Dan Bewley sensed there was something special in the air as he emerged from the serenity of the pits and into the cauldron of Principality Stadium noise for his first ever Speedway Grand Prix final.
He was right. The 23-year-old Cumbrian shot away from gate two, hit the front and never looked back as he became the first Brit to win Speedway’s crown jewel event in Cardiff since Chris Harris in 2007.
“It was pretty special,” he recalls. “I felt like from the moment I rode up through the tunnel and into the stadium for the final, it just felt like it was meant to be from that point on.
“From that moment it felt kind of easy - I could feel that the energy in the stadium and the next thing I knew I was crossing the finish line.
“To be honest, you can always hear the noise but I probably didn’t notice that as such - it was that something just felt special in the stadium. You could feel the atmosphere in there.”
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It was the biggest moment of Bewley’s career but, typically for his laid back nature, he was “straight back to normal on Monday morning”.
His victory in Cardiff has catapulted him up to fourth in the world championship standings and forced him to reevaluate his goals in a season which only saw him called up to the GP series as a late replacement for Russian Artem Laguta.
“Looking back at the start of the season, if you told me I was going to win Cardiff I probably wouldn’t have listened!” Bewley admits.
“But it’s been so cool. If you’d offered me that at the start of the season I’d have been more than happy, but now I’ve got the first win, you want to try and keep winning.
“It’s taken me from 11th in the points to 4th now and it’s meant the goal now is to aim a little bit higher.
“Top three isn’t out of the question so that’s more the focus.I think it’s good to aim for something, and that’s the aim now, to try and get top three.
“The way it’s been going, I feel like it’s something we’re capable of, and hopefully we can keep things going that way.”
This weekend, Bewley trades the tight, all-encompassing pressure of the Principality Stadium for the wide-open spaces of Wroclaw, his home away from home.
The tight, temporary Cardiff track is all about who can hold their nerve, make starts and cope with the pressure of the occasion.
But Bewley is a racer, and reckons the fast, sweeping and exciting Wroclaw circuit is “the riders’ Grand Prix” and one he earmarked at the very start of the campaign.
“To be honest, Wroclaw is the GP I’ve been most looking forward to,” he explains. “Cardiff’s pretty special for the fans, it’s a really cool event.
“But I feel like Wroclaw is really the riders’ Grand Prix. Cardiff is amazing for the fans, and it’s a great occasion, but Wroclaw is the best track in the world and all the riders love it.
“It’s hard racing there, but I think that’s the GP all riders love. In terms of the racing and the chances to overtake, it’s a great place to race.”
After winning his official home round, Bewley will also be at his adopted home in the historic city in southwestern Poland. Wroclaw is where he has catapulted himself to the next level, riding for the club in the Polish top flight. It is also where he has been based for most of the season - albeit out of the back of his van after becoming accustomed to life on the road.
“We’ve been cruising for a while, but not currently!” He says. “The van is back in England unfortunately so we haven’t been living out of the camper van recently.
“I’ve enjoyed staying out in Poland, it’s been a cool experience and I like being in Wroclaw. We have a pretty good following there and it’s a cool club from the fans to the management.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there, riding a GP in front of them, and we’ll see if I can keep this good run going.”
Watch the 2022 Speedway Grand Prix live and ad-free on discovery+ with live race action also on Eurosport 2.
