KURTZ CLAIMS PETER CRAVEN CROWN IN MANCHESTER

Former Aussie champion Brady Kurtz kicked off his European season with “a very special moment” after topping the podium at the Peter Craven Memorial meeting in Manchester on Monday.

The Belle Vue skipper came out on top in the six-rider final, seeing off Speedway GP star and Aces teammate Dan Bewley in second, third-placed Max Fricke, world No.2 Fredrik Lindgren in fourth place, Aussie rising star Ben Cook in fifth and sixth-placed Jason Doyle, who retired from the race after appearing to clash with Lindgren in the first turn.

Against a top international field, Kurtz blazed through to the final by topping the heat scorechart on 14 points, beaten only by Speedway GP first reserve Fricke over five rides, before crowning an astonishing night with victory in one of British speedway’s most prestigious individual events.

He said: “It was almost as if the stars aligned for me! In past years, I’ve been close. I’ve made it into the final or at least on to the podium, but I’ve never been able to get the win.

“This is a very special moment for me. This meeting is probably one of the most high-profile individual events in British speedway, and definitely one of the most prestigious.

“It’s surreal to think that my name is on the same trophy that riders like Ivan Mauger and Ove Fundin have won, and it means a lot to me to win, especially here at Belle Vue.”

Kurtz was joined in qualifying automatically for the final by Fricke and Bewley, who bagged 12 points apiece. Cook just missed out on 11 but took third place in the five-rider semi-final behind Doyle and Lindgren to join the final six, with Danish star Niels-Kristian Iversen and Germany’s Norick Blodorn missing out in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Doyle, Iversen and Blodorn all qualified for the semi on nine points apiece, with Lindgren taking the last spot on eight.

Former SGP2 wild card Celina Liebmann became the first female rider to race in the Peter Craven Memorial – undoubtedly the biggest test of her career so far. While she gained speed throughout the night and finished all five heats, she failed to score as she warms up for her British debut season with Workington in the Cab Direct Championship.