COVENTRY skipper Chris Harris retained his British title in an incident-packed national final at Wolverhampton.
Harris got the better of his great rival Scott Nicholls in the Final having picked himself up from two spectacular crashes earlier in the meeting.
Harris’s Bees’ team-mate Ben Barker enjoyed one of the best nights of his career with third place, whilst Daniel King made it all the way from a pre-meeting run-off to finish fourth.
Harris said: “I’ve been through the pain barrier tonight, but it paid off to win the Final, and it’s worth every bit of pain.
“It was good to make it off gate three because Scott was fast all night. It was just like last year with coming through the semi, but it paid off in the end. I’ve got to enjoy this result and then move on to the next meeting.”
Nicholls’ second place was enough to book the Wild Card slot for next month’s British Grand Prix - but the five-time champion admitted that was some way from the forefront of his mind at this stage.
He said: “I’m really disappointed, I was focused on getting the win and I felt I could have done it, but it wasn’t to be.
“I was on the pace with Chris but you can’t give him a head-start to the first corner. Once I settle down I’m sure I will look forward to Cardiff, but right now it’s not a concern to me. Credit where credit’s due, Chris rode well tonight.”
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