Great Britain’s 32-year wait for a world team title is over after Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley stunned Poland to win the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Grand Final in Manchester on Sunday.
Double world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik took the race win for Poland, but with his team mate Maciej Janowski crashing on the first lap, Lambert and Bewley filled the all-important second and third places for a priceless 5-4 heat advantage. Denmark claimed the bronze medals.
Lambert, Bewley and under-21 star Tom Brennan were not even alive 32 years ago. So Lambert was elated to bring generations of agony to an end on a night GB triumphed without their triple world champion Tai Woffinden, who crashed out of Final 1 in a frightening incident in heat 18 on Saturday, damaging the MCL ligament in his knee as well as his ribs.
Lambert dedicated the victory to Woffy and insists he, replacement star Bewley and under-21 rider Tom Brennan couldn’t have done it without the Scunthorpe-born maestro.
Former European champion Lambert said: “We did it for Woffy and gave him everything we could. Hopefully he is sitting at home proud in front of the TV watching this. Tai was texting our mechanics throughout the meeting and telling us things he could see from his perspective. It was good.
“We have had a hard weekend with Tai getting injured. But obviously we had a strong guy to come into the team in Dan.
“I was born in 1998. It’s the first time in my lifetime that I have seen Great Britain as world champions, apart from Woffy being a world champion as an individual.
"It’s a great feeling and I am going to treasure this gold medal for as long as I live.
“We did it with such a young team as well. Me and Dan went out and did the business in the last race at such a high level against the two best Poles in the world. It’s such a great feeling for us and also Team GB. I am very, very proud of everyone involved.”
MONSTER ENERGY SON FINAL 1&2 COMBINED SCORES:
🥇 1 GREAT BRITAIN 64: Robert Lambert 32, Tai Woffinden 14, Dan Bewley 11, Tom Brennan 7.
🥈 POLAND 74: Bartosz Zmarzlik 38, Maciej Janowski 31, Jakub Miskowiak 5.
🥉 DENMARK 68: Leon Madsen 38, Mikkel Michelsen 23, Mads Hansen 7.
4 AUSTRALIA 49: Max Fricke 30, Jason Doyle 15, Keynan Rew 4.
5 FRANCE 47: David Bellego 34, Dimitri Berge 13, Steven Goret 0.
6 LATVIA 42: Andzejs Lebedevs 32, Olegs Mihailovs 8, Francis Gusts 2.
7 SWEDEN 30: Philip Hellstrom-Bangs 24, Pontus Aspgren 4, Jacob Thorssell 2.
Grand Final Qualifier: Lambert, Madsen, Bewley, Michelsen – GB win 6-3.
Grand Final: Zmarzlik, Lambert, Bewley, Janowski – GB win 5-4.