Battered Bewley Seals GP Win Number Three

It began with an expensive repairs bill and a fair amount of bruises after a heavy crash, and it finished with another GP win and some new hardware for the trophy cabinet!

Speedway sensation Dan Bewley wasn’t even sure he would be fit enough to race in the weekend’s Malilla SGP after coming down in style racing for his British team on Monday night, but he somehow summoned the resolve to not only take part, but take the W.

After an incredible breakthrough season as a rookie last year, this season has been slightly tougher work for the British star but it all came together in the small town in the south of Sweden. In SGP racing the name of the game is to make sure you have enough points to qualify for the semi-final’s, which means you need to finish in the top eight scorers during the 20 qualifying races.

Bewley only just sneaked in to that top eight with eight points, but once he got in he grabbed his chance with both hands. He finished second in his semi-final, which put him in the final, and his record in SGP finals so far is a pretty good one: 100%. 

It looked like that record might be in some doubt when Slovakian charger Martin Vaculik made an awesome start in the final, chased by home hero Freddie Lindgren. Vaculik was in control but Lindgren was determined to hunt him down, and unfortunately lost control of his bike and ended up wiping both himself and Vaculik out.

That meant an exclusion for Lindgren but a second chance for Bewley and also for Patryk Dudek, who made his first final of the season and looked a lot more like his unbelievable best. Vaculik again made the better start but this time it was Bewley on his tail, and the Brit lined his man up perfectly coming off the fourth bend, charged underneath and cruised home for a huge win. 

He told fimspeedway.com: “This week I did not expect this result at all. It has been such a tough week, but we kept working and here we are.

“We got stuck in. This actually feels a little bit different to the GPs I won last year. I didn’t make the start in the final. I had to work for it. It has been hard work all week, and sometimes it’s a little different when you have to work harder.

“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,” continued Bewley.

The overall lead is still held by Bartosz Zmarzlik, who has a 20-point cushion over Lindgren with Jack Holder in third. Many people tipped Bewley to be Zmarzlik’s main competition this season, but he believes he’s a touch too far back to compete for the championship.

“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.”

It was a big return to form for Patryk Dudek, who finished in third to secure his first podium of the season, whilst Holder’s strong run continued with P7, keeping him in the overall top three. 

The series takes a short break now as all eyes turn to the FIM Speedway World Cup, where the top nine nations in the world will battle it out across one week and four events in Wroclaw, Poland. More on that one soon…

Malilla SGP Result

1. Dan Bewley (20 points) 2. Martin Vaculik (18 points) 3. Patryk Dudek (16 points) 4. Freddie Lindgren (14 points) 5. Bartosz Zmarzlik (12 points) 6. Max Fricke (11 points) 7. Jack Holder (10 points) 8. Robert Lambert (9 points) 9. Andzejs Lebedevs (8 points) 10. Anders Thomsen (7 points) 11. Jacob Thorsell (6 points) 12. Tai Woffinden (5 points) 13. Mikkel Michelsen (4 points) 14. Leon Maden (3 points) 15. Maciej Janowski (2 points) 16. Jason Doyle (1 point)

Overall Standings

1. Bartosz Zmarzlik (102 points) 2. Freddie Lindgren (82 points) 3. Jack Holder (79 points) 4. Dan Bewley (69 points) 5. Martin Vaculik (69 points) 6. Jason Doyle (69 points) 7. Leon Madsen (63 points) 8. Robert Lambert (63 points) 9. Tai Woffinden (46 points) 10. Max Fricke (45 points) 11. Patryk Dudek (44 points) 12. Anders Thomsen (36 points) 13. Maciej Janowski (33 points) 14. Mikkel Michelsen (32 points) 15. Kim Nilsson (22 points)