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ALLEN: BRITS UP FOR USA TEST

01/02/2025

ALLEN: BRITS UP FOR USA TESTALLEN: BRITS UP FOR USA TEST

Joint Great Britain team manager Oliver Allen is delighted to be taking the Lions “out of their comfort zone” as they face off with the USA in a test match in Bakersfield, California today.

The FIM Speedway of Nations world champions head to Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway, spearheaded by Speedway GP world No.4 Dan Bewley, with FIM North America champion Luke Becker leading the USA side.

Bewley is joined in the GB line-up by fellow FIM SON world champion Tom Brennan, former British champion Adam Ellis, 2024 SGP2 star Leon Flint, Ashton Boughen, Dan Thompson and Jordan Jenkins.

Becker teams up with former FIM North America champion Max Ruml, Gino Manzares, Billy Janniro, Slater Lightcap, Broc Nicol and Alex Martin.

Racing gets underway at 12.30pm local time and will be streamed HERE live on the British Speedway Network (8.30pm UK time / 9.30pm CET).

Allen is delighted to be bringing the Brits to California as he prepares for their FIM SON world-title defence in Torun from September 30-October 4.

He said: “I think opportunities like this are not just about the racing. It’s about the riders being out of their comfort zone, flying out on their own, without their usual mechanics.

“The riders need to stand on their own two feet, away from parents, that’s all part of learning. It’s exactly what we want to be about. We want to think about the future. We do the best we can to develop the riders who are showing the right traits. Those young riders have been rewarded with a test match in the USA. 

“I look at this team and I’m really excited to manage them for one match. I’m also excited to spend some time with those boys. It will be good for me to learn a bit more about them on and off the track. When I was younger, I was fortunate that (fellow GB team manager) Simon (Stead) and I did (six-time FIM Speedway world champion) Ivan Mauger’s tour in Australia. Those opportunities don’t exist like they used to.”

USA team manager Steve Evans is delighted to see his side tackle the FIM SON world champions on home shale.

He said: “For the last two years we’ve brought the USA World Championship squad to race at home for the first time since 1988.

“On both previous occasions, we have raced against a Rest of the World team, but this was just a step to something better. Racing against another country, not least the current world champions, takes this event to a whole different level.

“Great Britain has set the highest standards not only on the track but off the track with a very professional and well-organised structure. These are levels we are quite a distance away from us as a country currently, but we do want to eventually emulate and surpass them.”