MARYPORT speedway star Dan Bewley has been promoted into the 2022 Grand Prix series following the crisis in Ukraine.

With sanctions now world-wide against Russia, the FIM have suspended the Motorcycle Federation of Russia (MFR) and the Balarusian Federation of Motorcycle Sport (BFMS).

As a result, Russian and Belarusian riders will not take part in any FIM events which means that Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov have been excluded from the Speedway Grand Prix series of 2022.

Their places will be taken by the first two riders from the substitute’s list - Australia’s Jack Holder and Great Britain’s west Cumbrian ace Dan Bewley.

Fans of the former Workington Comets side are delighted to see their former star moved-up to contest the sport’s biggest events against the top riders in the world.

Especially pleased is Bewley’s former team manager at Workington, long-time speedway enthusiast Tony Jackson.

He said: “To hear that Dan has been elevated into this year’s Grand Prix series having previously been named as second reserve for the series is the highlight so far of what has been a remarkable rise to the upper echelons of the sport in a relatively short space of time.

“Obviously the reasons behind his promotion into the series for this year are unfortunate, and clearly not the way he or anyone else would have wanted in these difficult and tragic times.

“However, he was in that stand-by position on merit and in all likelihood would have qualified for the series as of right in the next year or two judging by his remarkable progress.

“That has obviously been accelerated by his time spent racing in the Polish Extraleague, which is without doubt the toughest league there is right now.

“Since he first started out under the guidance of mentor Steve Lawson, the former Workington and Glasgow legend, it has been clear he could go a long way in the sport as his natural talent was obvious.

“Even at an early stage, many people, myself included, tipped him as a possible future Grand Prix rider.

“His first ever ride in a competitive fixture came in late March 2016 when he was used as Workington’s number eight in the Ian Thomas Shield match at Newcastle and in my position as Comets’ Team Manager, I put him out in heat 11, where he scored one point.

“At that stafe he was still relatively raw but clearly had something and within a month he had filled the empty reserve berth at Edinburgh and within a few weeks was starting to pick up points home and away.

“After that Belle Vue signed him up for their National League side, the Colts, as he gained further experience.

“After then spending 2017 with Glasgow we finally managed to ‘bring him home’ to Workington for 2018, where he was a vital member in our treble-winning side and was instrumental in securing many crucial points throughout the season.

“However, he was destined not to play a part in the business end of the season when we picked up the trophies following a horrific crash at Derwent Park on 25th August when we were entertaining the side we would ultimately face in the Play-off and Shield Grand Finals; Lakeside.

“That left him with serious multiple injuries, most notably a broken thigh that required pinning. Naturally, that left everyone wondering how that would affect his progress in the sport.

“We have all been delighted to see that after regaining his fitness he was able to bounce back to where he was and then kick on from there.

“Hopefully there is still much more progress to be made by Dan and we are all looking forward to seeing just what he can achieve in the sport but, at the same time, we are all very proud to see him racing at the pinnacle of the sport and delighted that we at Workington have been able to play a small part in his progress to date.”