ADAM Ellis ended his first British Final with three points after failing to score in his concluding four rides at Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium tonight.

The 22-year-old, who has been averaging 6.92 with the Swindon Robins so far this season, won his opening ride in impressive style ahead of seven-times British Champion Scott Nicholls, Ashley Morris and former GP star Chris Harris.

But his night took a downward turn as last places in his remaining heats ensured he ended the night on three points, seven short of a qualification spot for the run-off.

Reflecting on his performance, Ellis admitted in hindsight he would’ve changed bikes after his second ride in an attempt to find more speed.

He said: “I couldn’t have started much better, but it went badly downhill from there.

“It’s one of those things, the British Final is a hard meeting. Everyone is fired up for it, and I probably should’ve changed bikes after my second ride but you live and learn – it was a tough meeting.

“It was my first time in the British Final which was good, though I would’ve like to have done better.

“I race against these guys week in week out, but I wasn’t really on the ball. I didn’t have the right setup and it’s a hard track to get it right, you’re always chasing it.

“It was a difficult night, one to forget, so we’ll move on.

“I was searching for more power, more speed. I was struggling to get out of start and when we got around the changing things it was too late.

“It’s one of those things, we’ll learn from it and be on the ball next time.”

The meeting was won by promising British youngster Robert Lambert, who stormed to six wins from as many rides to earn his first British Championship.

And Ellis conceded no one deserved the win more than the King’s Lynn Stars heat leader.

“Robert (Lambert) is a man on a mission,” said Ellis.

“He fully deserves it and was the quickest guy on the track tonight.

“He was great at the weekend at the Speedway of Nations, he definitely deserves it.”

Away from tonight, Ellis’ season is ticking along nicely with Swindon and his Championship club Lakeside both at the top of their respective divisions.

But finishing top with the Robins to allow team manager Alun Rossiter to pick his play-off opponent is high on Ellis’ list of priorities.

He said: “It’s been a good start to the season and hopefully we can keep that up until the end of the season and the play-offs, where we know anything can happen.

“Being top will give us the option to pick and choose who we race against, so finishing top is the plan.”