Anders Rowe sixth in British Final in Manchester
SD TIMMO CAR SALES Oxford Cheetahs’ heat-leader Anders Rowe finished sixth in the highly-prestigious Cab Direct British Final at the National Speedway Stadium at Belle Vue, Manchester last night (Saturday).
The British Championship has been held every year since 1961 – including one of the few meetings held in the lockdown season of 2020 – and has been won by no fewer than eight World Champions. Last night’s meeting was shown live on terrestrial television on ITV4.
23-year-old Rowe had claimed his place in the showpiece event by winning the British Semi-Final at Leicester. He avoided any last places in his first four qualifying races in Belle Vue, with two seconds and two thirds. Rowe then won his final programmed outing in Heat 17 – crucially ahead of former British Champions Chris Harris and Danny King who were third and fourth respectively – to win his place in the two knockout races at the end of the meeting.
The semi-final featured the riders who had finished third to sixth and Rowe had last choice of gate. After an exciting opening lap, he finished last, which meant overall he was classified sixth in the meeting – matching his position of 2025.
Rowe said: “I didn’t have any choice but to go off gate three in the semi-final. I didn’t make a good enough start to have a run around the outside and my only chance was to cut back to the kerb. I did it, but then went too wide on the third bend and the roost hit me and that was it.
“I didn’t have the engines I normally ride around here. I had two engines I’ve not raced in England before and used them both.
“I’m pretty happy with P6 in the meeting. It could have been better, but I feel I’m one of those riders who slowly get better each year and I can build on this in the future.”
There was a second Oxford representative on display – Jody Scott, the 19-year-old skipper of the Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers in the WSRA National League. Scott had put on a tremendous display in the semi-final at Leicester – scoring 10 points – to qualify for his first British Final. He found the going tough in Manchester in a ultra-competitive line-up, but finished his evening by taking a point ahead of Jake Mulford in his final outing.
Scott said: “I battled really hard all night for little return. I felt like I had plenty of speed but, it’s a learning curve and plenty of positives to take away from the meeting.”
Robert Lambert won his third British Championship, defeating former Oxford Spire Charles Wright, Leon Flint and Cooper Rushen in the final. The result means that Wright will be the wildcard at the 2027 British Grand Prix.
The next meeting at the BetGoodwin Oxford Stadium is next Sunday (August 23) in an afternoon meeting at 3pm, when the Real Mini Company Oxford Chargers – including skipper Jody Scott – take on the Leicester Lion Cubs in the WSRA National League. Tickets are on sale on the Oxford Speedway website at: https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/
CAB DIRECT BRITISH FINAL, Belle Vue
QUALIFYING SCORES: Robert Lambert 15, Charles Wright 11, Leon Flint 10, Cooper Rushen 10, Dan Thompson 10, Anders Rowe 9, Tom Brennan 8, Adam Ellis 8, Danny King 7, Ace Pijper 7, Chris Harris 7, Jason Edwards 5, Will Cairns 5, Drew Kemp 4, Jake Mulford 3, Jody Scott 1.
SEMI-FINAL: Rushen, Flint, Thompson, Rowe.
GRAND FINAL: Lambert, Wright, Flint, Rushen.
PHOTO: British Final line-up (pic: Ian Charles)