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DOYLE: BACK TO 100 PERCENT

Aussie ace Jason Doyle says he feels “back to 100 percent” as he prepares to get back on track with British side Ipswich in 2025.Doyle has competed for the Witches in the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership since 2022 but missed most of last season after suffering a torn rotator cuff in a crash at King’s Lynn last May.This also ended his FIM Speedway Grand Prix season, with the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw winner needing a wild card to retain his place in the series.Doyle admits getting back to full fitness has been no easy ride, but he’s happy with his progress as he plots a February return to the saddle.He said: “I had the operation in the middle of June, and it has been a rollercoaster to get back to full fitness. As many people know with shoulder injuries, one minute you are okay and the next you are back to square one. At the moment it is really good, and I feel back to 100 percent.“I wasn’t ready a month ago, but I am now. It is good that I didn’t rush anything and did everything the right way, the way the doctors said. If it was a broken bone, I would have been back pretty much straight away, but when you know you are going to be unsafe on the bike, you need to do the right thing and make sure everything is 100 percent. I have got a few more years left to push for that top spot and a lot more racing to do with Ipswich.”Spending a summer on the sidelines was an unusual experience for the ultra-busy Doyle, who competes in three leagues as well as Speedway GP. But he was determined to make the most if it.He said: “It was nice to experience the family side with my baby girl Grace which I haven’t done in so many years.&nbsp;“I got to do a lot of things outside of speedway, go on holidays to Spain a couple of times and relax a bit as I tried to get back to 100 percent. At the moment I am lucky to have the right people around me and feel like it is all getting better.”Doyle admits he was concerned he may not get a permanent Speedway GP wild card after compatriot Jack Holder gained automatic qualification for 2025, while Brady Kurtz and Max Fricke qualified at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice on October 4.“It was nerve wracking watching the GP qualifier and seeing there were already three Aussies going into the Grand Prix,” he said.“I’m lucky I won the Warsaw GP and was up there in the top three in the world before I got injured. I showed a lot of pace and drive to be world No.1 again. There were a few things I needed to make sure were right before going back in the Grand Prix again, but I am ready to go.”As for his British plans, Doyle is delighted to join the likes of former FIM Speedway of Nations winner Emil Sayfutdinov, Danny King, Adam Ellis, Dan Thompson and Jordan Jenkins in the Ipswich side.He said: “It was a pretty simple decision; obviously other clubs speak to you, but I don’t want leave any stone unturned.&nbsp;“After two and a half years, and I classify last year as a half term with the club, we need to push on. With the team that we have got for next year, I feel like we have got a chance to finally get that league trophy.”Elsewhere, Birmingham has confirmed double FIM SON world champion Tom Brennan will not return to Perry Barr in 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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THOMSEN EYES PAIN-FREE 2025 AFTER HAND SURGERY

Danish champion Anders Thomsen hopes one of the world’s top hand surgeons can help him overcome years of pain ahead of his FIM Speedway Grand Prix comeback in 2025.Thomsen jets to Spanish capital Madrid, where Dr Francisco del Piñal will operate on the Vojens and Gorzow rider’s clutch hand on Monday.The left hand was damaged in crashes in 2013, 2016 and 2023. After initially hurting it during a meeting at Vojens in 2013, Thomsen suffered further damage in a Speedway European Championship round at Rybnik in 2016. He then sustained season-ending injuries when he crashed at the 2023 OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga and was unable to retain his SGP place for 2024.Despite all of these setbacks, Thomsen has still emerged as a full-time Speedway GP rider, racing in the series full-time from 2021 until 2023, before regaining his SGP status with second place at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice on October 4. He has also won three Danish Championships, as well as the 2022 FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow.Thomsen admits he has been racing with pain for much of this time and hopes a surgeon who has treated Formula 1 drivers and MotoGP stars can help him go into 2025 pain free.Thomsen said: "After my surgery in 2013, it was good. There wasn’t that much pain. I had a normal life. But then I crashed in Rybnik and dislocated my whole hand from the arm. They stitched back all the ligaments and put all the bones in the hand in the right position.“It was a really bad one again in Riga last year. I dislocated all the bones again and it was the same with the ligaments. This time I needed a specialist – the best in the world to fix it and allow me to get to the top and race without pain. This year I raced with a lot of pain.“After 2016, I had a big operation and spent a long time doing rehab. I lost a lot of movement in my hand. After last year’s crash, I nearly have a stiff hand. The hand is really important and it’s the clutch hand. You can’t believe how much rehabilitation I had to do throughout the whole of last winter to get back in shape. I had no muscle, no movement, no nothing.”

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NEW IN 2025: SIX SPRINT RACES AND HIGH-STAKES HEAD-TO-HEAD SHOWDOWNS IN SPEEDWAY GP QUALIFYING

Speedway GP sprint races increased to six as part of an epic new head-to-head knockout Qualifying format in 2025.Semi-finals replaced by last-chance qualifiers (LCQ1 and LCQ2), with top two riders after 20 heats advancing to the Speedway GP final automatically.Eight-team, 28-heat FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 format retained for 2025.With six months remaining until a new Speedway GP season gets underway, global promoter Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) have unveiled exciting changes designed to make one of the most adrenaline-fuelled motorsport disciplines even more thrilling.In 2025, riders will have six chances to earn extra FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship points as they battle it out in an exciting new-look Qualifying session with an epic head-to-head format, one of the major changes introduced to add even more intensity to the competition.&nbsp;HEAD-TO-HEAD SHOWDOWNSQualifying will get underway at an earlier time at most events and on Friday afternoon at the Warsaw and Cardiff events. It will kick off with two free practice runs for each rider – FP1 and FP2.The Speedway GP stars will then be drawn into pairs for a 60-second head-to-head showdown in Q1, with the fastest rider advancing to Q2, where they face another head-to-head. The winner of each Q2 battle in Landshut, Warsaw, Manchester, Gorzow, Cardiff and Wroclaw will then enter a four-rider sprint race, with the winner earning four Speedway GP World Championship points, with three for the rider in second, two for third and one for fourth place. The sprint race winner will also earn first choice of starting positions for the evening’s SGP event, with the second, third and fourth-placed riders next to select.

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KURTZ, LEBEDEVS, MICHELSEN & KVECH ALL COMPLETE POLISH MOVES

Aussie ace Brady Kurtz has officially completed his switch to PGE Ekstraliga finalists Wroclaw – and club president Andrzej Rusko says he comes highly recommended by his new teammates.Kurtz was heavily linked with a move to the Olympic Stadium to replace three-time Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden, who is on his way to Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga club Rzeszow.The former Aussie champion won the 2024 FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice on October 4 to book his place in the 2025 Speedway GP series.&nbsp;He also helped British club Belle Vue win the Rowe Motor Oil Premiership and Polish side Rybnik lift the Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga championship to earn PGE Ekstraliga promotion.Kurtz joins forces with Speedway GP rival Dan Bewley at the Olympic Stadium and the pair are no strangers, racing together for Belle Vue as well as Bauhaus Elitserien runners-up Dackarna in Sweden.Rusko looks forward to seeing Kurtz in Wroclaw colours and says his new teammates were keen to see him make the move.He told the club’s website: “I think it was the best choice we could have made. A top-class rider with considerable experience and huge potential is joining Betard Sparta.&nbsp;“Brady will strengthen our team. I am convinced that he will quickly settle in Wrocław because there are riders in our team that he knows very well.&nbsp;“Moreover, their recommendations were also important to us when we were preparing to complete the squad for the next season.”Elsewhere, Gorzow has completed a move for Latvian ace Andzejs Lebedevs, who makes the switch from relegated side Leszno. He teams up with the likes of Speedway GP rivals Martin Vaculik and Anders Thomsen at the Edward Jancarz Stadium.Meanwhile, Torun has officially sealed much-anticipated deals with Speedway GP duo Mikkel Michelsen and Jan Kvech. The Dane will serve as the club’s second permitted senior foreign star alongside Robert Lambert, while Kvech looks set to occupy the under-24 position, having reached his first-ever SGP semi-final in Torun last September.Grudziadz has also added to their 2025 side, swooping for former World Under-21 champion Jakub Miskowiak, who departs Gorzow. He is also eligible to occupy an under-24 position.

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POLLESTAD PICKS UP NEW DANISH DEAL

Norwegian shooting star Mathias Pollestad admits racing for Danish club Grindsted has bolstered his confidence for taking on the sport’s elite after extending his stay into 2025.Pollestad raced to SGP2 bronze in 2024, becoming the first Norwegian winner of an FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship round in Torun on September 27 and emerging as the country’s next big star in the sport.He admits competing for Grindsted in Denmark’s Speedwayligaen has played a key role in his development and looks forward to continuing in their colours next year.He said: "Grindsted was my first club, where I started racing against seniors. It has been amazing for my development and really built my confidence.&nbsp;“Riding for Grindsted has been a good decision, both in terms of results and the fantastic support from fans and sponsors. There is a good spirit here and it feels like a place for me to grow. Why would I change clubs? I am enjoying it here and I am now looking forward to another great season. "Pollestad admits joining forces with SGP2 rival and Gorzow teammate Villads Nagel again was also a key part of his decision to stay.He added: “I couldn't imagine riding without Villads. We had a great season together in Gorzów, and it's great to be able to continue our collaboration. Villads is like my Danish brother and I'm really looking forward to the coming season.”

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