Richard Lawson blown away by Sheffield Tigers support ahead of British Final

Lawson, who hasn’t yet raced for the club because the league season was wiped out, was the first rider revealed for the event at Ipswich on Saturday week, September 26.

“It’s an honour to ride in such a meeting and to have the chance to win your national championship is something I wasn’t going to let go,” he said.

“Some riders have declined but I don’t really understand that.”

And the Cumbrian charger admits he’s been blown away by the backing of the Owlerton faithful despite no racing.

“When it was announced I was going to be in the British Final I got a lot of good luck messages,” Lawson explained.

“I knew I’d get a fair few from Eastbourne supporters after racing for them last year but I was surprised with how many I got from the Sheffield supporters.

“I probably shouldn’t be surprised though because even though I haven’t officially raced for them yet, I don’t know what it is but we’ve always had a good connection.

“Whenever I’ve guested for them in the past, or even when I’ve raced against them, they’ve always been very friendly and appreciative and to know they’ll be cheering me on means a lot.”

The meeting will be available to watch live thanks to a new online streaming service.

Stream tickets are available from sportcentral.tv and cost £12.95 with the meeting build-up starting at 7.15 and the first race is 7.45.

The stream will go live at 6.30. Registration and email verification will be required before purchase.

Fans watching the British Final from their own home can now also add to the racenight experience with the official meeting programme delivered to their door.

Order now from curtis-sport.com for £5 plus postage.