SWEDISH BOSS SUNDSTROM: TIME TO STEP UP

New Swedish team manager Linus Sundstrom is challenging his 2025 stars to fill the void left by world No.3 Fredrik Lindgren stepping down from the national side for this year.

Lindgren confirmed he will not take part in the FIM Speedway of Nations, which takes place in Polish city Torun from September 30 until October 4, as he plans to end his season in September.

While Sundstrom accepts Lindgren’s absence will be a challenge for the team to overcome, he also sees it as a chance for the likes of former Speedway GP stars Kim Nilsson and Oliver Berntzon, double Swedish champion Jacob Thorssell, and 2024 SGP2 talents Philip Hellstrom-Bangs and Casper Henriksson to show their class on the world stage.

Sundstrom said: “Of course, Freddie is a big part of the team off the track, and also on it with his points. But now that he is not in it anymore, the other guys know they need to step up. They cannot just rely on Freddie scoring the points and then they chip in a few each. They need to step up instead of him, take bigger responsibility and score more points.

“There’s a lot of experience between them. Jacob was just one point away from qualifying for the GPs (at the FIM SGP Challenge) in Pardubice last year. On their day, all of them are really good riders. I just hope they all have a good day together in Torun at the end of the year.

“If Freddie isn’t representing Sweden, I think most teams and experts will count us out. We will be underdogs, but even if the guy with the most experience isn’t with us, there is still plenty of experience among the riders who will be in the team. We can definitely be underdogs and surprise a few people in 2025.

“We also have other riders coming up – we have Philip Hellstrom-Bangs. He had quite a good season last year, and Casper Henriksson was also in SGP2. He had a good season as well.”

Asked if Lindgren may consider a return to the Swedish side for 2026, Sundstrom left the door open.

“We are just taking it year by year,” he said. “He has just informed fans that he won’t be in the SON for 2025. We will have a new chat after this year and see what he says and see where he stands for 2026. But I don’t have any news on 2026 now, and I am not sure if he does either.”