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NGK-sponsored Bewley makes history in Cardiff

NGK-sponsored Speedway star Dan Bewley has ended Britain’s fifteen-year wait for a home winner of the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain by powering to victory at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

The 23-year-old stormed to his first-ever SGP win ahead of Speedway GP World Championship leader Bartosz Zmarzlik and fellow Polish star Patryk Dudek, with Leon Madsen taking fourth place.

The Cumbrian ace, competing in his first Speedway GP season, made a lightning start in the biggest race of his life to top the podium in Cardiff’s 20th-anniversary SGP event in front of the adoring home audience which included NGK customers and fans.

The crowd also included a galaxy of Speedway GP stars as previous Cardiff winners including former world champions Tony Rickardsson, Greg Hancock, Jason Crump and Chris Holder watched on from trackside, along with Britain’s 2007 FIM British Speedway GP winner Chris Harris.

Commenting on the official Speedway GP website, he said: “It was pretty crazy. It was only the last lap of the final where I really noticed the crowd.

“I could hear them for the last couple of laps and it was pretty cool. You have to remain focused and not let the bike get ahead of you on these tracks. I was just thinking ‘we’re here, we’re here – don’t throw it away.’ It all worked out well. I stayed cool and this gives me a taste of what it’s like to win. It only makes me want to have more wins now.

“People were saying about the pressure, but I feel good under pressure. I feel like you have to earn pressure. If you have pressure on you, it’s a good thing. You don’t get it for no reason.”

John Money, who handles Speedway sponsorship on behalf of NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: ”It was a fantastic achievement by Dan to win his first-ever SGP in front of the ecstatic British crowd. It was a brilliant night that will be remembered for years by the thousands of Speedway fans at the stadium and watching at home on Eurosport.”

Fellow NGK stablemate Freddie Lindgren made the semi-finals, scoring  eleven points, but it was a disappointing night for Britain’s three-time World Champion Tai Woffinden, who had to retire from the meeting because of illness after scoring four points from three races, with Robert Lambert notching five points.

Tom Brennan, British Under 21 Champion, and Leon Flint British, Under 19 Champion, also took part in the meeting, gaining valuable experience.

NGK hosted customers and guests over the weekend who enjoyed a paddock visit courtesy of Lindgren and Lambert, receiving goodie bags, before watching the SGP and the GP2 event the following day where they saw Brennan finish fifth and Flint seventh. 

Having followed in Woffinden’s footsteps in becoming a Speedway GP star, Bewley hopes he can now lead a new generation of Brits on to the world stage.

He said: “Coming from Britain, you don’t have to do a lot and people big you up a little bit too much. You have to go through some tough times to try and make it in Poland and really try and progress. Me and Robert Lambert have followed on from Tai. Tai is one of the best in the world.

“I feel like Tai has been the inspiration for us to make this step and get to that level. Hopefully we can be the inspiration for some British riders to not only focus on racing in Britain, but to take that next step and do what it takes. If you do, you can be here too.”

Bewley picked up twenty points to propel himself into fourth place in the World championship standings with 64 points, two points and one position ahead of Lindgren, with Woffinden in seventh place on 54 points and Lambert eleventh on 52 points.

Next up is the Betard FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw on Saturday, August 27.

For more information about NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd and its products and services, please visit www.ngkntk.com/uk

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Notes to Editors

About NGK SPARK PLUG:

Worldwide: NGK SPARK PLUG is one of the leading automotive and technical ceramics suppliers, with its corporate headquarters in Nagoya, Japan and sales organisations and production facilities all over the world. The automotive side of the company specialises in the fields of ignition and sensor technology, supplying Original Equipment customers across the globe. For the Aftermarket, its product portfolio comprises spark plugs, glow plugs, ignition coils and leads under the NGK Ignition Parts brand. Under the brand NTK Vehicle Electronics the company offers oxygen sensors (including NOx sensors), exhaust gas temperature sensors (EGTS), mass air flow (MAF) and manifold absolute/boost pressure (MAP) sensors as well as engine speed and position sensors. With around 16,400 employees, the company’s automotive and technical ceramics activities generate a total annual turnover of around 3.7 billion Euros worldwide. NGK SPARK PLUG’s EMEA sales represent 32% of this global turnover. NGK SPARK PLUG operates on all continents and has 60 group companies, 35 production plants, five Technical Centres and three Venture Labs.

 

Aftermarket EMEA: NGK SPARK PLUG has seen significant growth across the Aftermarket since expanding beyond motorcycle parts into the automotive sector in the 1970s. With an outstanding commitment to quality, technology and research & development the company has become the world’s number one in spark plugs and oxygen sensors, and a leading provider of glow plugs, ignition coils and leads as well as further sensor technology. Organisationally NGK SPARK PLUG’s regional headquarters in Ratingen, Germany serves the Aftermarket across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the EMEA region the company has six regional companies and more than 1,000 employees, as well as two production plants in France and South Africa and a Technical Centre in Germany.

 

For more information please visit: www.ngkntk.com

 

For further information please contact:

Annika Lustig, Specialist PR & Communications, Aftermarket EMEA, NGK SPARK PLUG EUROPE GmbH
Harkortstr. 41, 40880 Ratingen, Germany, AG Duesseldorf HRB 43118
Tel: +49 (0)21 02 974 152     E-mail: a_lustig@ngkntk.de

 

UK & Ireland - For further information contact:

Andy Hurst

Hurst Media Services

Tel: +44 (0)1354 657253; Mobile: 0773 694 7803

Email: andyh.stonecross@binternet.com

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