FIM SPEEDWAY: BEWLEY IN IT TO WIN IT

Great Britain racer Dan Bewley admits he’s just focusing on winning more Speedway GP events rather than the race for World Championship silver or bronze.

The Cumbrian topped the podium at ATPI FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Manchester R4 on June 13 – as well as finishing second at the opening round in Landshut on May 3 and third in Gorzow on June 21.

He heads into the Virkvarn FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla this Saturday, July 5, placed fourth in the standings on 81 points – just six behind Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren in third, but he’s 32 behind leader Bartosz Zmarzlik and 21 adrift of Aussie star Brady Kurtz in second.

Bewley admits he may struggle to win gold with just four rounds to race, but he is determined to add to his five Speedway GP victories and see where it takes him – rather than focus on the battle for silver or bronze.

He said: “I think I have blown it for the gold. I had a couple of bad rounds. Now I just want to win. 

“I don’t really care about second or third – I just want to try to get some first-place trophies. If I can do that, I’ll see where I end up at the end of the year.”

Bewley was content with a podium place at the last round in Gorzow, where he racked up 20 championship points – 16 for third place and four for winning the sprint race during Qualifying. Despite a fast start in the final, he was unable to catch Belle Vue and Wroclaw teammate Kurtz, with Zmarzlik passing the world No.4 for second place.

He added: “To be honest, I had a somewhat easy night. If I didn’t run a last in my first race, it could have been a bit of a different story.

“I nearly won the last heat. I was pretty close. But then I won the last-chance race and had gate three for the final – last pick. I made a pretty good start. I was actually happy with it. I felt like I could have got there really. I nearly did.

“I had good speed on the inside in the last-chance race, so I thought I would try it for a lap and see if I could get Brady, but it backfired and Bartek got me. It is what is it is.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in the final in Gorzow. I’ve top-scored a couple of times there, so it was nice to get into the final. 

“I scored some good points in the championship. I won the sprint race and got 20 points over the day. It was a decent one.”