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Last Updated: Nov 28th, 2010 - 10:22:29 |
Team Great Britain star Chris Harris inspired his side into their first FIM PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczn Speedway World Cup Final for three years and immediately piled the pressure on champions Poland.
The Lions sent a 4,810-strong King’s Lynn crowd wild after bagging 51 points to win Event Two and pip an impressive Australian side into the last four by three points.
Sweden finished third on 40 to join the Aussies in the Race-Off at Danish track Vojens on Thursday night.
They will also meet Denmark and Russia in a meeting which sees the top two nations earn the right to join Team GB and Event One winners Poland in the Final on Saturday.
Harris is delighted Team GB will watch the Race-Off from the sidelines, and with Poland hotly tipped to retain their SWC title, he says his side will go into the Final with little pressure on their shoulders.
The Team GB skipper, who notched 13 points, said: “We’ve been in that Race-Off a few times and we always seem to blow it. But we got straight into that Final, which we came here to do.
“We’re going there full of confidence. We’ve got a break now, so we’re going to have a relaxing time. But we’ll go to the Race-Off on Thursday and pick up some tips as to what we should do at Vojens.
“The pressure is going to be on the Poles. Obviously they are going to be favourites. We’re going to go there, enjoy it and come away with a good result. We take pride in making finals. We haven’t in the last few years, so the boys are all hyped up for Saturday. We’re looking forward to it.”
Former Grand Prix star Scott Nicholls missed the 2009 SWC after enduring a nightmare campaign domestically and internationally.
But he returned to the competition with a bang, bagging 14 points from five outings to top the Lions scorechart.
His fellow Team GB veteran Lee Richardson scored 10, while Tai Woffinden and Simon Stead recorded seven apiece.
However, Harris admits his team could not have done it without the tremendous togetherness they showed in the Norfolk Arena pits.
He added: “The team spirit was fantastic. It was probably the best it has been since I’ve been in Team GB. We came here to win and that’s what we’ve done.
“I’ve ridden in a few World Cups now and the atmosphere was the best it has ever been. We were behind each other every time. We were all there, encouraging the boys and just keeping the spirit alive.”
The Aussies will go into the Race-Off buoyed by an impressive performance without star men Jason Crump and Leigh Adams.
British SGP winner Chris Holder led their scorechart on 12 points, while former King’s Lynn riders Davey Watt and Troy Batchelor notched 11 points apiece.
Sweden’s charge was led by Freddie Lindgren and Jonas Davidsson on 14 points each. Davidsson’s performance was particularly impressive, as he was only called up to replace national champion Andreas Jonsson in the side a week before the meeting.
Finland were eliminated from the competition after finishing with 14 points. Lakeside Hammers man Joonas Kylmakorpi was their star rider on nine.
Meanwhile, the draw for the Race-Off at Vojens sees Denmark don the white helmet covers. Australia race in red, Russia in blue and Sweden in yellow and black.
SCORES:
GREAT BRITAIN (WHITE): 51
Scott Nicholls (2-3-3-3-3) 14
Lee Richardson (1-2-2-2-3) 10
Tai Woffinden (2-X-2-3-0) 7
Simon Stead (3-2-1-1-X) 7
Chris Harris (3-3-3-1-3) 13
AUSTRALIA (BLUE): 48
Chris Holder (3-2-3-2-2) 12
Davey Watt (3-2-3-2-1) 11
Troy Batchelor (3-1-3-2-2) 11
Rory Schlein (2-X-1-2-1) 6
Darcy Ward (2-3-1-1-1) 8
SWEDEN (YELLOW): 40
Freddie Lindgren (X-6 ^-2-3-3) 14
Jonas Davidsson (2-3-2-3-1-3) 14
Antonio Lindback (1-1-1-1-2) 6
Magnus Zetterstrom (0-0-1-3-0-1) 5
Daniel Nermark (1-0-X) 1
FINLAND (RED): 14
Timo Lahti (X-0-0-0) 0
Joonas Kylmakorpi (0-1-2-0-4 ^-2) 9
Juha Hautamaki (0-1-0-0-1) 2
Kauko Nieminen (1-0-0-0-0) 1
Tero Aaranio (0-2-0-0-0) 2
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