LINDGREN EYES MANCHESTER RETURN FOR FIM SON

Swedish icon Fredrik Lindgren admits Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium is “one of my favourite tracks in the world” as he bids to lead his country into the FIM Speedway of Nations there in July.

The Swedes bid to build on the FIM SON bronze medal they won at Danish venue Vojens in 2022, getting their campaign underway in Semi-Final 1 on July 9 against Poland, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Ukraine.

Lindgren was brilliantly supported by Oliver Berntzon in Vojens, with his former Speedway GP rival scoring 40 points across Sweden’s Semi-Final and Final, making him the tournament’s highest-scoring rider of all 15 nations.

With Kim Nilsson reaching two Speedway GP semis in 2023 and double Swedish champion Jacob Thorssell also battling for spots in the side, Lindgren hopes to take his place in the final three.

Lindgren said: “We will see when we get closer to the event what sort of form I will be in and whether I am picked for the team. I need to be on top form myself to get into the side, so we will see. But it’s always a nice feeling to put on the blue and yellow flag.

“I love the track in Manchester. It’s one of my favourite tracks in the world. Normally there is some very good racing there, so we should have an exciting week of speedway.”

According to local organisers in Manchester, interest in tickets has been high for Britain’s biggest week of speedway.

Britain’s Rowe Motor Oil Premiership is also thriving, with the likes of Tai Woffinden, Dan Bewley, Jason Doyle, Jack Holder, Emil Sayfutdinov, Max Fricke and Maciej Janowski all competing in a star-studded top tier.

With so many big names now racing in the UK and Lindgren currently not competing in Sweden, there’s no doubt British fans would love to see Lindgren back in the UK for the first time since 2017.

Asked if he had considered a return, Lindgren said: “Yes, not only because other riders are going there. I have always enjoyed racing in Britain in the past.

“At the moment, I feel like I can’t commit for a full season. But I might feel differently some other time. For the moment, that’s how I feel. I would never rule out a return to British racing. I went there this year in March to do a couple of meetings and I enjoyed being back and racing there.”

Lindgren spent his entire UK career with Wolverhampton and was sad to see the famous club forced out of its Monmore Green home after racing 14 years of his career there from 2003 until 2017 – missing only the 2014 season.

He said: “I am really gutted not to see Wolverhampton at Monmore Green anymore. The club has been a huge part of my career and I have learned so much from racing there. It’s a huge blow, but I hope they can find some ground and make a new track for the Wolverhampton fans.”

Lindgren launches his individual world title bid in the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia in Donji Kraljevec on April 27.