HOME favourite Andre Compton raced to a rostrum finish in the British Championship Semi-Final at Owlerton as Grand Prix star Chris Harris stormed to a spectacular victory.
Harris suffered just one defeat in a blockbuster heat six as he claimed the top spot ahead of the all-action Ben Barker.
Yet it was also a memorable night for Compton, as he continued his excellent run of form to notch 12 points and edge third place ahead of Eddie Kennett.
Compton was delighted with a good night at the office as he booked his place in the British Final at Monmore Green on June 15 – his first appearance in the showpiece event in over a decade.
Said Compton: “I’m pleased with that result. I didn’t go into the meeting expecting too much, I was relaxed heading into it and that seemed to pay off.
“I had a couple of good wins, some second places and I’m happy to come away having finished on the rostrum on the night.
“I’m pleased to be into the final, and I’ll just look to approach that with the same attitude and see where I end up on the night.”
Despite Compton’s success, there was disappointment for Sheffield team-mates Jason Garrity and Ashley Birks as both missed out on a top seven spot.
Garrity battled back from a tough start to record wins in his opening two rides and end tied with Richard Lawson on nine points.
However, with both also tied on two race wins a second place for Lawson saw him progress on countback with Garrity set to head to Monmore Green as track reserve.
Meanwhile, Birks battled hard throughout and was involved in some exciting action before eventually falling short on six points.
Sheffield will be back in Premier League action at Owlerton as they host Peterborough next Thursday (7.30), two days after their mouth-watering away clash at Glasgow.
BRITISH SEMI FINAL, at Sheffield 1 Chris Harris (Coventry) 14 2 Ben Barker (Berwick) 13 3 Andre Compton (Sheffield) 12 4 Edward Kennett (Lakeside/Rye House) 11 5 Lewis Blackbird (Wolverhampton/Peterborough) 10 6 Josh Auty (Leicester/Scunthorpe) 10 7 Richard Lawson (/Lakeside/Glasgow) 9 All qualify for the British Final 8 Jason Garrity (Coventry/Sheffield) 9 Qualifies as reserve for the British Final
Other scorers: Paul Starke 7, Richie Worrall 7, Ashley Birks 6, Adam Ellis 4, Ritchie Hawkins 3, Luke Bowen 2, Stuart Robson 2, Ashley Morris 1
