Express & Star

Rory Schlein ready for new experience at British Final

Wolverhampton skipper Rory Schlein is gearing up for a ‘completely different’ British Final at Ipswich tomorrow.

Published
Last updated

With newly-introduced government restrictions scuppering plans of welcoming 1,000 fans to Foxhall Stadium for the showpiece event, seasoned campaigner Schlein insists ‘there’s more to the meeting than just the championship itself’.

“Whether you have track knowledge or not, everyone will be looking at the meeting in a completely different way to any other British Final,” said Schlein. “None of us are race fit, none of us have done enough laps to be at our best so it’s a completely new situation for everyone.

“I’ve seen some riders who have decided not to ride for one reason or another and that’s fair enough. They probably have a point that it’s not the ideal situation to prepare for such a big meeting but it’s speedway and we haven’t had any in Britain this year so I look at it in a completely different way.

“I want to be on the bike and have also got sponsors that I want to give as much exposure to as possible to help them out.”

With constant criticism regarding his eligibility to ride in the event on social media, Aussie-born Schlein has shrugged it off.

“It doesn’t bother me to the point where people say I’m not English,” he added. “I’ve never claimed to be English.

“At no point have I ever said I’m English. I live in Britain, my kids were born here, I’ve lived here longer than I did in Australia, I race on a British licence, I made a declaration that I’d race on a British licence and never race for Australia again – I’ve kept that promise.

“I treat it as any other meeting on the calendar, I want to go out and win it, simple as. If I win it then great, if I do and it winds people up, so be it.”

The meeting is being streamed online for £12.95 via sportcentral.tv from 7pm.