Diamond Robert aims to shine

NEWCASTLE Diamonds’ ace Robert Lambert is hoping the old saying about ‘third time lucky’ comes true tonight when he races in the British Under-21 Championship final at Poole.

In each of the last two years, Lambert’s brilliance has seen him beat everyone else in the qualifying races, finishing with a 15-point maximum each time, but he has missed out in the Grand Final – the extra race for the night’s top four point-scorers – coming second twice.

Lambert admitted to being ‘a bit peeved’ after picking-up a second successive silver medal last year and left Diamonds’ team manager George English yearning for a return to the sport’s old rules regarding individual championship meetings.

English said: “It used to be the case the top scorer at the end of the 20th race won the championship – end of story.

“Every rider had met every other rider during the course of the 20 heats and the best man won.

“Since the rules changed and the four top men on the night go into an extra race it often brings about unfortunate results like Robert has suffered over the past two seasons.

“Let’s hope it goes his way this time and he is crowned British Under-21 champion as he deserves to be.”

Lambert’s Newcastle colleague Danny Phillips is also in the meeting, having qualified thanks to a good performance in a one-off semi-final meeting at Peterborough.