Great Britain were forced to settle for runners-up spot in an epic Speedway World Cup Final at Wroclaw on Saturday.
Hosts Poland snatched victory in a dramatic deciding race when Maciej Janowski forced his way into second place ahead of Robert Lambert.
The result, though, was still GB’s best performance on foreign soil in this format of competition since they finished second at Pardubice way back in 1990.
They led throughout the first half of the meeting, opening up a four-point advantage at one stage before World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik inspired a Polish comeback, and Dominik Kubera took a vital victory in Heat 18 to level the scores.
Zmarzlik finished one place ahead of Belle Vue’s Dan Bewley in Heat 19 to put the hosts ahead, with Janowski’s second place in Heat 20 enough to seal gold.
Lambert top scored for GB with a superb 12 points, with Bewley adding nine. Tai Woffinden scored seven with Adam Ellis picking up three from three rides, with Tom Brennan scoreless from two outings.
Denmark, who also had a chance of winning the meeting heading into Heat 20, finished third with Australia fourth having been hampered by the withdrawal of Sheffield star Jack Holder after a crash in Heat 15.
Lambert said: “We were so close all night, we were in front and then they took points off us again, and we knew it was going to be in those last four heats.
“I knew if I was in that position in second place and Magic was behind me that we’d have a run-off. I tried to finish it in that race and get the win, but then I moved off the line and Magic came up the inside.
“I know it’s the best that GB have done in the World Cup, but we had belief that we could come here and get a medal and even push forward to win it.
“We knew that, we believed that and it’s just hard to take at the moment, but we move forwards and sometimes you need those knockbacks to come stronger again.”
Photo credit: JAREK PABIJAN