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MADSEN & ANDERSEN JOIN VOJENS CLUB SES FOR DANISH TITLE RUN-IN

World No.2 Leon Madsen has completed a blockbuster move to Vojens club Sonderjylland Elite Speedway for the rest of 2023 – and he’s joined by 2022 SGP3 champion Mikkel Andersen.Madsen steps into the SES Danish Speedwayligaen side to replace Anders Thomsen, who is sidelined after suffering a hand injury at the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga last Saturday. The club is also without Nicolai Klindt, who suffered a broken C3 vertebra in his neck in Poland and confirmed he faces around two months on the sidelines.Madsen returns to Danish racing after Brovst club Nordjyske Elite Sport withdrew from the league ahead of the season, leaving the rider with only a job at Polish side Czestochowa.With the FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens fast approaching on September 16, Madsen believes the move could offer him the ideal preparation for the nation’s biggest speedway event.He said: “I am very happy to have the opportunity to ride in the Danish league. At the same time, I also see an opportunity to be better equipped for the three remaining Speedway GP rounds, the penultimate of which will be run at Vojens Speedway Center.”SES director Jacob Olsen believes that Leon Madsen can have a decisive role in the club’s efforts to retain the championship they won in 2022.He said: “We have been looking for a Danish rider as a replacement, and Leon Madsen is the country's best rider, so we are proud to be able to have him on the team for the decisive matches.”Meanwhile, Andersen has been racing for Vojens in the Danish First Division – the nation’s second tier.But the 15-year-old, who won bronze in SGP3 this season, debuts for SES alongside Madsen against Slangerup at Vojens Speedway Center on August 23.

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SWEDEN’S KARLSSON CROWNED SGP3 KING IN MALILLA

Swedish sensation Rasmus Karlsson defied the nerves of a dramatic last-heat decider to win the Lantmannen Maskin FIM SGP3 Final - Malilla in front of a delighted home crowd on Friday.Karlsson got the better of a stellar field in the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship – the sport’s under-16 250cc competition – registering two heat wins and two second places in his opening four rides to give himself four laps to become a world champion in heat 20.Despite reigning champion Mikkel Andersen getting the better of him early on, which would have forced Karlsson into a run-off with the Dane, as well as Poland’s Maksymilian Pawelczak for the gold medal, the Swede swooped for the win with an epic move on lap two, bend four.Karlsson celebrated wildly on one wheel in front of his home fans as he became Sweden’s first-ever winner of the sport’s biggest youth competition on 13 points.He triumphed ahead of Pawelczak, who took second spot on 12. 2022 SGP3 champion Mikkel Andersen defeated Poland’s Kacper Mania in a dramatic run-off for the bronze medal after they tied on 11. But the day belonged to Karlsson, sparking big celebrations in Malilla.

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SGP3 DOUBLE FOR DANISH STAR ANDERSEN?

Danish shooting star Mikkel Andersen is determined to end his 250cc career as a double FIM Speedway Youth world champion when he defends his title in the Lantmannen Maskin FIM SGP3 Final – Malilla on Friday at 16:00 CET.Relaunched as SGP3 in 2022 as part of global promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ vision to shine a spotlight on the stars of the future, the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship sees the sport’s top 250cc under-16 riders go wheel to wheel at the Skrotfrag Arena.Andersen bids to make it back-to-back SGP3 titles, having established himself as the frontrunner in the 250cc class. He won last year’s FIM SGP3 Final on an epic night of racing at Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium in Poland last August, as well as claiming the 2022 European 250cc crown.Son of former Speedway GP winner Brian Andersen, Mikkel didn’t have things all his own way when he took second spot at Semi-Final 2 in nearby Vastervik on Wednesday. He finished second to Great Britain’s William Cairns and meeting winner Maksymilian Pawelczak in his opening two rides, before he won his final three races to score 13 points.Andersen admits the pressure to deliver another gold medal may have hampered him in the Semi-Final, but he’s keen to triumph over a talented field in Malilla. 

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PACY POLE PAWELCZAK WINS FIM SGP3 SEMI-FINAL 2

Polish young gun Maksymilian Pawelczak was elated to mark his first visit to Sweden by storming into the FIM SGP3 Final in Malilla this Friday.The Bydgoszcz talent topped the FIM SGP3 Semi-Final 2 podium in Vastervik on Wednesday with a rapid performance, dropping just one point on his way to 14 to secure his spot in the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship Final for the sport’s 250cc under-16 stars.Pawelczak finished second in his opening heat to Australia’s Mitchell McDairmid, who impressed in third place. But the Pole hit back by beating second-placed Mikkel Andersen of Denmark – the reigning SGP3 champion – in his second race, breaking Vastervik’s 250cc track record with a 60.6-second time.He then obliterated that figure in race 11, registering 59.7 seconds to issue a real statement of intent ahead of Friday’s FIM SGP3 Final, which will be live on discovery+ and the Eurosport App.Speaking in impressive English, the delighted Pawelczak was elated to have made such an electrifying start to his first Swedish trip.He said: “I’m feeling awesome. Today was my day. Nearly everything was awesome, and my bike was going great. The track was great for me, even though it rained very hard before the meeting.“I am very happy to be here. I am very happy to go to Malilla and I hope I will do great there. I can’t tell how I will do now. It will all be about the racing. The Final will be very interesting. I have never raced in Malilla. It’s actually my first time in Sweden. But it’s great! I like the tracks here.“Thanks to my brother and my dad; they came here with me, and thanks to the boys for some very cool racing. See you in Malilla!” Reigning champion Andersen fought back after second-place finishes in both of his opening heats to win his final three, taking second spot overall. After lifting the SGP3 trophy in Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium last summer, he admits the pressure to repeat that triumph may have weighed on him a little.“It wasn’t the best start today,” he said. “But we made it through and that’s the important part. It didn’t go as planned at the start. I made the wrong changes on the bike. But we sorted it out in the end.“I just put too much pressure on myself. My head wasn’t really here today. We did the best we could. We changed bikes to a better one; it had a bit more kick to it, and it worked out great in the end.”

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AUSSIE STARLET BAILEY & GB RACER RUSHEN LEAD CHARGE INTO SGP3 FINAL

Australian sensation Beau Bailey admits he’s living the dream after winning an epic event in Vastervik to book his place at Friday’s FIM SGP3 Final in Malilla.Making his first trip to Europe, Bailey topped the podium in Semi-Final 1 of the 250cc under-16 competition, tying on 13 points with fellow 13-year-old Cooper Rushen. But the Aussie took the victory on countback after winning their dramatic head-to-head battle in heat eight.Both riders are relatively new to the 250cc scene, but Bailey has been training in Sweden with former world No.3 and ex-Australian team manager Craig Boyce ahead of the event.He is elated to have realised his dream of competing in Europe as he prepares to chase the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship in Friday’s FIM SGP3 Final at the famous Skrotfrag Arena, where the sport’s top riders race in the Holmgrens Bil FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla this Saturday evening.Bailey said: “This is my first time over here. I have been dreaming of coming over here for a while, so now I have had that chance. I have had a fair bit of competition back home and I have had to fight to get to where I am now.“I have watched the Speedway GPs in Malilla, and it is a good track. I am looking forward to getting on it.”Rushen only celebrated his 13th birthday in March and is believed to be one of the youngest finalists in the competition’s history.The Essex sensation was stunned to take second spot as he blazed into the FIM SGP3 Final. He said: “I can’t even speak to be honest! This is my first year on the 250s and my second-ever meeting abroad. It’s just crazy. I wasn’t expecting what happened today. It was on another level.“This is only my eighth meeting on a 250. I have only been on the bike eight or nine times. It’s quite new to me still. I will just hold it flat-out on Friday now, and we will see what happens.“We went to Malilla the other day to have a little look around. I was hoping I would get there, and the dream has come true.”AB1W0919.jpg 3.38 MBBailey and Rushen’s all-action performances won them plenty of fans in Vastervik, and the Brit certainly won’t be backing off the gas when he races live on discovery+ and the Eurosport App this Friday. But he knows the competition will be tough.“No-one is slow here,” Rushen said. “Everyone is fast and it’s a tough world out here in Europe. The boys are fast. But I like to have a battle. I don’t like people who give up before the line. Even if I am at the back, I will do my best, stick it in the dirt and try everything I can. I just never quit.”Polish racer Kacper Mania, who was fourth in the 2022 FIM SGP3 Final, took third spot in Semi-Final 1 on 12 points to qualify for Friday’s showdown.Danish shooting star Villads Pedersen made it through in fourth place on 11 points. He is in the middle of a busy run of meetings, having won last Saturday’s FIM Speedway Youth Gold Trophy in Holsted, Denmark on an 85cc bike. He will also compete in the first-ever FIM SGP4 event on Saturday afternoon, racing for the FIM Speedway Youth World Cup on the brand-new 190cc bike designed by six-time FIM Speedway world champion Tony Rickardsson.Slovenian prospect Sven Cerjak impressed in fifth place with 10 points – a total matched by Poland’s Filip Beczkowski, who was sixth. Sweden’s Rasmus Karlsson crashed in his final race, but he had already done enough to qualify on nine points in seventh, with fellow countryman Leon Klasson also making it through on nine – taking the eighth and final place.A reserve spot for the FIM SGP3 Final goes to Denmark’s Patrick Kruse, who just missed the top-eight cut on eight points.FIM SGP3 Semi-Final 2 takes place in Vastervik at 19:00 CET tonight.FIM SGP3 SEMI-FINAL 1 SCORES: 1 Beau Bailey (Australia) 13, 2 Cooper Rushen (Great Britain) 13, 3 Kacper Mania (Poland) 12, 4 Villads Pedersen (Denmark) 11, 5 Sven Cerjak (Slovenia) 10, 6 Filip Beczkowski (Poland) 10, 7 Rasmus Karlsson (Sweden) 9, 8 Leo Klasson (Sweden) 9, 9 Patrick Kruse (Denmark) 8, 10 Damirs Filimonovs (Latvia) 7, 11 Kacper Cymerman (Germany) 6, 12 Zoltan Lovas (Hungary) 5, 13 Nicolas Hohlbein (United States) 3, 14 Dominik Hrbek (Czech Republic) 2, 15 Levin Cording (Germany) 2, 16 Silvar Avi (Estonia) 0, 17 Jonny Eriksson (Sweden) DNR, 18 Casper Appelgren (Sweden) DNR.PHOTO CREDIT: Jesper Veldhuizen

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MADSEN & ANDERSEN JOIN VOJENS CLUB SES FOR DANISH TITLE RUN-IN

SWEDEN’S KARLSSON CROWNED SGP3 KING IN MALILLA

SGP3 DOUBLE FOR DANISH STAR ANDERSEN?

PACY POLE PAWELCZAK WINS FIM SGP3 SEMI-FINAL 2

AUSSIE STARLET BAILEY & GB RACER RUSHEN LEAD CHARGE INTO SGP3 FINAL