Experienced Englishman Chris Harris and Danish star Benjamin Basso won the Championship Pairs for Glasgow Tigers after an epic last two races at Oxford.
The Allied Vehicles Tigers duo outgunned Redcar in the final to secure their second Pairs title in four years and it was Basso who won the decider with Harris finishing third to make sure the silverware returned to Ashfield.
Harris, a former Berwick Bandits star, did not celebrate as he had to leave straight after the Pairs event. In fact, Harris now leads the FIM Long Track World Championship with one round remaining after battling to third spot in Morizes in France on Saturday.
The Truro-born rider, nicknamed Bomber, reflecting on the Pairs win, said: “I just tried to get over Danny (King) in the final. I knew if I got that third place we had it in the bag, but when you’ve got a hard charger like Danny behind you, it’s hard because you know he won’t give up.”
Harris, now aged 40, added: “I’ve won this twice in the old Elite League, but not at this level, so it’s nice to put this on the mantelpiece now.
“That’s one down and a few more to go at Glasgow. Now we can concentrate on the play-offs, but we’ll see what happens. Some really tough meetings ahead.”
Harris broke the track record in Heat 1 and a 7-2 win over Plymouth in their next outing put them at the top of the leader board at Oxford.
They then finished second and third behind Oxford’s Lewis Kerr and did the same behind Redcar’s Charles Wright to secure narrow heat advantages over their big rivals.
The Tigers then produced a wonderful team ride to KO hosts Oxford in the semi-final with Basso producing a brave race as Harris delivered a masterclass in team-riding.
Basso added: “I felt like I did pretty good last year, but I didn’t come through. It was great to have Chris by my side when I really needed it, especially in the semi-final.
“It was a bit sketchy in that race. I was chasing back wheels trying to get past Lewis Kerr. I could see Chris looking out for me all the time.”
PICTURE: Basso (left) and Harris celebrate with fans after the Pairs win courtesy of Glasgow Tigers and Phil Lanning Media
Experienced news, business, arts, sport and travel journalist. Food critic and managing editor of a well-established food and travel website. Also a magazine editor of publications with circulations of up to 200,000 and managing director of a long-established PR/marketing company with a string of blue-chip clients in its CV. Former communications lecturer at a Scottish university and social media specialist for a string of successful and busy SMEs.
