Belle Vue Aces' Dan Bewley crowned British Speedway Champion for second year

Belle Vue Aces' Dan Bewley has retained his British Speedway Championship title for the second year in a row.

Bewley defied the rain to maintain his reign at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday 14 August.

He won the final ahead of Steve Worrall, Ben Barker and Richard Lawson on a soggy night.

After the victory Bewley compared his second title to a cake: "One chocolate cake is enough sometimes and nothing is ever going to compare to the taste of the first win.

"It’s cool to be part of that group. I don’t really see it as something I want to win again and again, but at the same time I’m not saying I don’t want to race in it again next year.

"To get the first win was pretty special. Hopefully I’ll still be here every year and contend for it.

"You work really hard for it. But it’s never the same feeling as winning it for the first time."

It certainly wasn’t an easy night for the defending champ. He got well and truly filled in after a torrid first lap in Heat 10.

He admits that he was just happy to get the win, adding: "It’s somewhat of a relief just to get through it. It was a tough night with a sketchy track.

“It’s obviously a special night, especially because of the way the track was. But it definitely wasn’t an easy one.

"I just felt with gate four if I can hit the dirt first that I could get away. That was the plan anyway. I had to get in the burn on the first turn.

"But once we’d got the first lap out of the way, I could breathe a bit after that."