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ELITSERIEN | SPEEDWAY GP NEWCOMER NILSSON NOTCHES 15-POINT MAX FOR ROSPIGGARNA

Swedish star Kim Nilsson powered to a 15-point maximum for Bauhaus Elitserien side Rospiggarna as they triumphed 48-42 at home to Dackarna on Tuesday night.Nilsson raced to two championship points in both of the opening Speedway GP rounds in Croatia and Warsaw, but there was no stopping him in Hallstavik as he reeled off five straight wins against the Malilla men.He was well supported by French racer Dimitri Berge, who followed up his weekend Speedway European Championship qualification by bagging 10 paid 11 points, while Poland’s Grzegorz Zengota notched nine.World No.3 Maciej Janowski led the Dackarna score chart on 11 paid 12, with Speedway GP first reserve Andzejs Lebedevs registering 11 and Great Britain star Dan Bewley adding eight.Elsewhere, 2017 Speedway GP world champion Jason Doyle continued his strong run of form with 13 paid 14 points for Indianerna as they saw off Smederna 49-41 in Kumla.His fellow countryman Max Fricke collected 11 points, while Krzysztof Buczkowski bagged 10 paid 13 and Szymon Wozniak notched nine. Robert Lambert tallied 10 paid 11 for Smederna.In the day’s other meeting, former Speedway GP star Przemyslaw Pawlicki picked up a 13 paid 15-point maximum for Piraterna as they thumped Lejonen 55-35 in Motala.His younger brother Piotr Pawlicki also starred on 12 paid 13, with Prague FIM Czech Speedway GP wild card Vaclav Milik roaring into form with 12 of his own. Oskar Fajfer added eight paid 10.Triple world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik racked up 14 points from six races for the Lions, who badly missed the injured Dominik Kubera. 

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SUCCESSFUL SURGERY FOR KUBERA

Polish star Dominik Kubera has undergone successful surgery following his crash at the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw last Saturday.The wild card rider suffered injuries when he lifted during Qualifying Practice and was taken to hospital, with Bartlomiej Kowalski replacing him in Saturday’s Speedway GP.Posting on their official website, Kubera’s Polish club Lublin has confirmed that the rider underwent successful surgery after being transferred to the city.The club wrote: “The situation that happened on Friday at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw was very hard for both Dominik Kubera, his relatives and our entire club. Due to this fact, we decided to withhold an official announcement about Dominik's health.“Our rider was transported by ambulance to Lublin on Saturday and has already had TH12 surgery, which took place yesterday. “We would like to thank the entire medical team from the Provincial Hospital in Lublin with Dr. Paweł Andrzejewicz, Paweł Polak, Małgorzata Piasecka at the helm, and the company Centrum Medyczne Medisport Lublin for their help in organising professional medical transport.“We are happy to inform you that the operation was successful, and Dominik's prognosis looks promising. The coming weeks will be a time for him to devote to rehabilitation and recovery. Domin - you are great, and we - your team are waiting for you!”Kubera played a pivotal role in Lublin winning the first PGE Ekstraliga title in the club’s history last season and has been widely tipped as a future Speedway GP star.Everyone involved in FIM Speedway also sends Dominik our very best wishes for a speedy recovery.

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MORRIS EXPLAINS HOLDER ABSENCE FOR SHEFFIELD

SGB Premiership CEO Phil Morris has confirmed Sheffield star Jack Holder was granted permission to miss Tigers’ trip to Wolverhampton tonight as he lines up for PGE Ekstraliga club Lublin.Holder – runner-up in last Saturday’s Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw – appears for the Polish champions in their rescheduled home match with Krosno, despite British clubs holding priority over riders’ services on Monday nights under an international agreement.In a move to ease PGE Ekstraliga restrictions on the number of leagues their riders could enter, British bosses agreed that Polish clubs would have priority on riders’ services if meetings were postponed and re-arranged on Thursdays.But Morris says that British bosses agreed to Holder’s absence at Monmore Green as a one-off to avoid a potentially more damaging fixture clash on a Thursday.He said: “The arrangement which was made with Poland does give them priority on riders for their fixtures which are postponed and re-arranged on Thursdays.“Originally this fixture was going to be re-arranged for a date which would have taken Jason Doyle, Jack Holder and Krzysztof Kasprzak out of Premiership matches, so after discussions, it was agreed that this fixture would run tonight.“At the time of those discussions, there were no Premiership matches scheduled as it was due to be the first round of the Pairs, from which the clubs are able to select any two of their top five riders.“We therefore agreed that this Monday would be available as a one-off, in order to prevent the Polish fixture from taking place on another day which would have created more rider unavailability.“We are working together to minimise disruption, but I just felt it was important to clarify that the UK still has priority on a Monday. This particular meeting was a specific, one-off arrangement made to ease the situation elsewhere on a night when originally there were no Premiership fixtures.”Aussie racer Nick Morris steps into the Tigers side as a guest to cover for Holder, lining up on his former SGB Premiership home track, where he raced for Wolves from 2019 until 2022.

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BERGE LEADS SEC QUALIFIERS AT EPIC CHALLENGE IN HUNGARY

French racer Dimitri Berge sealed his place in the 2023 Speedway European Championship at an epic SEC Challenge at Hungarian track Nagyhalasz on Sunday afternoon.Berge topped the podium on 13 points, winning his opening four races to seal his spot in the four-round continental series. It also moves him a step closer to FIM Speedway Grand Prix qualification, with the SEC champion guaranteed a spot in the 2024 Speedway GP series.Last year’s FIM Torun Speedway GP wild card Kacper Woryna also booked his SEC spot, finishing second on 10, with Czech shooting star Jan Kvech qualifying in third place – also on 10. Polish racer Grzegorz Zengota continued his fine start to 2023 by making the cut on 10 too.The race for the fifth and final qualification place ended in a marathon, five-rider, four-heat run-off after former Speedway GP riders Antonio Lindback and Niels-Kristian Iversen finished on nine points, along with Andreas Lyager, Szymon Wozniak and Mads Hansen.Lindback won the opening race ahead of Iversen and Wozniak, while Lyager beat Hansen in the second race, meaning Lindback and Lyager were safely through to the all-important fourth and final heat. The third race to eliminate the fifth rider saw Wozniak take the win ahead of Iversen in second and Hansen in third. Hansen was out of the running and Wozniak and Iversen joined the final run-off. That was won by Danish racer Lyager, who held his nerve to win European Championship qualification ahead of Lindback, Wozniak and Iversen.Today’s qualifiers are joined by 2022 SEC champion Leon Madsen, plus his fellow top-five finishers Janusz Kolodziej, Mikkel Michelsen, Patryk Dudek and Dominik Kubera.The 2023 SEC field will be completed by permanent five wild card riders, who will be selected by the SEC Commission soon, with each round featuring one wild card for the night.The SEC series gets underway at Polish club Czestochowa on June 17, before visiting German venue Gustrow on August 5 and Polish circuit Bydgoszcz on September 9. The champion will be crowned on Golden Helmet weekend in Czech city Pardubice on September 22.SEC CHALLENGE SCORES: 1 Dimitri Berge 13, 2 Kacper Woryna 10, 3 Jan Kvech 10, 4 Grzegorz Zengota 10, 5 Andreas Lyager 9, 6 Antonio Lindback 9, 7 Szymon Wozniak 9, 8 Niels-Kristian Iversen 9, 9 Mads Hansen 9, 10 Andzejs Lebedevs 8, 11 Timo Lahti 8, 12 Antti Vuolas 6, 13 Frederik Jakobsen 5, 14 Jacob Thorssell 4, 15 Norbert Magosi 1, 16 Mark Barany 0, 17 Roland Kovacs 0.

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FIGHTING FIT FREDDIE STORMS TO WARSAW WIN

Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren admitted “I am just grateful to be healthy again” after storming to a “very emotional” Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw win on Saturday.The world No.4 won his first Speedway GP since 2020 FIM Gorzow Speedway GP round four after triumphing in a restarted final ahead of Aussie racer Jack Holder in second and Zmarzlik in third, with Aussie star Jason Doyle disqualified after crashing as he duelled with Zmarzlik in the first staging of the race.Lindgren also topped the podium in the 2017 Warsaw event and has now reached the rostrum on an incredible five straight visits to PGE Narodowy.The victory in front of almost 45,000 fans comes as a real boost to a rider who has endured a huge battle with the effects of long Covid, suffered since he was first infected with the virus in March 2020 and again the following winter. After enduring breathing difficulties and other symptoms which impacted on his training, Lindgren was elated to celebrate his sixth Speedway GP win.A sea of white and red at PGE NarodowyHe said: “I am just grateful to be healthy again. I don’t think many people understand how hard I have had it for the last three years – only my nearest family and mechanics.“The win feels great. I am very happy. It’s very emotional to win a GP; I haven’t done it for a long time. This is my sixth GP win tonight. I’ve had a fair few attempts, so it doesn’t come easy. “My wife also came here with my daughter and our friends and family. I haven’t seen my daughter, Millie-Li, too much since February, apart from a couple of days now and then, so it was great to see her this weekend to have her and her Mummy here as well.”Lindgren is now level on 36 points with Zmarzlik at the top of the Speedway GP standings, with the Pole placed higher only by virtue of his superior FIM ranking. The pair continue their battle at the Prague FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic on June 3.While he’s keen to enjoy another golden moment in Warsaw before thinking about the next test, Lindgren pledged: “I am just going to give everything I have. That’s what I did today, and I was rewarded with a win, and I am very glad about that.”Runner-up Holder reached his first-ever Speedway GP final and came within a lap of his first victory after taking a commanding lead in the first run of the final. The race was rerun following Doyle’s fall, denying Holder top spot, but he said: “I am just stoked to be in the final. “A dream nearly came true. I was in front, but that’s just speedway. How many times has a person been in front and then missed the start in the re-run? I am over the moon really. I have made some big steps in the right direction and had a good start to the season compared to last year. I am just really happy.”Third-placed Zmarzlik admits he thrived on the energy of a partisan Warsaw crowd, especially after starting the night with a disqualification and then a third place in his second outing.Having ended his wait for his first Warsaw final appearance, Zmarzlik said: “I am so happy that I have made this final today at the GP in Warsaw. I can say this adds some good points to the championship standings. After that start of mine today, I can say I am pretty happy to be on the podium.“After my first two heats, my only thought was ‘okay, this is Warsaw. Keep calm.’ I did my best and I am very glad to have reached the final. I can say that all the fans were absolutely amazing today. I could feel their energy through the whole event.”Lindgren wins the race to the line in WarsawSPEEDWAY GP STANDINGS: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 36, 2 Fredrik Lindgren 36, 3 Jason Doyle 28, 4 Jack Holder 26, 5 Robert Lambert 23, 6 Tai Woffinden 21, 7 Martin Vaculik 21, 8 Dan Bewley 20, 9 Max Fricke 18, 10 Mikkel Michelsen 17, 11 Leon Madsen 12, 12 Maciej Janowski 10, 13 Anders Thomsen 8, 14 Patryk Dudek 7, 15 Bartlomiej Kowalski 4, 16 Kim Nilsson 4, 17 Matej Zagar 1.ORLEN FIM WARSAW SPEEDWAY GP POINTS: 1 Fredrik Lindgren 20, 2 Jack Holder 18, 3 Bartosz Zmarzlik 16, 4 Jason Doyle 14, 5 Martin Vaculik 12, 6 Max Fricke 11, 7 Dan Bewley 10, 8 Tai Woffinden 9, 9 Leon Madsen 8, 10 Maciej Janowski 7, 11 Mikkel Michelsen 6, 12 Robert Lambert 5, 13 Bartlomiej Kowalski 4, 14 Anders Thomsen 3, 15 Kim Nilsson 2, 16 Patryk Dudek 1, 17 Wiktor Przyjemski DNR, 18 Kacper Pludra DNR.  

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ELITSERIEN | SPEEDWAY GP NEWCOMER NILSSON NOTCHES 15-POINT MAX FOR ROSPIGGARNA

SUCCESSFUL SURGERY FOR KUBERA

MORRIS EXPLAINS HOLDER ABSENCE FOR SHEFFIELD

BERGE LEADS SEC QUALIFIERS AT EPIC CHALLENGE IN HUNGARY

FIGHTING FIT FREDDIE STORMS TO WARSAW WIN