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VACULIK: MEETING SGP HEROES IN PRAGUE INSPIRED ME

Slovak star Martin Vaculik admits meeting his heroes in Prague as a kid inspired him to become an FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic winner in 2022. Vaculik sent the Marketa Stadium wild last May, when he topped the podium ahead of former Prague winners Tai Woffinden and Jason Doyle. Given that no Czech rider has won Speedway GP’s longest-running round since it launched in 1997, Vaculik’s win was the closest the event has come to delivering a home winner, and an army of fans followed their hero across the border from neighbouring Slovakia to see him triumph. Vaculik grew up watching the sport and eventually racing in Prague as he competed for his hometown club Zarnovica in the Czech league. And he admits the chance to rub shoulders with the Speedway GP superstars in Prague once a year only made him hungrier to achieve his racing dreams. Remembering his first Marketa Stadium SGP event, he revealed: “I think it was 2003, when I was 13 that I went there with my father for the Speedway GP. I remember having a picture with Greg Hancock, Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob and Jason Crump and all these stars. “I remember standing on one side of the fence and Greg was on the other. But he took a picture with me – us and the fence! “It was a good memory and when I was racing with him in Tarnow in Poland about a decade ago, I showed him this picture and we were laughing about that. I told him, ‘You see Greg! Dreams come true!’ Then we were racing together, and it was amazing. “It’s amazing how all this stuff happens. It’s fantastic. We have spoken about that early meeting many times. It was a nice memory.” Joining Hancock in the club of Prague winners was a special moment for Vaculik last season. He added: “Winning the Prague Grand Prix is always something special. The Speedway GP there is simply special. I am very pleased I won the meeting there because it’s a very hard Grand Prix. “That place is also really sentimental for me. Prague is one of my favourite places in the world. That win was like a launchpad for us for the rest of the season, with good results, a good setup and good equipment. It was a turning point for me.”

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NILSSON OPEN TO FUTURE UK RETURN

Swedish star Kim Nilsson admits he would consider a UK comeback “in the near future”, but he’s keen to focus on his Speedway GP debut season in 2023. Nilsson is set for the biggest year of his life so far after winning the 2022 FIM GP Challenge in Glasgow to earn a full-time place in the Speedway GP elite. Alongside his SGP World Championship rounds, he will also be competing in Sweden’s Bauhaus Elitserien for Rospiggarna, as well as German team Landshut, who race in the Polish First Division. An increasing number of top riders are heading back to Britain’s SGB Premiership, including GB hero Dan Bewley, triple world champion Nicki Pedersen and former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov. Nilsson admits he has considered competing in the UK, where he last raced with Leicester in 2017. “I have been thinking about it a few times actually,” he said. “This year it would have been too much because of the GPs. I didn’t want to change too much. But I’m not ending my career without going back to Britain for at least a couple more seasons. Hopefully in the near future I will be back. “There are a few tracks I could race on – maybe not too far from the airports. There are a few I really like. King’s Lynn is one and Belle Vue is a place I really like. We will see what happens.” Nilsson is best known in the UK for his stint with Lakeside from 2011 to 2016. The Hammers left the Arena-Essex Raceway in 2018 and the Swede is gutted that they remain without a home as efforts to find a new stadium continue. “I saw a picture of Lakeside recently,” he said. “The place is still there, but of course there’s a bit of grass on the track now. It’s just so sad to see it like that. It brings back so many memories from the years I had there – really, really good times.”

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DOYLE'S WINTER OF CHANGE

Aussie ace Jason Doyle hopes a “massive change” made in the winter months will end his Speedway GP frustration in 2023. The Newcastle-born star finished 10th in the 2022 Speedway GP World Championship and needed a wild card spot from the SGP Commission to retain his place in the series. The 2017 world champion admits he simply didn’t have the pace to reach his previous level on the sport’s biggest stage. But he hopes some off-season changes will help him hit better form this time around. Assessing his 2022 campaign, Doyle pulled no punches. “I was terrible last season,” he admitted to the Ipswich Witches official website. “I was at a point in the season where nothing was working. The GPs were very hard to go to because I knew I didn’t have the speed to match the boys and it was very frustrating to turn up on a Saturday and know I wasn’t even close to them in qualifying, and then to have to race them in the meeting. “But we’ve made a massive change in the winter and I’m very happy what we’ve done. Hopefully it is a good start to something good for me in the GPs.” Before then, Doyle hopes to launch the SGB Premiership season on a high with Ipswich. He joins the likes of former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov, Danny King, Erik Riss, Keynan Rew, Danyon Hume and Joe Thompson in a stellar side. There’s no doubt Doyle has title aspirations ahead of Witches’ opening match at home to Peterborough on Thursday. “We’re in it to win it,” he said. “A good start against Peterborough is our first goal. Our first meeting against Nicki (Pedersen) and Niels-Kristian (Iversen) is going to be good for me and Emil to show them the right way around Ipswich – and hopefully come out with that win. “Having Nicki back in British Speedway is amazing, so now we’ve got about six of the top 20 riders in the world back in Britain. “For fans it must be great to have that happen after so many years without them.” While Doyle is keen to deliver a strong start for his side, he’s also urging Witches to pace themselves. He said: “It’s a long year so we need to ride safe early on. I say this all the time. It’s not about winning everything at this time of the year, although of course that’s nice. Last year we were top of the table for about 90 percent of the time and didn’t get to the final. That’s not the way we want it this year. “In saying that, the atmosphere in the club is electrifying. There is already a lot more hope this year than last with the team Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins have put together. “We need to help the young kids in our team, but also having Emil is a massive thing for us guys to have that firepower this year.”

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LINDGREN: PRESSURE ON STAR-STUDDED LUBLIN SIDE

Swedish star Freddie Lindgren admits the pressure will be on a stellar Lublin side as the Polish club bids to defend the PGE Ekstraliga title following a winter transfer spree. Lublin won the first top-flight championship in their history in 2022 and made a statement of their intent during the off-season by prising triple world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik away from Gorzow to lead their title defence. The Pole isn’t their only blockbuster signing as Lindgren joins Lublin from Czestochowa, while Aussie ace Jack Holder makes the move from Torun, where he has raced his entire Polish career to date. With the Speedway GP trio teaming up with former world No.2 Jaroslaw Hampel, Polish international Dominik Kubera and SGP2 champion Mateusz Cierniak, the champions are being tipped among the 2023 title favourites. While many riders play down the weight of expectation on a team’s shoulders, Lindgren offered a refreshingly frank and honest appraisal of the pressure facing this highly-rated Lublin line-up. “There will be loads of pressure!” he enthused. “We are the defending champions and have signed the world champion from their country. It’s a big move and it means they want to win again. The pressure is going to be on for us to win again. “There are a lot of strong teams in the Ekstraliga, but I definitely feel that on paper we look one of the strongest. Having that on paper is one thing; you need to put it down on the track. It’s not going to happen by itself. We have to work hard and work together to win.” Lindgren has been spending some time with the group in recent weeks, getting to know everyone following his transfer from Czestochowa. He said: “We had one week in Calpe, Spain at a cycling camp together. Recently we have been in Croatia practising. I didn’t know all the guys well before, but I am starting to get to know them. “For me it was nice to get a few laps in, have a couple of days of riding with them and get my body back to riding speedway as we get ready to start racing.”

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FIM SPEEDWAY TOP 5 MOMENTS | MALILLA

As speedway toasts its 100th anniversary season, FIMSpeedway.com looks back at the top five moments celebrated at each of our 2023 FIM Speedway venues. Today, we feature the storied Skrotfrag Arena – stage for the FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on July 15, as well as the FIM SGP3 Final on July 14.   1. ZMARZLIK ZOOMS TO NO.3 IN 2022 Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik wrote more Speedway GP history on September 17, 2022, as he celebrated his third world title in the forests of Malilla. With Zmarzlik and rival Leon Madsen both in the semi-finals, the Dane needed to progress from semi-final one to keep the title race alive. But when his engine gave up on him, it was game over – handing the Pole his third SGP crown in just four seasons. Camera crews rushed to Zmarzlik’s pit area as the team celebrated, but it was back to business within minutes as Zmarzlik cruised to victory in semi-final two, before capping off an unforgettable night by winning the FIM Swedish Speedway GP – his third Malilla win after victories in 2017 and 2021.   2. FAST FREDDIE’S HOME HEROICS IN 2019 Nothing raises the noise level in Malilla more than Freddie Lindgren in full flight in his home event. He truly was in full flight in heat six, when Polish rival Patryk Dudek crashed on the back straight, leaving man and machine prone across the circuit. Lindgren had nowhere to go but produced an Evil Knievel-style jump over Dudek’s stranded bike, rocketing over it before crashing into the third-bend fence. It was a fall that left Lindgren with a visible limp, but it didn’t slow him down on the bike. Not only did he spare the Pole from serious injury, he went on to win the final ahead of Leon Madsen, Maciej Janowski and Artem Laguta. It was an emotional win for Lindgren – seven years after his first home victory at Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium in 2012. Few events bring out his best more than Malilla’s Speedway GP.   3. HANCOCK ENDS SWEDISH VICTORY SEARCH IN 2016 Having made his European home in Sweden with wife Jennie, the nation where they raised sons Wilbur, Bill and Karl, the country holds a special place in American legend Greg Hancock’s affections. But for some crazy reason, the Californian – who has raced more Speedway GPs than any other rider – had been unable to top the podium in his adopted homeland. That all changed on a glorious Sunday afternoon in 2016. The FIM Swedish Speedway GP was pushed back by a day due to rain, but the final was more than worth the wait. Hancock duelled with title rival Jason Doyle over first place, before getting the better of him to win his first Swedish round at the 36th attempt. Good things come to those who wait, and he wasn’t waiting long for his fourth world title after spraying the Malilla champagne.   4. AJ ON TOP IN 2006 The Malilla crowd loves a home winner, and it was Andreas Jonsson who delivered an unforgettable victory at the second Speedway GP round staged in Malilla in 2006. With six-time world champion Tony Rickardsson announcing his retirement halfway through the season, an expectant nation was looking for a new hero to keep the yellow and blue flag flying high. And it was Jonsson who stepped up to the mark, winning the Malilla final ahead of Hans Andersen, Leigh Adams and Jason Crump on his way to fourth place in the Speedway GP World Championship. That Malilla victory was the first of nine Speedway GP wins for a man who went on to win World Championship silver in 2011, and he remains one of Sweden’s heroes of the SGP era.   5. DANISH YOUNG GUNS FIRE IN 2012 FIM SWC Malilla hasn’t only hosted Speedway GP action – the 2012 FIM Speedway World Cup Race Off and Final came to the Skrotfrag Arena, with hosts Sweden facing off with Denmark, Russia and Australia. Danish boss Anders Secher took a sizeable gamble in naming talented but inexperienced duo Michael Jepsen Jensen and Mikkel Bech in his starting line-up, dropping Leon Madsen after the opening round in Vojens. But starring alongside Niels-Kristian Iversen and Nicki Pedersen, Denmark’s young guns fired – with MJJ matching NKI’s 11 points, Pedersen picking up nine and Bech bagging eight to seal a famous win. Australia fell three points short of gold in second spot, despite a 16-point salvo from eventual Speedway GP world champion Chris Holder. Meanwhile, Russia won their first FIM SWC medal in third.   Join us for more magical Malilla moments. Tickets covering entry to both the 2023 FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on Saturday, July 15 and the FIM SGP3 Final for the sport’s brightest under-16 stars on Friday, July 14 are on sale now. Secure your spot at the Skrotfrag Arena here: https://secure.tickster.com/sv/27pj8wpgxzj1va9/selectproductgroup

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VACULIK: MEETING SGP HEROES IN PRAGUE INSPIRED ME

NILSSON OPEN TO FUTURE UK RETURN

DOYLE'S WINTER OF CHANGE

LINDGREN: PRESSURE ON STAR-STUDDED LUBLIN SIDE

FIM SPEEDWAY TOP 5 MOMENTS | MALILLA