington’s track photographer Dave Payne is out in Australia and he was there to send some action shots to Cumbria Crack.
This year celebrates the 100th anniversary of Australian speedway dirt track racing and organisers had planned an “event for the ages” to commemorate the historic Century milestone.
The sport of Speedway was invented in Australia, in 1923, with the first recognised meeting being staged in December, of that year, at West Maitland Showground in NSW.
In the years that followed, speedway was quickly established in numerous countries around the world and has long been recognised as a highly reputable and spectacular global sport, featuring official World Championships in individual and teams competition.
The centenary event had opened with speedway sidecars, a dynamic category, that has contributed greatly to the fabric of dirt track speedway,
Last night showcased a star-studded field of top international riders, assembled to contest the 500cc Speedway Solo Centurion Trophy.
Jensen, a member of Workington’s treble-winning side in their last season, had two wins in his five rides and his 11 points was only topped by Belle Vue star Jaimon Lidsey (14).
Young Zischke had two wins in his five-ride eight point tally while Maryport racer Bewley won once and earned seven points.
Jensen finished third in the semi-final to miss-out on the final, beaten by Jason Doyle and Tai Woffinden.
In the second semi-final Zischke took third behind Ryan Douglas and Chris Holder but ahead of Bewley.
Lidsey went on to win the final comfortable from Max Fricke with Doyle third ahead of Douglas.
