BRITISH STAR BEWLEY WINS INJURY BATTLE TO SEAL SWEDISH VICTORY IN MALILLA

Great Britain racer Dan Bewley was delighted to defy a week of injury woes to storm to Holmgrens Bil FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla glory on Saturday. 

The Cumbrian snatched his third Speedway GP win in less than a year after slipping superbly past Martin Vaculik at the end of lap three to win the final ahead of the second-placed Slovak star, with Poland’s Patryk Dudek third. 

Swedish hero Fredrik Lindgren stormed to the top of the heat score chart, but the world No.4 was disqualified from the final after colliding with race leader Vaculik, bringing the race to stop. 

Bewley took full advantage in the re-run and his victory comes just days after he suffered a heavy fall of his own while racing for British club Belle Vue in a Sports Insure Premiership match at Wolverhampton on Monday. 

The world No.6 admits the effects of that fall hampered him in league matches at Swedish track Gislaved on Tuesday and British venue Ipswich on Thursday, so he was elated to feel far better when it mattered most in Malilla. 

And he admits he enjoyed what was a shock victory for him, adding to his Cardiff and Wroclaw wins from August 2022. 

Reflecting on his Wolverhampton crash, Bewley added: “I hurt my neck pretty badly. I think I had whiplash or something like that and it was giving me headaches when I was riding. 

“I pulled out of the meeting on Tuesday. I thought I was better on Wednesday to ride on Thursday at Ipswich. But that was probably the worst meeting I have had for a while. 

“I didn’t know what to expect coming here, but we just thought I’d have a few days off, and it was good. I am just happy I was safe and didn’t clean anyone up! Luckily, I stayed on two wheels, and I actually feel pretty good now. It has been a good turnaround.” 

Victory sees Bewley surge up to fifth place in the Speedway GP standings on 69 points – level with Vaculik in fourth but placed lower due to the Slovak’s additional final appearances. 

The Brit is 33 points behind series leader Bartosz Zmarzlik. The Pole exited at the semi-final stage with 12 points, but still holds a 20-point advantage of nearest rival Lindgren in second place. 

Bewley admits his gold-medal hopes may be gone, but he’s determined to end 2023 on a high. 

He said: “I think I am too far gone to be in with a chance of gold. I will just win some more races, see what I can do and have some fun on the bike. I am just trying to hunt some more first-place trophies.

“Maybe first place overall is too much of a reach now. I’m not too keen on second and third. We can’t win overall, so we’re just trying to win some little battles and have some fun on the bike.” 

Bewley’s victory comes as a huge boost to the Belle Vue star with the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff rapidly approaching on September 2. He can’t wait to return to the Principality Stadium – scene of his first-ever Speedway GP win. 

He said: “Last year was really good. I am looking forward to getting back there and seeing what I can do. When I got the win last year, I was overjoyed, and it was something special with the atmosphere in Cardiff. You could have no better place to get your first win in the GPs.” 

The Speedway GP series now takes a pause for the much-anticipated return of the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup in Polish city Wroclaw from July 25-29, featuring reigning champions Poland, 2022 FIM Speedway of Nations world champions Australia, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and tournament debutants France. The squads were revealed earlier this week, with the starting line-ups set to be confirmed later next week.