YOU WAIT more than four decades for one title, and then three come along at once – Swindon Robins are SGB Premiership champions.

Defeated Ipswich Witches simply had no answer to Robins’ dominance over two legs as Alun Rossiter’s golden septet bagged a 111-68 aggregate win to lift British speedway’s highest domestic honour for the second time in three years.

Make no mistake, Robins’ third top tier crown since the turn of the millennium is fully deserved.

Rossiter’s simply brilliant septet can boast to be one of the most successful British teams in the modern era – Coventry’s 2007 treble perhaps only bettering Robins’ 2019 achievements.

Having won the Supporters’ Cup in September, the Robins made club history by confirming the League/Cup double in front of thousands sporting the club’s seasonal orange and white colours.

But, most crucially, they won the SGB Premiership title by the biggest margin since the turn of the millennium.

Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor’s last race maximum – their seventh of the night – confirmed that pocket of history, as Poole Pirates’ 15-year 41-point record ended.

The Abbey Stadium outfit has battled injuries, retirements and the small matter of building a new racing surface days before the start of the season.

Off-track, the elements were certainly against the 70-year-old club too. Its chairman Terry Russell, recovering at his home in Kent from an operation, hasn’t been able to watch his team for a month after a fall.

On-track, team manager Rossiter made several key decisions throughout the season that aided Robins’ Premiership/Cup double.

Some changes were enforced, Dawid Lampart was ordered by his Polish club Lublin to withdraw from racing in England.

Zach Wajtknecht opted to retire, while Stefan Nielsen’s mid-season capture was over before it had started after he crashed nastily at King’s Lynn.

Skipper Jason Doyle wasn’t immune from a trip to hospital either. The former world champion suffered a punctured lung and broken rib following a crash in Torun during his Polish club’s Ekstraliga tie against Czestochowa.

Tobiasz Musielak too, he was axed from Rossiter’s squad and replaced by David Bellego following a spill in Poland. Musielak promptly returned having made a shock recovery.

But the decision to draft in Ellis Perks towards the end of May proved a game-changer. The no-nonsense, never-say-die, Worcester-born hero already has fans begging for Russell and Rossiter to open the cheque book and sign him as a club asset for 2020.

The same can be said for Rasmus Jensen. The all-action likeable Dane delivered a series of last-to-first moves throughout the season and firmly cemented his spot in Robins fans’ hearts.

Such was the dominant nature of Robins’ win, they had the title wrapped up by heat 10 – Adam Ellis and Jason Doyle’s maximum confirming the Premiership trophy would return to Wiltshire after a one-season absence.

Throughout the night, there was only truly one moment of panic. Ellis Perks’ retirement in heat two gifted Ipswich a second race 4-2 – cutting the visitors’ deficit to four points.

But it was all one-way traffic afterwards. Only Niels-Kristian Iversen’s match-race win over Perks in heat 11 denied Swindon a clean sweep of race wins after the reserves’ race.

In short, the night couldn’t have gone better. And Rossiter’s dry tear upon confirmation of Swindon’s third title under his reign was perfectly complemented by co-promoter Lee Kilby’s outstanding home straight fist pump.

They are champions, and they’ve proven themselves to be Swindon’s greatest. The party is only just starting.