REPORT: Tom Brennan wins Ben Fund Bonanza at Oxford

IPSWICH’S Tom Brennan came out on top in the Ben Fund Bonanza individual meeting at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium yesterday evening (Sunday).

Brennan was a deserving winner. He scored nine points and then won both the semi-final and final at the end of the meeting.

Charles Wright was the most impressive of the Oxford contingent. He collected 12 points to qualify directly for the final. He was in second place, when he caught the back of Brennan on the final lap and came a cropper. While Wright was okay, he sustained substantial damage to his bike.

His fall allowed Tobiasz Musielak into second place and Fredrik Lindgren into third. World No 3 Lindgren had looked the most likely meeting winner, after winning four of his five qualifying rides, but he was beaten to the first turn in the final and pinned to the inside.

Sam Masters, the skipper of SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies, reached the semi-final, but lost out in a battle for second place to Musielak, who produced some quality overtaking moves during the evening.

Spires’ No 1 Rohan Tungate accepted a last-minute booking to replace Lewis Kerr and won his opening outing in Heat 4 after a late pass on Ben Barker.

Despite the rain threatening to spoil proceedings, all 27 races were completed in front of a healthy crowd.

Tom Brennan said: “This is such a good cause, and I would never ever say no to this meeting. These guys do some amazing work that goes unnoticed, and everybody’s support goes such a long way.

“To get such a good line-up is amazing, and to come away with the win feels even better.”

Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund Chairman Paul Ackroyd said: “The minute the riders put their helmets on, they gave it their all, and it was very evident that they wanted to go out and give the fans a really good meeting.

“We were delighted that Jamie (Courtney) and his management team volunteered the stadium – we’ve always wanted to come here, and from the minute Oxford re-opened a few years ago it was on my radar to persuade them to let us hold the event here.

“They have been amazing people to work with, so generous with their time, and the back-up they’ve supported us with is unbelievable.

“A big thank you to everyone for supporting the riders’ Ben Fund, because it’s the fund that supports the riders.”

A race-suit donated by injured Oxford star Scott Nicholls raised £1200 when auctioned off during the meeting.

BetGoodwin Oxford Spires ride at King’s Lynn in the Premiership Knockout Cup tonight (Monday) night, with the return leg at Cowley on Thursday evening. Tickets for the second leg are on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

QUALIFYING SCORES: Fredrik Lindgren 12, Charles Wright 12, Adam Ellis 10, Tobiasz Musielak 10, Tom Brennan 9, Sam Masters 8, Max Fricke 8, Erik Riss 8, Justin Sedgmen 7, Ben Barker 7, Danny King 6, Maciej Janowski 6, Rohan Tungate 5, Peter Kildemand 5, Jason Doyle 4, Jonas Knudsen 3, Jason Edwards (res) 0.

SEMI-FINAL: Brennan, Musielak, Masters, Ellis.

FINAL: Brennan, Musielak, Lindgren, Wright (fell).

PHOTO: The top three on the podium (pic: Steve Edmunds)