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FLINT JOINS BRENNAN IN CARDIFF SGP2 SHOWDOWN ON SUNDAY

Great Britain will now have two riders in Sunday’s FIM SGP2 of Great Britain starting line-up as Leon Flint steps into the main 16 alongside Tom Brennan. British Under-21 champion Brennan was originally due to serve as wild card for the biggest FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship round ever staged, as the action takes place at Cardiff’s iconic Principality Stadium (1pm start). But SGP2 first reserve Brennan will now replace series regular Timi Salonen in the line-up after the flying Finnish racer suffered a broken collarbone in the FIM Speedway of Nations Final at Vojens on July 30. With Brennan no longer the wild card, the No.16 race jacket opened up and British bosses have nominated Flint. The 19-year-old steps into the line-up for the biggest meeting of his career so far. Flint has enjoyed a stellar season with his local club Berwick in the SGB Championship, as well as racing for Wolverhampton in Britain’s top flight, the SGB Premiership. The recently-crowned British Under-19 champion served as Great Britain’s No.3 reserve for the SON2 FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship event in Vojens on July 29. Having missed out on taking a ride as the Brits bagged bronze, Flint will be determined to take his chance to shine in Cardiff. With Flint vacating the No.18 track reserve spot, his place is taken by Jason Edwards, with Drew Kemp remaining at No.17. Promising Essex-born racer Edwards competes for three UK clubs – King’s Lynn in the SGB Premiership, SGB Championship side Redcar and National League club Mildenhall. All FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff tickets include entry to Sunday’s FIM SGP2 of Great Britain as the city celebrates its 20th Speedway GP event in style. Tickets are still available online until 12:00 BST on Thursday here: https://bit.ly/3ixX9wQ After that, they can only be purchased from the WRU Shop at the Principality Stadium, between gates three and four on Westgate Street on Friday (13:00-17:30 BST) and Saturday (09:30-17:30 BST).

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CHAMPION BRENNAN FLIES BRITISH FLAG IN CARDIFF SGP2 EVENT

Great Britain’s FIM Speedway of Nations world champion Tom Brennan returns to the world stage at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium after being named as wild card for the FIM SGP2 of Great Britain on Sunday, August 14. The 2021 British Under-21 champion lines up in the No.16 race jacket in round two of the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship series – rebranded as SGP2 for this season as part of new global promoter Discovery Sports Events’ vision to develop and shine a spotlight on the sport’s junior stars. Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is comfortably the biggest and best stadium ever to host a round of the sport’s under-21 championship as the SGP2 stars compete less than 24 hours after the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain on Saturday, August 13 at 5pm. The SGP2 round is part of an action-packed weekend celebrating Speedway GP’s 20th visit to the Welsh capital, and Brennan will be determined to fly the British flag in style. He joined forces with Speedway GP trio Tai Woffinden, Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley to lift the FIM SON world title in Manchester last October – winning Britain’s first world team title since 1989. Helping to end that 32-year wait puts the 21-year-old into the history books and now he will be determined to become the first-ever SGP2 winner in Cardiff. Brennan races for the Belle Vue Aces in Britain’s SGB Premiership, as well as Scottish side Glasgow Tigers in the SGB Championship. He is joined in the FIM SGP2 of Great Britain by track reserves Drew Kemp and Leon Flint, who line up at No.17 and No.18 respectively. Tickets for the FIM British Speedway GP include entry to Sunday’s SGP2 event, which gets underway at 1pm UK time. To secure your spot in Cardiff, book your tickets here now: https://bit.ly/3ixX9wQ Photo: Taylor Lanning

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TICKETS FOR TORUN SPEEDWAY GP & SGP2 EVENTS ON SALE NOW

Tickets for a huge double-header of FIM Speedway action in Torun on September 30 and October 1 are on sale now. The iconic Marian Rose Motoarena stages the FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on Saturday, October 1 as the sport’s biggest stars go wheel to wheel in the final European round of the season. With Bartosz Zmarzlik chasing his third Speedway GP world title in four years and Torun riders Patryk Dudek, Robert Lambert, Jack Holder and Pawel Przedpelski all in action, the stakes will be high at the Motoarena. History will also be made when the first-ever SGP2 champion is crowned on Friday, September 30 as Torun stages the FIM SGP2 of Poland, the final round of the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship. With current SGP2 championship leader Mateusz Cierniak, reigning World Under-21 champion Jakub Miskowiak, Wiktor Lampart, Mateusz Swidnicki and Wiktor Przyjemski all competing in their homeland, they will be determined to reach the rostrum when it matters most. Tickets for both the FIM Torun Speedway GP and the Torun SGP2 event are available online here now: https://kstorun.kupbilety.pl/

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GUSTS: TIME ON MY SIDE IN SGP2

Latvian shooting star Francis Gusts insists he has time on his side in his quest to land the SGP2 title after going fastest in Prague FIM SGP2 of Czech Republic practice this afternoon. Gusts qualified for SGP2 – the revamped FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship – by winning his qualifier at Slovenian track Krsko on 14 points on May 7. And he brought that momentum to Marketa Stadium this afternoon as he clocked the fastest lap time, 15.078 seconds. His nearest rival was Poland’s Wiktor Przyjemski on 15.259 seconds, while flying Finn Timi Salonen registered 15.271 seconds and defending champion Jakub Miskowiak’s best time was 15.272 seconds as he took fourth place. Czech racer Jan Kvech was fifth on 15.280 seconds. For some of the SGP2 class of 2022, it is their last chance to lift the trophy as they will be too old to compete in the series next year. But with Gusts not celebrating his 21st birthday until February 1, 2024, he insisted: “I have some time. I am 19 years old, so in this competition I can do two more years.” Asked his goals for SGP2 this season, Gusts replied: “I hope I will finish without any crashes. Then we will see. “I will not be very sad if I lose, but of course everyone comes here to win and do their best. And I will try to do my best.” The FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship has been taken under the SGP banner by new FIM Speedway global promoter Discovery Sports Events, and rebranded as SGP2. With the under-21 stars sharing the same stage the Speedway GP riders will grace on Saturday night, Gusts is excited to be part of the action. “It’s completely different,” he said. “I have never been in an event like this. I am pretty happy that I qualified to be here and I am enjoying this event. We will have some interesting racing tonight.” Gusts is no stranger to racing in top events, having served as Latvia’s reserve rider in the FIM Speedway of Nations Final in Manchester last season. It was the country’s first-ever world final, but the youngster admits flying the Latvian flag alone in an individual event is a different challenge to being the standby man in a team meeting. “I had one heat,” he smiled. “For me, this is a tougher challenge – I am racing alone.”   PRAGUE FIM SGP2 OF CZECH REPUBLIC PRACTICE TIMES: Francis Gusts (Latvia) 15.078 Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland) 15.259 Timi Salonen (Finland) 15.271 Jakub Miskowiak (Poland) 15.272 Jan Kvech (Czech Republic) 15.280 Mateusz Cierniak (Poland) 15.339 Wiktor Lampart (Poland) 15.375 Mateusz Swidnicki (Poland) 15.376 Benjamin Basso (Denmark) 15.431 Daniel Klima (Czech Republic) 15.486 Gustav Grahn (Sweden) 15.575 Kevin Juhl Pedersen (Denmark) 15.601 Casper Henriksson (Sweden) 15.613 Petr Chlupac (Czech Republic) 15.616 Jonas Knudsen (Denmark) 15.821 Celina Liebmann (Germany) 15.916 Matous Kamenik (Czech Republic) 16.088 Bruno Belan (Czech Republic) 16.265

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GERMAN RACER LIEBMANN SET TO BECOME FIM SPEEDWAY’S FIRST FEMALE STAR

German history-maker Celina Liebmann says she relishes the challenge of competing in a male-dominated sport as she becomes the first female rider to race in an FIM Speedway final series. Liebmann, 20, has been handed the wild card for the Prague FIM SGP2 of Czech Republic at Marketa Stadium this Friday and cannot wait to take on the sport’s brightest young stars in the newly-revamped FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship. In a new era of FIM Speedway under new global promoter Discovery Sports Events, the championship has been rebranded as SGP2 and takes place on the same stage as the Prague FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic on Saturday. If staging the first-ever SGP2 round was not historic enough for the Prague club, they were also keen to give Liebmann the biggest chance of her career to date, inviting her to serve as their wild card. The Bavarian, who hails from Albaching – 50km east of Munich, scored a very solid six points at her SGP2 qualifier in Daugavpils, Latvia on May 7, beating a host of riders who race in Europe’s top leagues. Liebmann also competed in the Polish Second Division with Wittstock last season and races regularly in Germany’s many competitions. She no fears about testing herself against the SGP2 stars in the Czech capital. “I know all these guys and I have raced against all of them on the 250cc bikes,” she said. “I am really motivated for Prague. I am really looking forward to it. “When I heard the news about my call-up, I was shocked. I was completely over the moon. I never thought I would get the wild card. “My mum had bought tickets for a concert for me and her that weekend, but now I am going to Prague instead and it’s the biggest chance I have ever had.” Speedway lacks high-profile female-only events, but that hasn’t deterred Liebmann from mixing it with the sport’s male stars. “Maybe a women’s race sometimes would be nice,” she said. “But I want to race against boys. I can improve myself much more.” No female stars have reached such heights in the sport and a big performance in Prague will further cement Liebmann’s status as the First Lady of world speedway. “I have always wanted to be the No.1 girl in the world,” she said. “I see myself as the No.1 girl – I don’t know any others who have achieved the success I have. At the moment, I want to go as high as I can reach and do my best.” Despite her ambition, Liebmann is determined to enjoy the experience of racing in such illustrious company this Friday and pledged not to let the occasion get the better of her. She said: “I am always relaxed on the track and also on World Championship days. I am excited now, but on the day I will be relaxed. I will just listen to my favourite music and have fun with my friends. I want to have fun on the track. If I have fun, I score points.” Celina is the daughter of former German ice speedway international Jurgen Liebmann, who won FIM Team Ice Speedway World Championship bronze medals in 2001 and 2003. While she was only two years old when he retired from the ice, Celina admits it was her father who guided her on to the speedway stage as she took her first laps at Bavarian club Olching. She said: “My dad said ‘come, we will go to Olching and you can see the juniors’, and they said I could ride. I got on a bike and rode. I did it and my dad has since said ‘I never thought you’d ride for so long and be so successful.’ He is really proud.” François Ribeiro, head of Discovery Sports Events, is delighted to see Liebmann handed the chance of a lifetime as the group works to raise the profile of the sport’s young stars and give them more opportunities to shine on some of speedway’s biggest stages. He said: “We were already hugely excited for the first-ever SGP2 round and our excitement has only grown with the news that Celina will be racing in Prague. “With a fine performance in the qualifying rounds and in her league competitions, this opportunity is well deserved and we all look forward to seeing her race at one of the sport’s most iconic venues. “I wish Celina and her SGP2 rivals the very best of luck this Friday and we cannot wait to see the next generation of Speedway GP riders on track. “This season sees Discovery take the FIM Speedway Under-21 and Under-16 World Championships under the SGP umbrella for the very first time as SGP2 and SGP3. We also look forward to the launch of SGP4 in 2023 as six-time world champion and SGP global ambassador Tony Rickardsson develops a new bike and category to introduce our youngest riders to the sport.”

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FLINT JOINS BRENNAN IN CARDIFF SGP2 SHOWDOWN ON SUNDAY

CHAMPION BRENNAN FLIES BRITISH FLAG IN CARDIFF SGP2 EVENT

TICKETS FOR TORUN SPEEDWAY GP & SGP2 EVENTS ON SALE NOW

GUSTS: TIME ON MY SIDE IN SGP2

GERMAN RACER LIEBMANN SET TO BECOME FIM SPEEDWAY’S FIRST FEMALE STAR