LAMBERT: MOTORING IN MANCHESTER

Great Britain skipper Robert Lambert admits bringing the right engine to Manchester made all the difference as he overcame his British Final frustration by winning FIM Speedway of Nations gold.

Lambert headed to the National Speedway Stadium for his first national final since 2018 on June 8 but missed the semi-final cut on countback.

He bounced back in perfect style, though, by winning his second FIM SON world title in three years, joining forces with Speedway GP rival Dan Bewley to defeat Australia 7-2 in an epic Grand Final on July 13.

Lambert says bringing the wrong engine for the British Final cost him dearly and he was delighted to make up for it with possibly the performance of his career in Manchester a month on.

He said: “I had a bit of a doubt in the back of my mind after the British Final didn’t go well. I made a bit of a fool of myself at that meeting. 

“The engine I thought would be great around there wasn’t. It wasn’t me as a rider lacking anything. It was just the baby under me.

“But we did some testing. We got a new engine, and I had a great meeting on the Sunday before the Final in Torun. I knew that was 100 percent the engine I was taking there.”

While Lambert and Bewley delivered the goods on the track, they were also backed up by GB No.3 Tom Brennan in the pits.

Brennan will join the SGP duo in action as wild card at the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff at Principality Stadium on August 17, guaranteeing him at least five rides against the sport’s biggest stars for the first time.

While he was left with a watching brief in Manchester, Lambert admits the Birmingham and Poole rider still played his part.

He said: “Tom was there analysing the track and telling us the information we needed and really playing a key part in the team. He wasn’t sitting there, doing nothing. He was ready and warmed up in case he was needed.

“As we saw in SON2 – anything can happen with the first two guys, so he needed to be ready, and he was that extra cog in the system and helped us come through and win gold.”

With Lambert the oldest of GB’s 2024 FIM SON heroes at 26, he could be racing alongside Bewley (25) and Brennan (23) for many years to come in the national side, with triple Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden also set to remain a key figure when he recovers from surgery on a broken elbow. Lambert enthused: “If we stay at this level and keep performing as we do, then we are going to get a few more golds together.”