SAYFUTDINOV SET FOR YEAR TWO WITH IPSWICH

Former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov admits racing in Britain is “a really good school for speedway” as he signed up for a second season with Sports Insure Premiership club Ipswich in 2024.

Sayfutdinov made a blockbuster return to the UK this year – 12 years after he last appeared in the old Elite League with Coventry in 2011.

With the three-time FIM Speedway of Nations world champion not currently competing in Speedway GP, he agreed terms with the Witches to add some much-needed extra racing to his calendar.

And it was a successful move as Sayfutdinov helped Ipswich to Knockout Cup glory, as well as a play-off Grand Final appearance, which saw the Suffolk side lose out to Sheffield.

He admits extending his agreement was an easy call and hopes to make the most of racing on the tight and technical British tracks, which are considerably different to the fast and furious circuits found in Poland.

Sayfutdinov told the Ipswich official website: “I’m really happy to be part of the team again and I really enjoyed this year. I hope next year will be even better and I have started to prepare for next season already. It was an easy decision; it was decided after the play-off final. I said I wanted to stay and get more experience next year.

“We will try to win the Knockout Cup again and we need to win the league. That is the goal.

“For me, I got a lot of experience and enjoyed riding my bike and seeing a lot of people. I really liked it, and, in my opinion, it is a really good school for speedway. That is why I have signed again.

“It is a little bit different since 2011, but most of the tracks and riders are the same and I really enjoyed it. Before, the reason I was not riding in the UK was because I did not have time and was in the Grand Prix.”

Elsewhere, Birmingham Brummies have drafted in British racer Leon Flint for 2024. He teams up with Tom Brennan.

Birmingham CEO Nigel Tolley said: “We already know how popular with the Brummies supporters Leon is and even since he left the club in the National League, they’ve been following his progress through the ranks.

“No-one at Birmingham will need telling about Leon’s skill, talent and potential and, in our opinion, we’ve got the strongest Rising Star in the Premiership.

“Leon really is keen to kick on in the top league next season and become a consistent points scorer, and I believe this is a move which is going to work out fantastically well for both parties.”

King’s Lynn has recruited two more former Peterborough stars in Vadim Tarasenko and Patryk Wojdylo to complete their 2024 side. They link up with former Panthers teammates Niels-Kristian Iversen and Benjamin Basso, plus Tobiasz Musielak, Michael Palm Toft and Anders Rowe.

Stars team manager Rob Lyon said: “Vadim is a great guy with a very professional set-up. We saw that when he came over this year, and we could see the Ekstraliga influence there.

“He was very popular with the Peterborough fans, and while he’s a very good starter, he’s also an out-and-out racer. He averaged 6.94, despite having never seen the UK tracks before, so you’d expect him to improve on that and I’ll have no qualms about putting him at No.5.

“Patryk is a young, exciting rider who was highly recommended to us by two or three different people, and what we saw of him was pretty impressive. He’ll start at reserve, although I don’t think it will be long before he’s pushing his way into the main body of the team. I feel King’s Lynn is a track which will really suit him, and I’m looking forward to seeing him on track for us.”