FIM Speedway

SUNDSTROM'S SWEDISH SPEEDWAY ACADEMY STEPS UP FOR 2025

Swedish team manager Linus Sundstrom insists he’s determined to give something back to the sport in his homeland as he steps up his Swedish Speedway Academy project in 2025.Sundstrom was appointed as national coach last autumn, replacing Vastervik boss Morgan Andersson, and the 2015 FIM Speedway World Cup winner will lead the side into his first FIM Speedway of Nations in Torun from September 30 until October 4.Aside from his managerial commitments to Poland’s senior and junior sides, Sundstrom continues to build his Swedish Speedway Academy, which he launched in 2023. He will also coach alongside six-time FIM Speedway world champion Tony Rickardsson at the FIM SGP Academy in Malilla from July 3-5.Sundstrom’s aim is to equip more young riders with the skills needed to take on the sport’s biggest stars as he continues his involvement in speedway following his retirement due to injury in 2021.He explained: “I am not done in the sport. I want to give back to it and I feel I have it in me to help Swedish speedway going forward.“We kicked off this academy as a pilot project in 2023, just to try it out, and we went full gas in 2024.  Last year we had five weekends, and we had competitions on the 250cc bikes and the 500s. It was open to under-21s. This year, the 85cc and 190cc SGP4 riders will also be with us.“This year’s first weekend will be in Gislaved on April 19-20. We will also invite Lejonen’s own speedway school kids to come. I think we will have between 35 and 45 kids on this weekend. “We will be running on both tracks at the same time – the small track and big track. We will have our training weekends in Gislaved, Kumla and Eskilstuna, and the reason why we go to those places is the same reason why they had SGP4 in Malilla – the small track and its pits are separate. We have the chance to run both tracks at the same time. That’s what we are going to do.”Sundstrom’s efforts have been well supported by his fellow Swedish stars, with both current and former riders taking part as coaches. He said: “I had Pontus Aspgren and Ricky Kling with me as training instructors last year. At one of the weekends, Tony Rickardsson was with us. (Four-time Speedway GP world champion) Greg Hancock was with us when we were in Vastervik.“We had training in Mariestad, and we had PK (Peter Karlsson) and Oliver Berntzon, who chipped in and helped the youngsters. Andreas Jonsson is involved – supporting us financially through the building company he is running today. Freddie Lindgren has also been involved, along with Peter Nahlin and Magnus Zetterstrom.“There are a lot of current and former riders involved, and it was a good first year. We will build on that now for 2025.“I am really thankful and really happy to have all of these guys involved. The response has been better than I could have ever wished for. I am just trying to get a little bit of help and involve as many people as possible in one way or another to share their experience and support the kids.”Sundstrom admits that the Swedish Speedway Academy isn’t only about supporting the young riders. He said: “It’s 50 percent for the riders and 50 percent for their mechanics, which is normally the mums and dads.“We want to help them to save money and give them some tips and tricks to not waste money. We can advise them how and where they need to spend their time, how to look after the bikes and how to make them work well. The academy is not only for the riders.”While Sundstrom admits clubs must still offer youngsters the chance to get a first taste of the sport, he is ready to support Sweden’s young guns as they establish themselves on the shale.He added: “As soon as the youngsters and their parents decide to start with speedway – when they get a bike and a licence – I will look after them in the academy with training sessions and all the help we can offer.“It is still up to each club to make sure they have speedway schools and training sessions, so that they can offer kids the chance to try speedway. But once they are in the sport and have their own bike, I will look after them together with Ricky, Pontus and all of the guys involved in the academy.”

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MEDAL BIDS FOR BLODORN

German racer Norick Blodorn is ready to chase multiple FIM Speedway medals in 2025.Blodorn joined forces with Speedway GP star Kai Huckenbeck to help Germany make history at the 2024 FIM Speedway of Nations in Manchester, as they claimed fourth place – the country’s best finish in a senior world team final since 1997.Germany has not won a medal since they bagged bronze at the 1982 FIM Speedway World Team Cup Final at White City in London, and the class of 2024 fell just a point beating third-placed Sweden to the rostrum in Manchester.But after finishing ahead of highly-fancied Poland and Denmark at the National Speedway Stadium, Blodorn would love to take that next step on to the podium at the 2025 FIM SON in Torun, which runs from September 30 until October 4.He said: “Last year was insane for Germany. Nobody really expected that. It’s always a goal to make it to the Final. Then we made that happen.“Finishing fourth and one point short of a medal was great – beating the Polish and Danish teams. It was such a unique feeling for the Germans.“We could repeat that this year and maybe even get a medal. Last season was proper close. If we could repeat that performance, it would be great to take that next step. But as long as we get into the Final, we can be happy.”Blodorn has another medal in his sights as he targets SGP2 qualification in his final season at FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship level. He finished ninth in the 2023 competition but missed out on the series in 2024. Blodorn is determined to bounce back with a podium push this season.He said: “I have always come up a bit short when it comes to the medals, so I definitely want to win something there. I feel like I have been near the top in the junior categories for quite a long time, but I have never managed to get on the podium. I think it’s safe to say I want to get on the podium now.”

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FRICKE: AUSSIE OPTIONS FOR SON

Aussie ace Max Fricke admits Roos boss Mark Lemon has no shortage of options as the country’s finest bid to regain the FIM Speedway of Nations world title in Torun in 2025.Fricke joined forces with Speedway GP rival Jack Holder to lift the 2022 FIM SON trophy in Vojens, ending Australia’s 20-year wait for a world team championship. But Holder and Brady Kurtz were unable to retain the crown in Manchester last summer after Great Britain duo Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley got the better of them in the Grand Final.The Roos boast four full-time Speedway GP riders in 2025, with Fricke joined by Holder, series newcomer Kurtz and fit-again 2017 world champion Jason Doyle, who returns from the torn rotator cuff he suffered in May last year.Lemon is only able to cram three riders into his FIM SON side – two starters and one reserve – and his options are further bolstered by the likes of 2012 Speedway GP world champion Chris Holder, 2020 FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion Jaimon Lidsey, double Australian champions Rohan Tungate and Sam Masters, plus the likes of Ryan Douglas, Ben and Zach Cook, Keynan Rew and Josh Pickering.“Australia is a strong nation,” Fricke said. “There are us four in the GPs, we also have a past world champion in Chris Holder and people who aspire to be GP riders in the future, such as Rohan Tungate, Jaimon Lidsey and plenty of others. Lemo has a great issue on his hands, but that’s his department. Mine is just riding the bike.”Fricke is delighted to be going into 2025 as part of an army of SGP Aussies, with his country boasting its biggest Speedway GP contingent since 2003. “It’s great for Australian speedway,” he said. “Hopefully we will get a bit of support from back home and we can create some interest. In general, we have quite a strong nation and that’s quite a cool thing.”Fricke’s SGP showdown with Holder and Kurtz this year carries added significance with the 29-year-old trio born just six months apart. The Leicester man, who qualified for the series at the 2024 FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice, cannot wait to join his rivals on the sport’s biggest stage in the year they celebrate their 30th birthdays.He said: “It’s really cool to see Jack, Brady and I all in there. We are all the same age, and we have all grown up together from junior racing. “We have been racing together for our whole lives since we were nine or 10 years old. It’s really cool to see the progression over the years and how we have all made steps forward throughout our careers to make it to the pinnacle of the sport – the GPs.”

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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.”

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JANOWSKI OUT OF POLISH SQUAD

Former world No.3 Maciej Janowski has been dropped from the Polish national squad for 2025.Polish speedway bosses confirmed the news on the national team’s official website after Janowski departed their pre-season training camp in Malta without permission, before returning after a brief trip home.Posting a video on social media on Saturday, Janowski confirmed he headed back to Poland to attend a friend and sponsor’s wedding, as well as obtain a new passport and the visa needed to compete for British club Oxford this season.The PZM main board hit back with a statement confirming Janowski is out of the squad for 2025, when the Poles will go for gold at the FIM Speedway of Nations Final in Torun on October 4.Ireneusz Igielski, chairman of the GKSŻ and head of the Polish national team, said: “I am very sorry that this situation has occurred. Representing the country is the highest possible honour and that is how it should be treated by the riders. Removing Maciej Janowski from the squad was a difficult decision, but there could be no other.“Before leaving for Malta, coach Rafał Dobrucki gave all riders specific information regarding their participation in the training camp. He did this because we did not want to have situations like the one with Maciej Janowski.“In addition, Maciej Janowski had a conversation with the coach before leaving for Poland. He (Dobrucki) reminded him of his previous commitment and informed him about the possible consequences of leaving the camp. I would not like to talk about the reasons why Maciej Janowski decided to leave, because it is a private matter of the rider. However, in the opinion of the coach and also mine, there was no premise that would allow for consent to such a trip. It was not a sudden family situation, nor an illness or injury.”Explaining his decision to leave the camp, Janowski posted: “A week before arriving in Malta from Tenerife, I called the coach to ask for leave from the last three days of the camp, on the pretext of a few things I had in Poland. “One of them was to collect a new passport and apply for a work visa in England. The second thing was the wedding of my friends, who are also sponsors, with whom we have very good relations, and I really wanted to attend the wedding. It was not a birthday, so the wedding seemed like a pretty good argument to me. “In response, the coach said that I should lie to him, which surprised me a lot. Of course, I could lie and blame it on some family issues, which would certainly make it a lot easier. However, it seemed to me that the truth is also some kind of expression of respect towards the coach. I have always been guided by the fact that I rather build my relationships with people on the truth, not on lies. The coach said ‘Okay, okay, but we'll talk more at the camp.’“We met after a few days at the camp. The day before the flight, I went back to the coach and said that I was determined to go, because there were only two training days left, because we would be back on the third day. The coach was not entirely happy, but I decided to go, because many riders had done it in the past and it had never been a problem.”Along with being dropped from the national team, Janowski has also been threatened with being frozen out of the Golden Helmet meetings, which traditionally decide Poland’s entrants for the Speedway GP qualifiers.Janowski is far from happy with the storm that has ensued. He added: “I thought that I had stronger relationships with some people, but then I saw all these articles ... Nobody even called me from the PZM. In reality, we are destroying the team from the inside even before the season. I don't know why there is such aversion to me. “I thought that for all these years in the team, for the medals won together with the guys, there would be greater respect for me. I don't want to close the door to the Golden Helmet. It will definitely not be a nice day. It will be a day of confrontation. I want to hear why they did this to me, why the matter was referred to journalists.”Despite the PZM’s decision, the riders selected by Polish boss Rafal Dobrucki and every other national team manager at this stage of the season form only a provisional squad. They reserve the right to select riders beyond their pre-season list when they choose their five-rider squad for the FIM SON four weeks before the tournament starts with Semi-Final 1 on September 30.This leaves the door open for Janowski return and chase Poland’s first-ever gold medal in the FIM SON, should Dobrucki and the PZM have a change of heart.

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SUNDSTROM'S SWEDISH SPEEDWAY ACADEMY STEPS UP FOR 2025

MEDAL BIDS FOR BLODORN

FRICKE: AUSSIE OPTIONS FOR SON

SWEDISH BOSS SUNDSTROM: TIME TO STEP UP

JANOWSKI OUT OF POLISH SQUAD