WOFFINDEN OFFERS BEWLEY BACKING

Triple world champion Tai Woffinden is determined to help Wroclaw team mate Dan Bewley become Britain’s next big star on the world stage.

Bewley made his Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations debut for the Lions in Lublin last year, scoring six points.

His opening-race battle with world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik, which saw the Polish icon work overtime to regain the lead, was a highlight of the night and underlined the Cumbrian’s huge potential.

Bewley’s 2020 PGE Ekstraliga season was disrupted by a broken collarbone, but he ended the campaign in red-hot form in the play-offs – scoring 12 paid 13 points in Wroclaw’s bronze-medal play-off, first leg at Zielona Gora, before bagging eight paid 10 in the return at the Olympic Stadium.

The youngster borrowed Woffinden’s equipment in the closing weeks of the season after the SGP icon’s campaign was ended by injury in the PGE Ekstraliga semi-final decider at Gorzow on October 4.

And now Woffinden is keen to continue working closely with the 21-year-old as he bids to establish himself on the big stage.

He told Speedway Star: “I think Dan has got a lot to give and if I didn’t think that, we wouldn’t be as involved. We are doing everything, from calling up the guys from (helmet supplier) Shoei, the whole package really.

“Next season is a big season for Dan to show his stuff. You could see the difference when I loaned him my gear and my mechanics in the play-offs.

“I’m hoping by the end of the season, GB will have three riders; Dan is there but taking that next step in the top league in Poland is the big one.

“I don’t know if he has had the guidance I had when I was his age. He is 21 and that was the year after I had my first crack at the GPs. I had (Wolverhampton boss) Peter Adams and Jacko (lead mechanic Jacek Trojanowski) as my main two, not mentors but father figures, helping guide me in the right direction.

“So to have me and Jacko helping Dan a bit, there is no reason why he can’t be a world-level rider.”

Bewley is no longer eligible to serve as an under-21 in the SON, but Woffinden is keen to give GB team managers Simon Stead and Oliver Allen a selection headache – even if it makes life tougher for himself.

He added: “What we need is Olly and Simon to be in a position where they don’t know who to put in for the Speedway of Nations, for it to be a hard decision. If it’s a three-man event, and it’s an easy decision to pick me, Rob and Dan, that means there are not enough riders of the right level. We still have work to do, but we will keep pushing.

“It would be great if they had to say to me, ‘mate you are not going to go in it’, and if they did that, I’d ask them if I can be team manager for the day! I’d still want to be there.

“It would be perfect if I wasn’t the first name because that would mean something is happening and things are getting better.”