DANISH ICON MADSEN BIDS TO BE HOME HERO ON HISTORIC NIGHT AT VOJENS

Danish racer Leon Madsen is determined to give his home crowd a night to remember at an historic DeluxeHomeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on Saturday. The sport’s top riders head to the iconic Vojens Speedway Center – one of the sport’s most storied racetracks, where a second FIM Speedway world champion of the weekend could be crowned tonight. Polish shooting star Mateusz Cierniak made it back-to-back SGP2 FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championships on Friday, and now his fellow countryman Bartosz Zmarzlik bids to seal his fourth Speedway GP World Championship in five seasons. If he leaves tonight’s penultimate Speedway GP round of 2023 with a 21-point lead or more over his nearest rival, Zmarzlik would become only the seventh rider in history to win four or more world titles. He would also be only the second rider in Speedway GP history after six-time world champion Tony Rickardsson to win back-to-back championships twice, with Zmarzlik hoping to add to victories in 2019, 2020 and 2022. While the Pole is clear favourite to win gold, leading the way on 138 points with Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren second on 114 and Slovakia’s Martin Vaculik third on 105, a tense fight for the silver and bronze medals and the top-six automatic qualification places for the 2024 Speedway GP series continues. 

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VIDEO | CIERNIAK CLINGS ON FOR FIM SGP2 TITLE IN DRAMATIC VOJENS FINALE

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POLISH RACER CIERNIAK DEFIES DRAMATIC FINISH TO SEAL FIM SGP2 TITLE DOUBLE IN VOJENS

Double FIM SGP2 world champion Mateusz Cierniak admits he feared he would “lose everything” after holding on to retain his FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship in dramatic style in Vojens, Denmark on Friday.Cierniak led an unforgettable Polish one-two-three on 49 points with Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens winner Damian Ratajczak, who topped the podium in the final round to snatch silver on 45. Bartlomiej Kowalski took the bronze medal on 42 – pipping Australian Under-21 champion Keynan Rew (41) to third place by one point.Lublin and Lejonen racer Cierniak went into the Vojens round with a 10-point lead over Rew and Kowalski, and the Tarnow-born star just needed to avoid last place in semi-final one to seal the SGP2 crown. But disaster struck when Cierniak’s front wheel caught the bottom tape, with referee Craig Ackroyd forced to disqualify him from the re-run.Victory in the final for either Rew or Kowalski would have seen the title snatched away from Cierniak, who won the opening two rounds in Prague and Gorzow – the second of those with a sensational seven-ride maximum. But both riders finished third in their semi-final, missing out on qualification for the final, handing gold to a very relieved Cierniak.The 20-year-old is only the fourth double FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion in history, following in the footsteps of former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov, Aussie icon Darcy Ward and Polish star Maksym Drabik.Despite being tipped as red-hot favourite to grab gold, Cierniak feared his tapes slip-up had cost him junior speedway’s biggest prize. He said: “Everyone was telling me over the last few weeks, ‘Oh, you have it! No-one will take this from you.’ But I was telling everyone, ‘Keep calm, I still have a lot of work to do.’“This competition was very difficult. There was a lot of pressure, a lot of stress and I had every emotion. I was sad, I was happy, I was angry – everything. I wanted to cry! It’s just unbelievable what happened.“In my mind, this very short moment before the tapes went up in the semi-final was very long. I was waiting, waiting and maybe I was a little bit too nervous.“When I hit the tapes, my first thought was, ‘Oh, my God! We have worked all season for this, I hit one tape in this heat and now it’s possible to lose everything.’ For sure, luck smiled on me and Bartek and Keynan had pressure too. They knew what was at stake and now I have been working for all season.” 

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FIM SGP2 GOLDEN DOUBLE FOR POLISH STAR MATEUSZ CIERNIAK

Champion Mateusz Cierniak led an incredible Polish one-two-three on the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship rostrum after sealing the FIM SGP2 gold medal for the second straight season in Vojens, Denmark tonight.Cierniak lifted the trophy in dramatic style on 49 points, despite touching the tapes in semi-final one. With nearest rivals Bartlomiej Kowalski of Poland and Keynan Rew of Australia both missing out on final qualification in two nail-biting semis, the Lublin star breathed a huge sigh of relief in the pits as he retained his crown.He joins former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov (2007 and 2008), Australian icon Darcy Ward (2009 and 2010) and Polish star Maksym Drabik (2017 and 2019) in the club of double FIM Speedway Under-21 world champions.Cierniak’s fellow Polish star Damian Ratajczak stormed to victory in the Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens final ahead of Sweden’s Casper Henriksson, Danish track reserve sensation William Drejer and Latvia’s Francis Gusts. This saw Ratajczak snatch the silver medal in epic style on 45 points, before celebrating with tears of joy.Despite falling short of the final, Kowalski completed a Polish clean sweep of the podium places, claiming the bronze medal on 42 points.Full report to follow later.

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POLISH RACER CIERNIAK CHASES SENSATIONAL FIM SGP2 DOUBLE IN VOJENS

Polish star Mateusz Cierniak bids to sign off a stellar junior career with back-to-back FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championships in the Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens tonight.As part of their 10-yeavision for FIM Speedway, global promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports is showcasing world speedway’s next generation of stars.From the brand-new 190cc class launched this summer by six-time FIM Speedway world champion Tony Rickardsson, aimed at 11 to 13-year-olds, to the SGP3 250cc class for under-16s and SGP2 for speedway’s top under-21 talents, the sport’s next generation now has the chance to climb the pyramid into the Speedway GP World Championship while racing at the sport’s biggest arenas.Friday’s event sees the SGP2 class of 2023 battle it out at Denmark’s national speedway stadium in the third and final event of the three-round FIM SGP2 series, which Cierniak won in 2022.

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