Oxford-owned rider Todd Wiltshire wowed the 40,000-plus fans as he rode out of his skin to grab second spot in a pulsating EGG British Speedway Grand Prix at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

In front of the biggest crowd to watch a British meeting since 1981, Leigh Adams also reached the final, making it a cracking night out for the large following of Oxford Cheetahs fans in the Welsh capital.

To cap it all, it also proved a superb British GP debut for Cheetahs' Lukas Dryml, who won two races in great style before being eliminated seven heats away from the final.

Dryml figured in a dramatiic three-rider crash as he locked up badly when in front in heat 12, leaving Sebastian Ulamek and Niklas Klingberg on the deck. But he came back to win the re-run.

Wiltshire, a member of Cheetahs' Elite League title-wining side last year, was left out in the cold at Oxford this season due to the GP rider restrictions - and how Cheetahs could do with him in this form.

Gating like a man possessed, he led his rivals a merry dance as he won four of his races, and it was only fellow countryman Ryan Sullivan who denied him at the death.

And all this came after he (and yours truly) were among a hundreds of people left standing in the main street in Cardiff at 2.45am following a fire alarm at the Holiday Inn Hotel in the early hours of Saturday morning!

Wiltshire was also felt a touch unwell in practice, but he rose to the occasion in brilliant style.

Just as meritorious was the performance of Adams, who overcame near-impossible odds to reach the final.

He hit a first-bend rut in his opening ride, and was then struck by Sebastian Ulamek in heat 13 before finishing second to Billy Hamill.

It was a miracle he finished the meeting at all after being poleaxed by Andreas Jonsson in heat 22. Adams had overtaken the Swede, but at the top bend, Jonsson sent him flying into the fence in what looked a horror smash.

Remarkably, the Oxford ace took his place in the re-run and finished runner-up to Wiltshire to seal a semi-final berth.

He duly won that with a superb ride to knock leading contender Jason Crump and Lee Richardson out of the contest.

However, come the final, Adams was never in the hunt and what he had been though during the evening seemed to take its toll.

The second semi-final went to Wiltshire, who showed no mercy as he passed eventual champion Sullivan and also saw off leading contender Tony Rickardsson and Tomasz Gollob.

Wiltshire held the upper hand in the final, but Sullivan deservedly took the honours to cap a memorable night's entertainment.

The result has really opened up the chase for the title as Sullivan drew level with Rickardsson at the top of the table on 58 points, with seven more rounds to go, including the big one at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, which was confirmed by Australian officials at the meeting.