Wolverhampton Wolves’ Rory Schlein is British champ

Wolverhampton skipper Rory Schlein pulled off a stunning British title win in Manchester.

Schlein, who was due to retire next month and head back to his native Australia, pulled off a stunning move in the title decider to pull clear of Richard Lawson and Jason Crump to secure the victory.

He will now line up in British racing next year as the national champion and he was understandably proud.

He said: “This is a feather in my cap, I never won the Australian title but now I’ve qualified for the British Championship I’ve won it and nobody can take my name off the trophy!”

Schlein was involved in a tough battle with Ben Barker in his opening ride and charged under the former Birmingham man to secure second spot. And he took a big step towards the latter stages with a hard-fought win in his second outing when he passed triple champion Chris Harris for an impressive win.

Second spots in heats nine and 15 left him handily placed – the latter after a superb effort down the back straight which saw home rider Steve Worrall edge him out down the back straight.

He confirmed his progress into the final with a brilliant win over triple world champion Jason Crump in Heat 18 to finish on 12.