7:00am Saturday 31st July 2010
By Sam Morshead
SIMON Stead believes he is starting to master slick surfaces just in time for tonight’s Speedway World Cup final meeting in Vojens.
The Swindon Robin, who watched on from trackside as Denmark and Sweden booked their place in this evening’s showpiece event by finishing first and second respectively in their race-off with Australia and Russia on Thursday night, says he is ready for everything the Danish track has to throw at him.
“I’ve been riding quite well on slick tracks,” he said.
“We are all capable of it. I’ve seen Lee (Richardson) have fantastic meetings here in Vojens.
“I did GP qualifiers in Terenzano and Lonigo in Italy, which are notoriously slick, and I felt I had something working.
“Hopefully we can progress on Saturday and have a good result. I can’t wait for it.”
Although the contest has been written off in several corners as a guaranteed Polish victory, the Sheffield-born speedster has other ideas.
After playing his part in the nail-biting British triumph in the second qualifying event at Kings Lynn on Monday, Stead is confident he and his teammates can push the favourites all the way.
“We showed character on Monday, but it’s going to be a different kettle of fish when we come here on Saturday.
“It’s up another level and will be really difficult, but we need to make that next step.
"I’ve seen what gate positions are working, knowing you’ve got to make the best of those, and it’s been a chance to see the racing lines too.
“There’s a few different ones out there. The guys who are in front seem to be leading the pack, but the guys in second, third and fourth are scrapping about a bit. So there are points to be had, even from behind.”
Meanwhile, Great Britain team manager Rob Lyons voiced his delight at the attitude and application displayed by his charges in their World Cup campaign so far.
And, despite conceding his side are massive underdogs going into the meeting, Lyons says he is eagerly anticipating the possibility of an upset.
“The guys rode really well and the team spirit was awesome (on Monday),” he said.
“We have carried that on this week and can hopefully put in a good performance on Saturday and pull something out of the bag. I think we’re capable of doing that.
“Obviously Poland are favourites this year and they are riding well. They can probably put two teams out and still be favourites.
“But we will come with an open mind. We feel confident, the boys are really looking forward to it and it’s a level playing field in lots of ways.
“We will just go out there, enjoy it, and hopefully bring something out of it.”
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