SIX STRAIGHT WORLD TITLES FOR POLISH U21S

World Under-21 champion Bartosz Smektala raced to 13 points as Poland retained their FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship in Manchester on Friday evening.

Great Britain roared to a sensational silver medal ahead of bronze medallists Denmark and Australia in fourth thanks to an awesome 20 points from national champion Robert Lambert on his last appearance for the Young Lions.

But even his heroics couldn’t deny the Poles who triumphed on 41 as Smektala led the way, with Dominik Kubera tallying 12, Maksym Drabik adding 11 and Wiktor Lampart registering five.

While Poland celebrated their sixth straight gold medal, GB claimed their first silver for 12 years on 33 – matching their best ever performance in the competition at Abensberg in 2007.

Lambert suffered just one defeat to Smektala in his first of six rides, before winning five on the bounce including a six-point tactical outing. Dan Bewley also starred on his British home track, scoring 11.

The Danes just fell short of silver on 31, with Mads Hansen their top scorer on 11 points, while Frederik Jakobsen added eight and Patrick Hansen and Jonas Jeppesen scored six each.

Australia registered 21 points – 12 of them were scored by national under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey, who calls the National Speedway Stadium his home track in the SGB Premiership. Jordan Stewart added five.

FIM TEAM SPEEDWAY UNDER-21 FINAL SCORES:

POLAND 41: 1 Maksym Drabik 11, 2 Dominik Kubera 12, 3 Wiktor Lampart 5, 4 Bartosz Smektala 13, 5 Michal Gruchalski DNR.

GREAT BRITAIN 33: 1 Robert Lambert 20, 2 Dan Bewley 11, 3 Drew Kemp 2, 4 Kyle Bickley 0, 5 Leon Flint 0.

DENMARK 31: 1 Frederik Jakobsen 8, 2 Patrick Hansen 6, 3 Mads Hansen 11, 4 Jonas Jeppesen 6, 5 Tim Sorensen DNR.

AUSTRALIA 21: 1 Jaimon Lidsey 12, 2 Jordan Stewart 5, 3 Matthew Gilmore 1, 4 Kye Thomson 2, 5 Zach Cook 1.