EUROPEAN REPORT - SGP LANDSHUT

Image courtesy of Taylor Lanning Photography

The GB duo both comfortably made it into the top eight on the night in the German Grand Prix, with Bewley’s 11-point total bettered only by Bartosz Zmarzlik.

With first choice for semi-final 2, Bewley matched Zmarzlik’s earlier decision to take the inside – but whilst Zmarzlik sailed through his semi along with Mikkel Michelsen, Bewley bogged down from gate one.

And when Lambert, who had scored ten in the qualifiers, lifted on the second bend, a fast-starting Jack Holder hit the front from gate three and was joined from the outside by Dominik Kubera as both GB riders were eliminated.

Michelsen went on to become the surprise winner of the meeting with Zmarzlik snatching second place from Holder on the last corner.

It means the Pole now leads the series on 50 points with Holder on 48 and Jason Doyle, who did not make the Final, on 47, whilst Lambert remains fourth on 41, and remains nine points off the top.
Michelsen’s win has seen him shoot into the top five on 36 whilst Bewley rounds out the top six on 28.

Tai Woffinden is 13^th in the standings on 16 points having missed out on the semi-finals despite having scored eight points in the qualifiers – a mark that was not enough for him, Szymon Wozniak or Martin Vaculik in a tight meeting where the top 11 rides were covered by just three points.

Woffinden had enjoyed his best night of the season in the PGE Ekstraliga 24 hours earlier as he top-scored for Wroclaw in a 57-33 win over Leszno.

With a score of 13+1 from five rides, Woffinden dropped his only point to Keynan Rew in Heat 4, but Bewley actually went one better with a 12+3 paid maximum, and Bartlomiej Kowalski was also unbeaten from four rides in the middle order, with Artem Laguta winning each of his three rides.
Elsewhere Lublin were clear 56-34 winners over Zielona Gora, and the margin would have been wider but for the fact that the home side’s GP riders were rested from the nominated races as they looked ahead to Landshut.

The two Sunday meetings, Gorzow v Grudziadz and Czestochowa v Torun, were both postponed due to the weather, which gave Lambert a day off, and both have been rearranged for Tuesday May 28.

In Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga Nicki Pedersen scored 14 points from five rides as Rzeszow defeated Gdansk 52-38, with Tom Brennan collecting five from four rides for the visitors.
The top of the table clash between Rybnik and Krosno resulted in a big win for the hosts as they triumphed 56-34 to go two points clear.

There was frustration for Lodz who were leading by four points after six races at Ostrow when the meeting was abandoned due to rain with the result not standing, whilst Poznan v Bydgoszcz did not start due to the weather.

In the National Speedway League, Adam Ellis piled up an impressive 14+1 from six rides for Pila, but that was not enough to inspire an away win as Daugavpils raced to a 53-36 victory, with Steve Worrall picking up six from four outings for the league leaders.

Tarnow thrashed Opole 58-32 with Marko Levishyn and Timo Lahti both scoring 14+1 paid maximums, whilst Gniezno v Landshut was to take place on May 22 but has already been postponed due to heavy storms.

There was no GB involvement in the latest round of U24 Ekstraliga matches, where the top two were both successful as Leszno won 49-41 at home to Gorzow whilst Czestochowa were 54-36 winners at Lublin.

Elsewhere there were two narrow away wins as Zielona Gora won 46-44 at Wroclaw, a scoreline matched by Krosno at Grudziadz.

In Sweden on Tuesday, Lambert scored 10 points from six rides for Vastervik but they were beaten 53-37 at Smederna, for whom Vadim Tarasenko scored a 15-point maximum.

Meanwhile Bewley was absent from the Dackarna side which went down 51-38 at Rospiggarna despite a 15+1 haul from Andzejs Lebedevs.

Elsewhere Lejonen were 46-43 winners at Indianerna with Zmarzlik carding a 15-point maximum, whilst Piraterna won 47-43 at Vargarna with Chris Harris picking up 6+1 for the hosts.

The first round of SGP qualifiers saw Brennan the best placed GB rider as he finished fifth at Abensberg on Monday having scored a solid ten points.
Qualification places wen to Kai Huckenbeck (14), Rasmus Jensen, Kubera and Max Fricke (all 13) but Brennan will be next in line should any of those not compete in the GP Challenge in October.

Leon Flint gained useful experience and scored in every outing to end on a useful eight points, whilst Ellis was knocked out in Debrecen after scoring six.

Przemyslaw Pawlicki (14), Antonio Lindback (13), Lebedevs and Kacper Woryna (both 12) were the riders to make it through from the Hungarian venue.

Meanwhile Brennan has been named as third reserve for the Speedway Euro Championship, and with two of the regular competitors – Janusz Kolodziej and Dimitri Berge – currently having injury question marks hanging over them – it’s very possible that he could get a call-up during the four-round series.