Duo restricted at Birmingham
Wolves heat leaders Freddie Lindgren and Niels Kristian Iversen were restricted to the midfield in the Elite League Riders' Championship at Birmingham, as Belle Vue's Jason Crump won the title.
Wolves heat leaders Freddie Lindgren and Niels Kristian Iversen were restricted to the midfield in the Elite League Riders' Championship at Birmingham, as Belle Vue's Jason Crump won the title.
Lindgren had been among the favourites because of his experience of the Perry Barr track from last year's Midland Shield, but his chance of reaching the final stages had all but evaporated by heat 7 after the Swede finished last in his opening two races.
The Wolves skipper recovered later on, and led home team-mate Iversen in heat 15, but he was kept in third place by Peterborough's Daniel King in heat 19 to restrict him to six points and seal his fate.
Iversen made a similarly below-par start with just one point from his first two rides, but like his team-mate he improved to score three consecutive second places, although this still wasn't enough to reach the semis.
Crump narrowly missed out on an automatic qualifying spot for the Grand Final, after being outscored by countryman Leigh Adams and the impressive Kenneth Bjerre. He then finished second to Ipswich's Rory Schlein in the last-chance semi-final.
The double world champion was sent sliding into the air fence on the first turn of the Grand Final after contact with Schlein, but referee Ronnie Allan allowed all four back in the rerun.
Crump bravely blasted around the grippier outside line on the first turn and pulled away to take the title ahead of Schlein, who secured the best result of his British career so far, and Bjerre.
The racing was largely processional on a night when the track became slick after only a few heats, but several races produced some good side-by-side action.
The pick came in heat 7, when Ipswich's Piotr Swiderski brilliantly went between Lewis Bridger and Jonas Davidsson exiting the second bend.
The line-up contained a number of late changes, with Coventry particularly badly hit.
Chris Harris aggravated injuries sustained at the Italian Grand Prix in the Bees' match at Belle Vue on Monday. Team-mate Billy Janniro replaced him at Perry Barr, while the same meeting had seen Hans Andersen crash heavily in heat 11 and damage a shoulder.
The Dane failed a late fitness test and Eastbourne's Lewis Bridger was called up as a replacement.
