Reigning British champion Robert Lambert admits he has a target on his back in Manchester as the Speedway GP World Championship contender lines up in tonight’s Cab Direct British Speedway Championship Final (7pm UK time).
Lambert won a final for the ages at the National Speedway Stadium in 2025, which saw all four riders lead the race, before he lifted the title ahead of 2019 champion Charles Wright, SGP rival Dan Bewley and triple British champion Chris Harris.
The event is being televised live free-to-air for the first time since 1985 on ITV4 and ITVX in the UK, with coverage also available on FIM-MOTO.TV for fans around the world.
Lambert first won the British title in 2018, before regaining the crown in 2025. Having hit red-hot form and stormed into this season’s Speedway GP title race, he is being hotly tipped to win a third national crown tonight.
The former world No.2 comes up against the likes of former champions Harris, Wright, Adam Ellis, Craig Cook and Danny King, plus his fellow two-time FIM Speedway of Nations world champion Tom Brennan, current SGP2 star Will Cairns and British Under-21 champion Cooper Rushen.
Anders Rowe, Drew Kemp, Dan Thompson, Jason Edwards, Leon Flint, Jody Scott and Jake Mulford complete the line-up.
While he has every reason to be confident, FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Lodz winner Lambert knows taking victory will be no easy task.
He said: “It’s going to be a big event. Everyone is gunning for that first spot and wants to win. Obviously, I have the target on my back, being the reigning champion and having good form this year.
“I can’t be complacent, even though I have a lot of confidence in myself and in what I am doing. Everyone can have their day, and I need to be 100 percent focused for the meeting. I’ll try to build things up throughout the night and get things dialled in for the final.
“We are approaching it as another meeting. I’ll do things the same. As long as I am fully focused on what I am doing, the results will come. It will be full focus and do the best job possible. As long as I do that, I will come away happy, whatever the result may be.
“It would mean something very special and if I could win No.3, it would be great. But I have plenty more time in my career to get my name on the trophy.”
Lambert will not be up against Bewley after his double FIM SON World Championship-winning partner withdrew as he continues his recovery from a broken femur.
He is now targeting a comeback for the BOLL FIM Speedway World Cup Final – Warsaw at PGE Narodowy on August 29.
Lambert said: “It’s a shame to see Dan has pulled out. I would like to see him come back. I always have some great racing with him, as we saw in the final last year.
“Obviously the main goal is for him to be fit for the World Cup. If he feels he needs a couple more weeks to prepare, it’s better that we give him that time and the kind of recovery he needs to be fit for the SWC, which is going to be a spectacular event and a great one for GB to be a part of.”
Lambert is delighted that tonight’s event comes to free-to-air television in the UK for the first time in four decades on ITV4 and ITVX.
He said: “I am looking forward to tonight, and it’s nice that we have some good coverage as well. Bringing it to a different platform helps us to get different people interested in speedway, which is great and it’s something we need to elevate the sport. It’s pretty cool news that ITV is going to be coming in and broadcasting it.”
CAB DIRECT BRITISH FINAL LINE-UP: 1 Anders Rowe, 2 Cooper Rushen, 3 Craig Cook, 4 Robert Lambert, 5 Adam Ellis, 6 Drew Kemp, 7 Will Cairns, 8 Dan Thompson, 9 Jason Edwards, 10 Danny King, 11 Charles Wright, 12 Jake Mulford, 13 Jody Scott, 14 Leon Flint, 15 Chris Harris, 16 Tom Brennan.