Busy weekend for Maryport speedway star Dan Bewley

Maryport speedway star Dan Bewley is set for an exciting and hectic weekend with two big meetings in his sights.

On Saturday night he will be riding at Belle Vue for Great Britain in the FIM Speedway of Nations final before Sunday afternoon’s Ben Bonanza meeting at Workington.

Great Britain team managers Simon Stead and Oliver Allen believe their 2021 world-title heroes are even better three years on as Robert Lambert, Bewley and Tom Brennan return to Manchester.

All seven countries have named their starting line-ups for the ultimate test of team riding, with GB taking on Sweden, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Australia and Latvia in the battle to become FIM Speedway world team champions for 2024.

The six semi-final qualifiers all name unchanged starting line-ups, apart from Poland, who draft in former world No.2 Patryk Dudek at No.3 in place of former Speedway GP star Maciej Janowski.

The Brits are seeded straight through to the Final as host nation and Stead and Allen keep faith with three of the riders who ended the country’s 32-year wait for a world team title with victory in the 2021 FIM SON Final at Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium.

Captain Lambert is partnered by Belle Vue Aces hero Bewley on his home track in Manchester, with FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff wild card Brennan joining them as the reserve at No.3.

Since GB’s FIM SON win three years ago, Lambert and Bewley have become full-time members of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series, alongside triple Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden, who also starred in 2021, but misses this year’s Final due to injury – as he did on day two of the title decider after crashing out on day one three seasons ago.

Following their gold medal win in Manchester, the Lions have won FIM SON silver at Danish track Vojens in 2022 and Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup silver in Polish city Wroclaw last year. While they fell just short of gold in both tournaments, Stead believes his side is a much stronger force than they were three years ago.

The former Workington Comets star said: “The medals might not suggest we have made progress over the last two years – following up a gold with two silvers. But I believe we have been better over the last two years than when we actually won it.

“I think that bodes well for Saturday. We have taken strides in the right direction, and we are all excited about what’s to come on Saturday.

“It’s unfortunate to lose Tai, but we are in a fortunate position that we have two more GP riders and also Tom, who is really stepping up and performing at this level.

“I was always confident we would have our strongest two out on the day. The fact we have such a strong three is really fortunate for us.

“We know what it’s all about. No longer is a bronze or silver good enough anymore. People expect us to perform, which we have done over the past few years. We will be gunning for gold.”

FIM Speedway of Nations final starting line-ups

Saturday, July 13

Team A – GERMANY

1. Kai Huckenbeck
2. Norick Blödorn
3. Erik Riss
   Team manager: Mathias Bartz

Team B – DENMARK

1. Mikkel Michelsen
2. Anders Thomsen
3. Rasmus Jensen
   Team manager: Nicki Pedersen

Team C – GREAT BRITAIN

1. Robert Lambert
2. Dan Bewley
3. Tom Brennan
   Team managers: Simon Stead and Oliver Allen

Team D – AUSTRALIA

1. Jack Holder
2. Max Fricke
3. Brady Kurtz
   Team manager: Mark Lemon

Team E – LATVIA

1. Andzejs Lebedevs
2. Daniils Kolodinskis
3. Jevgenijs Kostigovs
   Team manager: Vladimir Ribnikovs

Team F – POLAND

1. Dominik Kubera
2. Bartosz Zmarzlik
3. Patryk Dudek
   Team manager: Rafal Dobrucki

Team G – SWEDEN

1. Fredrik Lindgren
2. Jacob Thorssell
3. Oliver Berntzon
   Team manager: Morgan Andersson