ACU rider Tim Neave says becoming Great Britain’s first FIM Flat Track World Champion is only beginning to sink in after returning home from Argentina at the end of a four-year pursuit of the title.
The Lincolnshire rider sealed the 2026 World Championship at Totoras on Sunday (25 October), completing a landmark debut season for the VRX Power Maxed Dirt Store Ducati team.
His success topped off an impressive campaign for ACU riders on the world stage, with Dick Shepherd Triumph rider Jack Bell securing championship silver and 18-year-old team-mate Ashton Boughen also finishing inside the top four in the final standings.
Neave travelled to South America with a healthy points advantage and, after finishing second in Saturday’s penultimate round, needed just one point from Sunday’s finale to secure his place as an FIM world champion.
Two Heat victories on a completely unknown track put the championship beyond his rivals’ reach and completed a season in which he had led the standings since round four. His advantage over Bell was 20 points in the final standings.
“It’s still sinking in,” Neave admitted. “It’s been a whirlwind since finishing the race, getting everything loaded up and getting on the flights. I did have a bit of a moment on the plane when it started to sink in. It felt amazing.
“There’s a big sense of relief. This was my fourth season in the championship and I’ve always believed it was there. I just needed everything else to fall into place around me – the right bike, the right team and the experience in myself.”
Neave spent his first two seasons in the championship largely running his own programme, building experience year on year before joining the newly-created Ducati team for 2026.
His first win of the season in Germany at round three proved a key moment.
“That was the turning point,” the reigning British Flat Track Champion said. “I proved to myself and everyone around me that I was serious. I wasn’t there just to have another year of racing. I wanted to win it.”
For team boss Rob Painter, the title also marked the completion of an extraordinary first season for a Ducati-backed squad that was created from scratch less than a year ago by him and fellow VRX director Vicky Blackwell.
“When you think about it, we created a team from zero, approached a new manufacturer and took a bike that had never raced flat track before to a world title in less than 12 months. That’s an incredible achievement for everyone involved,” Painter said.
“When you’re working on it day to day, you’re just focusing on taking small steps and taking the momentum into the next event. It’s only now, looking back, that you realise how far we’ve come in such a short space of time.”
Painter also praised the way Neave managed the race for the championship as his advantage grew.
“Tim did an excellent job,” he added. “He understood the position he was in and knew when he needed to ride within himself. That can be a very difficult situation, but he was an absolute professional.”
Neave was equally quick to credit the people around him for creating the environment that allowed him to deliver his strongest season to date.
“Kudos to Rob and Vicky. They’ve been absolutely superb all the way through,” he said. “The lads they’ve put in place, the engineers and mechanics – Enrico, Lorenzo and Peter from Italy – have been faultless. I couldn’t have wished to work with a better group of people.”
Boughen’s strong start to the season also helped sharpen Neave’s own performances. The teenager won the opening two rounds, immediately establishing himself as a championship contender and giving Neave another benchmark inside the team.
“We had a healthy rivalry and we got on really well, both on and off the track,” Neave explained. “We were good, hard rivals and that’s how it should be. His results brought the best out in me and made me focus even more.”
Bell was also able to reflect on a breakthrough season of his own. After five years competing in the World Championship and previously finishing outside the top 10, the 2026 campaign brought two victories and the fulfilment of a dream to finish inside the top-three overall.“
Every year I’d watch the top-three podium ceremony and see the guys with the medals and think that was something I really wanted in my life,” Bell said. “If you’d told me at the start of the year that I’d take two wins, a couple of podiums and finish second in the world, I’d have bitten your hand off. I’m really proud of what me and Dick Shepherd Triumph have achieved.”
Bell also paid tribute to title rival Neave after a season of close competition.
“Tim’s a super-talented rider and very professional. We get on really well, but when you’re racing there’s always someone you want to beat and, for me, that was Tim.
“We’ve had some really good battles and I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s pushed me to improve as a rider, so I’m glad it was him who won the championship. Hats off to Tim and the Ducati team.”
With Neave taking gold, Bell silver and Boughen also ending the season inside the top four, the 2026 championship was a strong one for the ACU riders. Royal Enfield rider Gary Birtwistle was seventh in the final standings, while Thomas Hunt was just outside the top ten in 11th.
Skye Adams also made history in 2026 as the first British woman to compete in an FIM Flat Track World Championship round. She rode at King’s Lynn in late August.