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FIM SPEEDWAY STARS OF THE CENTURY | TONY RICKARDSSON

The Speedway GP era has produced some of the sport’s all-time greats, but none of them have won more world titles than Swedish icon and FIM Speedway global ambassador Tony Rickardsson.  The Avesta-born legend raced and innovated his way to a record six FIM Speedway World Championships. His Cardiff wall of death, F1-style motorhome and speedway showmanship took the sport to the next level. And now TR is helping the next generation of stars as the founding father of the brand-new FIM SGP4 project – an entry-level championship aimed at riders aged 11-13 launched alongside global promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and the FIM. PAUL BURBIDGE caught up with him ahead of Saturday’s DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun … Well Tony, it’s 18 years since you won your sixth and final FIM Speedway World Championship, but your run as Sweden’s most recent world champion could end on Saturday. Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik heads into the DeWalt FIM Speedway of Poland – Torun with a six-point advantage over Fredrik Lindgren. Can Freddie end Sweden’s wait for a Speedway GP world champion? “He has nothing to lose really. From Freddie’s point of view, he just has everything to win in Torun. That’s sometimes a lot easier as a rider compared to what Zmarzlik has to do.  “Of course, Zmarzlik is already defending the title, but he had it in the bag and suddenly there was a hole in the bag, the title fell out of it, and they are racing for it again. Who would have thought that a couple of weeks back?! “I am sure Freddie will just go there to put himself in the best position possible and try to win the meeting. That’s what he has to do. Then he just has to hope Zmarzlik doesn’t make the final. “This is the opportunity he has been waiting for and Freddie has had a long, tough career. I think he is just going to go for it. Who knows? I think he has a pretty good chance actually.” How much would a Lindgren Speedway GP world-title win lift Swedish speedway? “It would be just awesome for Swedish speedway if we had Freddie as world champion. It will help to create the interest we need to get speedway kick-started again here in Sweden. In that sense, I am really hoping Freddie can win the title. If we had a world champion like Freddie, I am sure he would be a great ambassador for the sport.” 

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LAMBERT EYES CHAMPAGNE FINISH IN TORUN

Great Britain racer Robert Lambert has the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun podium in his sights this Saturday as he closes in on 2024 SGP qualification.The King’s Lynn racer finished fourth in the DeluxeHomeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on September 16, with winner Leon Madsen, Fredrik Lindgren in second and Jack Holder in third place pipping him to the podium.But Lambert’s result saw him move up to sixth spot in the standings on 97 points, meaning he occupies the sixth and final automatic qualification place for the 2024 Speedway GP series.While Madsen is just two behind in seventh spot on 95, Lambert is guaranteed to qualify for 2024 if Slovak star Martin Vaculik, who finished second in the FIM GP Challenge, remains in the top six – as Lambert was fourth at the qualifying round in Gislaved, Sweden on August 19.With Vaculik just three championship points away from being certain of a top-six finish and qualification for the Brit highly likely, Lambert is focusing on ending 2023 with a big result on his Polish home track.Chasing his first Speedway GP win in front of a packed Marian Rose Motoarena, a determined Lambert said: “Torun is a track I know well, and I am looking forward to getting there and seeing what I can do. As long as Martin stays in the top six, my place is pretty secure.“There’s no pressure, but at the same time, it would be good to finish with a podium in Torun. There will be a lot of home fans there and a lot of Brits also travel to Torun for the weekend. It’s always a great event. I’ll be doing what I can to succeed in Torun.”Lambert’s hopes of winning a Speedway GP World Championship medal are all but over for 2023, but he has still reached seven semi-finals in nine rounds – a very consistent run of form that he’s determined to build on next season.The Polish-based racer, who was fifth in the 2022 championship, said: “The goal at the beginning of the season was to get a medal. That looks a little hard to get at the moment, but I need to take all the positives away from this. “This season has been consistent, but not as consistent at such a high level. I wanted to be getting to more finals. We have been making the semis, but not getting any further.“There are a lot of positives to take from the year, but at the same time, we have a few more things to try and improve on and we will try to better ourselves for the following year. It will come to a stage where things click into place and start working. We just need to ride it out until that time comes.”

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EKSTRALIGA | KUBERA LEADS LUBLIN TO SECOND STRAIGHT TITLE TRIUMPH

DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun wild card Dominik Kubera stormed to 11 paid 12 points for Lublin as they retained their PGE Ekstraliga championship with a resounding 55-35 win in Wroclaw on Sunday.After winning their first top-flight title in 2022, Lublin made it two in a row as Kubera reeled off a four-ride maximum, while former world No.2 Jaroslaw Hampel racked up 10 paid 11.Triple world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik notched nine ahead of his Speedway GP title showdown in Torun this Saturday, while championship rival Fredrik Lindgren scored five. Bronze medal contender Jack Holder recorded nine as his side grabbed the gold medals 106-74 on aggregate.Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Zmarzlik was elated with a landmark title win. He posted: “WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF POLAND!! For me, this is the first Polish team championship gold medal in my senior career. Many thanks for the whole season. Your cheering led us to great things.” Wroclaw went into the title decider without local hero Maciej Janowski, who is still nursing a broken ankle, but Britain’s triple world champion Tai Woffinden made a shock comeback – three weeks after suffering a broken hand in the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff on September 2.Woffinden made no secret of the fact he should not be racing ahead of the meeting, but his comeback appeared to be going to plan when he defeated Lublin duo Jaroslaw Hampel and Fredrik Lindgren in heat one.Disaster struck, though, in heat seven, when Woffinden caught Lublin junior Bartosz Banbor’s back wheel on the back straight and fell. He was unable to continue, ending his evening on four paid five points, and his absence took its toll on Wroclaw.Polish star Piotr Pawlicki scored 10 paid 12 points for the hosts, with Speedway GP star Dan Bewley notching nine.In the day’s other match, Torun ended their PGE Ekstraliga season on a high by clinching the bronze medals. Despite Czestochowa winning the third-place play-off, second leg 46-44 on the afternoon, Torun triumphed 94-86 on aggregate.Former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov topped the Torun score chart on 10 paid 11, while Great Britain star Robert Lambert added a straight 10. His Speedway GP rival Patryk Dudek notched nine paid 10, with Polish racer Wiktor Lampart adding eight paid nine.Danish star Mikkel Michelsen followed up his third Speedway European Championship win in Pardubice on Friday night by leading the Czestochowa scoring on 12 paid 13.Double World Under-21 champion Maksym Drabik registered nine paid 10, with 2021 World Under-21 champion Jakub Miskowiak adding eight paid nine and world No.2 Leon Madsen scoring seven paid eight points.Elsewhere on Sunday, Finnish ace Timo Lahti celebrated victory in the famous Pardubice Golden Helmet event, winning the six-rider final ahead of Polish star Jakub Jamrog, French racer Dimitri Berge, Denmark’s Andreas Lyager, Italian rider Nicolas Covatti and Speedway GP star Jason Doyle.

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LEBEDEVS REPLACES JANOWSKI FOR TORUN FINALE

Latvian ace Andzejs Lebedevs will sign off his FIM Speedway Grand Prix season in Torun as he steps in for injured Polish star Maciej Janowski next Saturday.The 2022 Speedway GP bronze medallist has officially withdrawn from the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun as he continues his recovery from the broken ankle that he suffered in Wroclaw’s PGE Ekstraliga play-off semi-final decider at home to Torun on September 10.Janowski is currently 14th in the Speedway GP standings on 43 points and must now wait and hope for a permanent wild card from the SGP Commission if he is to extend his stay in the series into a 10th consecutive season.Meanwhile, his absence hands Speedway GP first substitute rider Lebedevs the chance to race in a fifth straight round.The Daugavpils-born racer is yet to reach a semi-final so far this season but stormed into the last eight at the 2022 FIM Torun Speedway GP, scoring 10 championship points.With Lebedevs also chasing a Speedway GP permanent wild card, he will be hoping to impress with another big finish to the season at the Marian Rose Motoarena.

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MICHELSEN SEALS THIRD EUROPEAN TITLE & 2024 SPEEDWAY GP QUALIFICATION

Danish racer Mikkel Michelsen has guaranteed his place in the 2024 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series after securing his third Speedway European Championship in Pardubice.The 2019 and 2021 SEC winner regained the crown after scoring eight points from his opening three rides at the final round in the Czech Republic, which was curtailed after 16 heats due to heavy rain.With 2022 champion Leon Madsen finishing fourth in his opening ride, Michelsen’s victory in heat 11 meant he had done enough to be certain of becoming the first triple European champion of the 21st century, as well as earning a spot in the 2024 Speedway GP series.Michelsen topped the podium on 52 points, with Madsen taking the silver medal on 44. The world No.2 reeled off three wins from his final three rides to take third place in the meeting on nine points, overhauling Michelsen in his final outing to make the Pardubice podium on countback.The event was won by Poland’s Janusz Kolodziej on 11 points as he secured the bronze medal overall on 42, despite missing the opening round in Czestochowa due to injury.Poland’s Patryk Dudek scored six points on the night to end up fourth overall on 33 – level with Latvian ace Andzejs Lebedevs in fifth, who scored five this evening. Both riders did enough to secure the top-five finish needed to guarantee their SEC spots for 2024, joining Michelsen, Madsen and Kolodziej in gaining automatic qualification.DeWalt FIM Torun Speedway GP wild card Dominik Kubera finished second in the Pardubice round on 10 points. But having sat out the opening round in Czestochowa following his crash in Orlen FIM Warsaw Speedway GP Qualifying Practice on May 12, he narrowly missed the top-five cut on 30 - along with Germany's Kai Huckenbeck in seventh, who also ended on 30.FINAL SPEEDWAY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Mikkel Michelsen 52, 2 Leon Madsen 44, 3 Janusz Kołodziej 42, 4 Patryk Dudek 33, 5 Andzejs Lebedevs 33, 6 Dominik Kubera 30, 7 Kai Huckenbeck 30, 8 Kacper Woryna 27, 9 Antonio Lindback 25, 10 Dimitri Berge 24, 11 Adam Ellis 22, 12 Andreas Lyager 20, 13 Szymon Woźniak 18, 14 Vaclav Milik 16, 15 Grzegorz Zengota 16, 16 Jan Kvech 13, 17 Niels-Kristian Iversen 9, 18 Maksym Drabik 9, 19 Timo Lahti 5, 20 Norick Blodorn 3, 21 Petr Chlupac 1, 22 Kacper Pludra 1.PARDUBICE SCORES: 1. Janusz Kołodziej 11, 2. Dominik Kubera 10, 3. Leon Madsen 9, 4. Mikkel Michelsen 9, 5. Vaclav Milik 7, 6. Kai Huckenbeck 7, 7. Andreas Lyager 7, 8. Grzegorz Zengota 7, 9. Patryk Dudek 6, 10. Antonio Lindback 5, 11. Andzejs Lebedevs 5, 12. Adam Ellis 4, 13. Dimitri Berge 4, 14. Jan Kvech 2, 15. Kacper Woryna 2, 16. Petr Chlupac 1, 17. Hynek Stichauer DNR, 18. Matous Kamenik DNR.

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FIM SPEEDWAY STARS OF THE CENTURY | TONY RICKARDSSON

LAMBERT EYES CHAMPAGNE FINISH IN TORUN

EKSTRALIGA | KUBERA LEADS LUBLIN TO SECOND STRAIGHT TITLE TRIUMPH

LEBEDEVS REPLACES JANOWSKI FOR TORUN FINALE

MICHELSEN SEALS THIRD EUROPEAN TITLE & 2024 SPEEDWAY GP QUALIFICATION