Saturday October 28, 2017
SWINDON skipper Jason Doyle is the new FIM Speedway World Champion – and wrapped up the title in fairytale fashion in his home country.

The 32-year-old dropped just two points as he also claimed victory in the 2017 QBE Insurance FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Doyle has faced an anxious three week wait since the penultimate round in Torun, Poland, but knew eight points would be enough, regardless of the challenge from his only remaining challenger Patryk Dudek.

And Doyle blew everyone away as he opened with three straight race wins. He blitzed his opponents in his first two, meaning he required just a single point in his third outing to be crowned Champion after Dudek dropped a point in his first ride.

Very temporarily, it looked as though the Swindon man would have to wait a little longer. But a simply breathtaking first bend manoeuvre saw him go from last to first as he secured his maiden World Championship in stunning style.

Some would have forgiven him for then sitting back and enjoying the occasion – but not ‘Doyley’.

He was determined to make it the most memorable night in Melbourne possible and after reaching the Grand Final, he got the better of Dudek on lap three before pulling away to victory after the Pole suffered mechanical problems.

It was the icing on the cake for the Aussie ace who was so cruelly denied the World title last season after seeing his dream come literally crashing down.

But the Robins captain has completed a marvellous return to racing in 2017 and even a broken foot mid-way through the season wasn’t going to deny Doyle this time around.

He set a new record of reaching ten Grand Finals out of 12, he notched double figures in 11 of the 12 rounds and finished on 161 points – 18 clear of Dudek.

Naturally, he was overcome with emotion and elation in front of his home fans.

Quoting a famous interview with Matty Johns, who helped Doyle’s hometown Rugby League side Newcastle win the Grand Final in 1997, he opened:
“This is even better than Lego!

“No seriously now this is unbelievable!

“The worst thing was after Torun was the fact it was a three week wait.

“These are the eyes of a tired man because I’ve barely slept during that time.

“My head has been trying to calculate everything, it’s been so stressful and it’s been a living hell.

“But I’ve finally done it; I’ve done it with my family and friends here and they know more than anybody how much I wanted this.

“My wife Emily has put up with a lot of stick, especially since we got married, but I couldn’t have done it without her.

“My foot is killing; I’ve been riding with it broken for about four or five months now and personally it has been tough.

“Both physically and mentally but it’s all worth it now.

“The crowd is the reason I started with three straight rides which won me the title and they gave me and the Aussie boys the extra backing that we haven’t had throughout Europe during the rest of the season.

“Last time I was in Melbourne in 2015 I was getting carried off in an ambulance and I’ve come back and defied all of my demons.

“The pressure left me and I was able to ride my motorbike and enjoy my racing again.

“This is simply awesome!”

Almost a month after helping Swindon secure the SGB Premiership title, everyone at the Robins would like to offer our congratulations to Doyley – our skipper, our World Champion!

AUSTRALIAN FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX, Melbourne
Jason Doyle 19 (1st), Tai Woffinden 16 (2nd), Bartosz Zmarzlik 13 (3rd) , Patryk Dudek 15 (4th), Matej Zagar 10, Martin Vaculik 9, Maciej Janowski 9, Emil Sayfutdinov 8, Rohan Tungate 6 (res), Martin Smolinski 6, Peter Kildemand 6, Antonio Lindback 4, Justin Sedgmen 4, Brady Kurtz 3 (res), Chris Holder 3, Davey Watt 3, Sam Masters 2, Piotr Pawlicki 2.

FINAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 12 of 12)
Jason Doyle 161 (1st), Patryk Dudek 143 (2nd), Tai Woffinden 131 (3rd), Maciej Janowski 122, Bartosz Zmarzlik 121, Emil Sayfutdinov 117, Matej Zagar 107, Fredrik Lindgren 107, Martin Vaculik 99, Chris Holder 86, Piotr Pawlicki 81, Antonio Lindback 77, Peter Kildemand 60, Greg Hancock 45, Niels-Kristian Iversen 44, Vaclav Milik 32, Martin Smolinski 25, Max Fricke 11, Pawel Przedpelski 10, Nicki Pedersen 8, Maksims Bogdanovs 8, Michael Jepsen Jensen 8, Kenneth Bjerre 7, Rohan Tungate 6, Krzysztof Kasprzak 6, Jacob Thorssell 6, Kai Huckenbeck 4, Justin Sedgmen 4, Przemyslaw Pawlicki 3, Brady Kurtz 3, Davey Watt 3, Craig Cook 2, Josh Bates 2, Linus Sundstrom 2, Kim Nilsson 2, Sam Masters 2, Nick Skorja 1, Josef Franc 0, Matej Kus 0, Adam Ellis 0, Tobias Kroner 0, Filip Hjelmland 0, Bartosz Smektala 0.