LAMBERT: YOUNG LIONS CAN LAND MEDAL

Great Britain skipper Robert Lambert is backing a young Lions side to mount a medal push in the two-day Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Final tonight and on Saturday.

The Lions head to Lublin with their youngest side in recent history as 22-year-old Lambert joins forces with 21-year-old Dan Bewley and Drew Kemp, 18, in the sport’s ultimate test of team riding.

Bewley is listed as GB’s under-21 rider, but is expected to partner Lambert in the majority of their races this weekend.

The pair have both impressed on the continent this year. Lambert lifted the Speedway European Championship to earn a place in SGP 2021, while Bewley ended an injury-affected season on a high with Wroclaw, playing a key role in their charge to PGE Ekstraliga bronze in the play-offs.

Double British Under-19 champion Kemp is also making his mark in the sport and recently finished fourth at the prestigious Czech Golden Ribbon in Pardubice.

While some fear GB’s lack of experience in the absence of injured triple world champion Tai Woffinden could cost them, Lambert insists the Lions aren’t heading to Lublin tonight to make up the numbers.

He said: “I think we have a good possibility of getting into the top three. The best thing is to go there and enjoy it. It’s the youngest team we have put out there – the youngest team ever to be put into such a meeting.

“But everything is possible. There are two days of it and it all comes down to the final, as we found out in Wroclaw in 2018. We won it over the two days that year, but when it came to the final, we lost it, which was a shame. But if we get things dialled in, anything can happen.”

Lambert spent the 2019 PGE Ekstraliga season with Lublin and hopes his track experience will benefit the Brits.

But he said: “I have been there once this year with Rybnik and the material and the way the track rides is a little bit different.

“There have been a lot of changes to it and it’s better, but it’s also a bit more of a level playing field. Changes need to be made to the setup, but I’m sure we can do well.

“Racing there last season is going to be a bit of an advantage, knowing the track and having ridden there before.”

Photo: Taylor Lanning