Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme : FIM Speedway World Championship Grand Prix

Bunyan's big night in Auckland

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:02:00 +0100

Jason Bunyan has been handed the chance of a lifetime after receiving the wild card berth for the inaugural FIM New Zealand Speedway Grand Prix in Auckland on March 31, the opening round of the 2012 World Championship series.

The 32-year-old spends his winters in the land of the long white cloud and has made a massive impact in the New Zealand Championships. He has won the competition six times and only Larry Ross, who triumphed nine times between 1976 and 1990, has claimed more New Zealand titles.

Bunyan dons the famous No.16 race jacket at Western Springs Stadium. He is the only rider in the field to have previously raced at the circuit and cannot wait for what will be the biggest meeting of his career.

He said: "I'm honoured to have been offered such a huge opportunity. This meeting is a great chance to raise the profile of speedway in New Zealand and I'm glad to be a part of it.

"I've had some great success in the country throughout my career and I'll do my best to make sure that continues at Western Springs."

BSI Speedway managing director Paul Bellamy said: "Jason has been a fantastic servant to speedway in New Zealand and, along with the FIM and Motorcycle New Zealand, we're pleased to offer him this wild card pick.

"I'm sure the New Zealand fans will reward the loyalty he has shown by competing in their national championships for so many years and support him as one of their own at the Grand Prix in March.

"Jason has a reputation for being a tough customer on the track and he won't be intimidated by the prospect of taking on 15 of the world's best riders in this historic meeting."

Bill Buckley, principal, Springs Promotions, co-promoters of the inaugural FIM New Zealand Grand Prix, commented: "Jason has been very good for Solo (speedway) racing in New Zealand. He has made this place his home and it's great we can call on him to represent us.

"He has run many schools and taught many riders the art of Solo (speedway). He has been back to the UK most years and races with the best from there. I am sure he will make us proud."

Bunyan will be joined in the Grand Prix by 2011 NZ champion, Grant Tregoning, who has been handed one of the track reserve berths and wears the No.17 race jacket. Andrew Aldridge is the second stand-in and will line up at No.18.

Hans Andersen is the final Wild Card for the 2012 FIM SGP

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:28:00 +0100

Danish star Hans Andersen has been named as the final wild card for the 2012 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series.

Under next year's rules in Poland, the 10 top-flight Ekstraliga clubs are limited to just one SGP rider per team.

Andersen was set to sign for Zielona Gora, who already have world No.2 Andreas Jonsson under contract.

But when he got the phone call from the FIM, offering him the SGP spot, Andersen admits the lure of getting back into the big time was too good to resist.

He said: "I had everything pretty much sorted. I was on my way to Poland to sign my deal and get that sorted. But when I had the call, it all changed drastically. It's about ambitions rather than the money.

"In not riding in Poland, I've said 'no' to a huge income. But my desire to race in the World Championship is worth a lot more than money."

Andersen lost his SGP spot after finishing 12th in the standings in 2010, but that season was badly disrupted by the broken fingers he suffered in a crash with arch-rival Nicki Pedersen at the Scandinavian SGP in Malilla on August 14, 2010.

He finished fifth in the World Championship in 2007 and repeated the feat in 2008, when he was eight points adrift of the bronze medal spot.

The Danish international was coy about his targets for next year, but he knows he is still capable of pushing for honours on the global stage.

He said: "I haven't set myself a goal really. But the only thing I can tell you is that I've got a very good feeling in my stomach.

"I've got a voice in the back of my head, telling me that I'm going to show people what I can do.

"I want to climb up on the rostrum. I came close in 2008 and it's definitely something that's going to spur me on."

Andersen was called up into the SGP series after Australian racer Darcy Ward turned down the offer of a permanent wild card.

He joins Peter Ljung in making a late entry into the competition after the Swede took Piotr Protasiewicz's place last week.

The Pole declined the spot he earned by finishing third in the GP Challenge at Vetlanda on August 20. With first reserve Martin Vaculik and second stand-in Krzysztof Kasprzak rejecting the chance to replace Pepe, Ljung was called up after finishing sixth in the meeting.

While Ljung jumped at the opportunity, Andersen admits he still had to give the offer a little thought before committing to the SGP series.

A string of missed meetings and below-par scores inevitably affected Andersen's income this year. His campaign was heavily disrupted by the broken leg he suffered in a freak training accident while jogging through the Danish forests in April.

Andersen was sidelined for two and a half months, and still felt the effects of the injury for much of the season after his return in June. But he wasn't prepared to let his depleted bank balance ruin the chance of a fresh SGP start.

He said: "When I had the phone call, I would have said 'yes' straight away if I hadn't had such a catastrophic season. I haven't raced a lot this year, so my income has been very, very little.

"I had to sit down with my partner and quickly run through whether I could afford to ride in the series.

"I needed a couple of days to get my head around it, but the answer was straightforward. If I'd had a normal season, I would have answered 'yes' straight away when they phoned me."

He added: "Now I'm going on holiday and I will come back a completely different person. I'll have a clear mind and it won't be the same rider entering the GP in 2012 that was in 2010.

"I don't have any worries on my mind at the moment. The only thing I'm worried about doing now is tapping up some sponsors."

BSI Speedway managing director Paul Bellamy was delighted to welcome Andersen back into the SGP elite.

He said: "Hans has been a great servant to the Grand Prix series and there is no doubt he has suffered more than his fair share of misfortune over the past two seasons.

"It clearly hasn't affected his ambition, though, and he returned from his broken leg much earlier than he should have done to contest the SGP qualification rounds in June. He did remarkably well to reach the GP Challenge given the pain he was in.

"This, and his decision to turn down the offer in Poland, shows how committed he is to pushing for the World Championship and you wouldn't bet against him doing just that in 2012."

Peter Ljung Handed Grand Prix Place

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:46:00 +0100

Polish star Piotr Protasiewicz and Australian racer Darcy Ward have declined their invitations to participate full time in the 2012 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series.

Sweden's Peter Ljung will replace Protasiewicz and the replacement for Ward will be announced at a later date.

After his girlfriend Jessica gave birth to their son Eddie on Wednesday, the 29-year-old was over the moon to receive a phone call on Thursday offering him the chance to race with the sport's biggest names. And Ljung admits it was the best day of his life.

He said: "It's pretty overwhelming at the moment. In a way, although this opportunity was handed to me, I think it was just my turn to have a bit of luck for once.
"I've broken my legs, feet, hands and have lost quite a lot of time over the years I've been riding. Now the wind has changed a bit and I just got a bit of luck for once.

"It has been a lot to handle in a couple of days, but I don't think I've ever had a better 24 hours – definitely not.

"My girlfriend is still in hospital and I've got my daughter Iza at home with me. We've been going back and forward to the hospital and exchanging phone calls. I've got a lot of emotions going through my head, but this is amazing.
"I'm not going to apologise for having this handed to me. I just think it was my turn to have a bit of luck. It's going to be really, really interesting and fun."
As well as looking after his young family, Ljung has just a few months to get ready for the season-opening FIM New Zealand Speedway Grand Prix at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland on March 31.

The Vastervik and Grudziadz rider says he has started work today on getting his SGP set-up in place.

But asked whether he had a target for his first full season in the Grand Prix series, Ljung was not keen to set one just yet.

He said: "I'm just taking it all in right now and I think we're just going to try and do it the best we can.

"I don't think we'll say we have a target to do this or that. This is just the first year and I've got to do the best I can and have a lot of fun along the way. We'll see what happens as the season goes on.

"There's going to be quite a few things to sort out and I started today. I've started to make some phone calls and I sat down with my brother for quite a while to decide how we're going to approach all this.
"We've got a bit less time than we wanted to prepare it, but we've still got a good few months, so I hope it will come good in the end. We'll just do it the way we think is right because it's quite personal how you deal with it all and approach it."

Ljung made his SGP debut in the FIM Scandinavian Grand Prix at Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadium on August 30, 2004, scoring seven points.

He is excited about the prospect of racing in the big SGP events beyond Sweden's borders and cannot wait for the FIM Dansk Metal Danish Grand Prix in Copenhagen's PARKEN Stadium on June 9 and the FIM British SGP in Cardiff on August 25.

He added: "I'm looking forward to all of them. I've been to Copenhagen quite a few times to watch the GP and the atmosphere is fantastic. I've always thought 'I want to do that meeting' and the same with Cardiff.

"I've only been there once, but that was unreal. This is a dream come true to get this opportunity.

"I've just got to suck it in, enjoy it as much as I can, but hopefully I can get some decent results and score some points as well."

FIM SGP & SWC 2012 calendars - 2012 FIM SGP Permanent Riders Entry list

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:50:00 +0200

2012 FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship - Permanent Riders Entry list

1.Greg Hancock (USA)
2.Andreas Jonsson (Sweden)
3.Jaroslaw Hampel (Poland)
4.Jason Crump (Australia)
5.Tomasz Gollob (Poland)
6.Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia)
7. Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark)
8.Chris Holder (Australia)
9.Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
10.Nicki Pedersen (Denmark)
11.Chris Harris (Great Britain)
12.Antonio Lindback (Sweden)
13.Bjarne Pedersen (Denmark)
14.Piotr Protasiewicz (Poland)
15.Darcy Ward (Australia)

FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship – 2012 Calendar

Date	FMN	Event	Venue	Country
31 March	MNZ	FIM New Zealand Speedway Grand Prix	Auckland	New Zealand
28 April	PZM	FIM European Speedway Grand Prix	Leszno	Poland
12 May	ACCR	FIM Czech Speedway Grand Prix	Prague	Czech Rep.
26 May	SVEMO	FIM Swedish Speedway Grand Prix	Gothenburg	Sweden
09 June	DMU	FIM Dansk Metal Danish Speedway Grand Prix	Copenhagen	Denmark
23 June	PZM	FIM Gorzow Speedway Grand Prix	Gorwoz	Poland
28 July	HMS	FIM Croatian Speedway Grand Prix	Gorican	Croatia
11 August	FMI	FIM Italian Speedway Grand Prix	Terenzano	Italy
25 August	ACU	FIM British Speedway Grand Prix	Cardiff	Great Britain
08 September	SVEMO	FIM Scandinavian Speedway Grand Prix	Malilla	Sweden
22 September	DMU	FIM Dansk Metal Nordic Speedway Grand Prix	Vojens	Denmark
06 October	PZM	FIM Torun Speedway Grand Prix	Torun	Poland

FIM Speedway World Cup – 2012 Calendar

Date	FMN	Event	Venue	Country
07 July	PZM	FIM Speedway World Cup, Event One	Bydgoszcz	Poland
09 July	ACU	FIM Speedway World Cup, Event Two	King's Lynn	Great Britain
12 July	SVEMO	FIM Speedway World Cup, Race Off	Malilla	Sweden
14 July	SVEMO	FIM Speedway World Cup, Final	Malilla	Sweden

Hancock completes SGP season in style

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 07:59:00 +0200

American legend Greg Hancock is already setting his sights on a third World Championship in 2012 after a golden night at the FIM Enea Gorzow Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on Saturday. Herbie sealed the SGP series crown with his fourth place at the FIM Nice Croatian Grand Prix in Gorican two weeks ago, but collected the trophy at a packed Edward Jancarz Stadium. He was joined on the World Championship rostrum by Andreas Jonsson, who pipped third-placed Jaroslaw Hampel to the silver medal by two points. But Hancock didn't want to leave Poland with just one gold medal and won a rain-affected Gorzow SGP with 11 points, before the action was stopped after 16 races due to heavy rain. Nicki Pedersen was second on the night with 10, while Emil Sayfutdinov beat local hero Tomasz Gollob to third place on countback after the pair tied on eight. Hancock was the star of the show, though, and lifted the brand new World Championship trophy – 14 years after he claimed his first gold medal at Vojens in 1997. The Californian admits he struggled to find the desire needed to defend his crown in 1998 and finished sixth. But after becoming the oldest world champion in the sport's history, the Swedish-based racer is certain he has the experience and hunger needed to retain the No.1 race jacket this time. He said: "I've learned a lot over the years and I will approach next year differently to how I did 1998 – that's for sure. I'm going to enjoy this world title, but I'll be back to give it another whirl next year. I want to take another one. "I know what I did wrong last time I defended the title and I know what frame of mind I was in. With the first World Championship, I think I was so overwhelmed that I had done it after working so hard. It was like all the air went out of me and it was hard to inflate myself again. I wanted it, but I didn't want it badly enough. "I'm a little bit more mature than I was then. It's still going to be hard, but I'm willing to work hard and give it another shot. "It's really overwhelming that I have pulled something off like this again. But it doesn't matter. I've got good people around me helping to steer me and haul me in the right direction. That's important." Hancock was unable to party hard after securing the title in Gorican as he had league commitments to fulfil across Europe in the days that followed the meeting. But having clinched titles with Zielona Gora in Poland, Swedish team Piraterna, Danish outfit Slangerup and Czech club Mseno, Hancock cannot wait to celebrate his Gorzow triumph and the World Championship champagne moment that followed. He said: "It was amazing – it's still sinking in more and more now. I can actually enjoy this win and the mainstay of the season is all done now. "I really just want to go and have a good time with my mechanics and sponsors right now. Those guys deserve so much credit. They've put in so much work and they get overshadowed a lot. "It takes a whole crew to tango like this and these guys work hard. They work at least as hard, if not harder, than I do." Hancock's title triumph comes with an automatic place in next year's SGP series, which starts with the FIM New Zealand Grand Prix in Auckland on March 31, 2012. Jonsson and Hampel join him in the field, along with Jason Crump, who finished fourth and outgoing champion Tomasz Gollob in fifth. Sixth-placed Emil Sayfutdinov, Kenneth Bjerre in seventh and Chris Holder in eighth are also guaranteed spots for next season. GP Challenge winner Antonio Lindback keeps his SGP status, despite finishing 12th overall, while Bjarne Pedersen and Piotr Protasiewicz also qualified from the meeting at Vetlanda in August and make their returns to the big time next season. There are four permanent wild card places left for the 2012 World Championship and these will be nominated by series organisers BSI Speedway and the FIM soon. FINAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Greg Hancock 165, 2 Andreas Jonsson 125, 3 Jaroslaw Hampel 123, 4 Jason Crump 110, 5 Tomasz Gollob 106, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 106, 7 Kenneth Bjerre 101, 8 Chris Holder 101, 9 Fredrik Lindgren 90, 10 Nicki Pedersen 81, 11 Chris Harris 74, 12 Antonio Lindback 72, 13 Rune Holta 53, 14 Janusz Kolodziej 50, 15 Artem Laguta 28, 16 Darcy Ward 22, 17 Magnus Zetterstrom 19, 18 Thomas H Jonasson 17, 19 Matej Zagar 14, 20 Scott Nicholls 5, 21 Damian Balinski 4, 22 Matej Kus 3, 23 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 24 Mikkel B Jensen 2, 25 Tai Woffinden 2, 26 Simon Gustafsson 1. FIM ENEA GORZOW SGP OF POLAND SCORES: 1 Greg Hancock 11, 2 Nicki Pedersen 10, 3 Emil Sayfutdinov 8, 4 Tomasz Gollob 8, 5 Darcy Ward 7, 6 Chris Harris 7, 7 Andreas Jonsson 7, 8 Chris Holder 6, 9 Jaroslaw Hampel 6, 10 Jason Crump 6, 11 Fredrik Lindgren 5, 12 Janusz Kolodziej 5, 13 Kenneth Bjerre 4, 14 Artem Laguta 3, 15 Antonio Lindback 3, 16 Rune Holta 0, 17 Bartosz Zmarzlik DNR, 18 Kamil Pulczynski DNR.

BSI Speedway confirm New Zealand Grand Prix

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:28:00 +0200

The FIM Speedway Grand Prix series will launch in New Zealand next year as the brightest stars of the shale collide in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time in almost a decade.

Western Springs Stadium in Auckland will stage the first ever FIM New Zealand SGP on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Tickets will go on sale next month on 04 November.

The meeting will be jointly promoted by SGP rights holders BSI Speedway and Bill Buckley, principal of Springs Promotions. Western Springs stadium is situated in the city of Auckland and is currently home to midget car racing.

FIM Director of sports, Speedway, Ole Olsen and his team, who build temporary tracks in Cardiff, Copenhagen and Gothenburg, have been tasked with turning it into a World Championship speedway circuit.

And BSI Speedway managing director Paul Bellamy cannot wait to see the place play host to the likes of new world champion Greg Hancock, Polish icon Tomasz Gollob and Aussie legend Jason Crump.

He said: "Taking the SGP series out of Europe has always been a huge goal for us, so we are delighted to be bringing the sport's biggest names to New Zealand.

"The country has provided some of the sport's all-time greats, including Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs.

"I hope that bringing the stars of today to Western Springs will inspire a generation of young riders in New Zealand and encourage them to follow in the footsteps of past Kiwi world champions."

Buckley has always been a huge fan of speedway solos, as they are known Down Under. So he is pleased to be playing his part in putting New Zealand firmly back on the shale sport map.

He said: "I'm delighted our dream of bringing World Championship speedway back to New Zealand has become a reality.

"I've always been a huge motorsport fan and attended the FIM Doodson British SGP in Cardiff last June. The Grand Prix series is speedway at its very best and I'm sure we can put on a great show to get the 2012 World Championship underway."

Expanding the series outside of Europe is a strategy that the governing body, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) also welcomes as Roy Otto, FIM CCP Director explains:

"Developing the SGP series into new territories such as the southern hemisphere is an objective the FIM embraces. New Zealand is a country steeped in speedway history and we are looking forward to renew this legacy and give the sport a platform on which to build on for the future."

Photo - Western Springs Stadium Auckland

Darcy's dilemma

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:53:00 +0200

World Under-21 champion Darcy Ward admits he may be forced to choose between a place in the FIM Grand Prix series and the Polish Ekstraliga if he is offered a permanent wild card for 2012.

The 19-year-old has been widely tipped for a berth in next year's FIM World Championship and makes his second wild card appearance of the season in the FIM Enea Gorzow SGP of Poland on Saturday.

He exploded on to the Grand Prix stage with an incredible third place on his series debut in Torun on August 27 and has topped the averages in the British Elite League with Poole.

Ward has also shone for Gdansk in the Polish First Division this year and has played a huge role in them sealing a return to the Ekstraliga.

But reports in Poland suggest clubs in the 2012 top flight will only be able to sign one SGP rider each. If this rule is confirmed, at least five Grand Prix regulars will be left without Ekstraliga places.

Ward feels riding in the world's strongest domestic league is an important step in his development and admits his inexperience may make him too big a gamble for a club only able to sign one SGP star.

He said: "I can't see a team in the Ekstraliga picking me as a Grand Prix rider because it's a big risk.

"For me, I think I need to wait another year for the Grand Prix and start to get a bit better. But I haven't been asked if I want a wild card, so I can't judge it.

"I feel I need to step up in Poland. I've had a good year in the lower league. Everything has been going well and I've been winning a lot of races.

"I want to step up, bring that into the Ekstraliga and earn more money. But it's not about money. I want to be a better rider and you have to race the big boys. I just want to be in the Ekstraliga because I feel that's where I belong."

Ward would also have to ensure he has the financial clout and back-up team around him to compete on the sport's biggest stage. But he is relishing the chance to have another crack at the SGP heavyweights in the Edward Jancarz Stadium.

Having claimed the bronze medal at Torun's Marian Rose Motoarena, the Queenslander knows there is a greater weight of expectation on his shoulders this time around.

He said: "I think it will be harder than the first one. I just went in there at Torun and thought 'whatever'. Then I got a third and now people will be expecting me to go pretty well. It's not like I can't win it. It's just not as easy as it sounds."

By speedwaygp.com

Heroic Hancock wins 2nd World Championship

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:55:00 +0200

American legend Greg Hancock admits sheer adrenaline soothed the pain of his knee ligament injury and helped him secure a sensational second World Championship in Gorican on Saturday night.

The Californian finished fourth in the FIM Nice Croatian SGP with 15 points to clinch the sport's biggest prize – 14 years after he lifted it for the first time at Vojens on September 20, 1997.

At 41 years and 113 days old, Hancock is the oldest world champion in the sport's history, eclipsing Kiwi icon Ivan Mauger's record which has stood since September 2, 1979, when he won his sixth gold medal in Katowice aged 39 years and 339 days.

The Zielona Gora and Piraterna star's challenge threatened to come off the rails on September 11 when he wrenched his knee ligaments in a Polish Ekstraliga play-off meeting in Gorzow.

The FIM Nice Croatian SGP, which was won by Swedish star Andreas Jonsson, was Hancock's first track outing since he aggravated an injury which has troubled him since 1993.
But the Swedish-based racer said: "The adrenaline pretty much took the pain away and I didn't think about the knee. I'll pay for it later, but I'm over the moon with this."

Hancock admits his second championship win was just as sweet as his 1997 triumph. He said: "I can't say it's better. The first time was fantastic. It was so emotional and it was this time too.

"We know how many years I had to work to get it the first time and the second time. I've made it there again and I have no complaints. I am so happy right now."

Hancock sealed his triumph with third place in heat 20 behind his nearest rival Jaroslaw Hampel. The Cradley Heath legend needed second or better to guarantee the title.
But with the Pole failing to beat his fellow countryman Rune Holta, Hancock got over the winning line with a point, before being mobbed by his pit crew and receiving the bumps from his rivals.

Hancock said: "They said I still needed a couple of points and I only got one there. I didn't know whether I had won. I hadn't thought about the fact Hampel had lost a point there too, but that doesn't matter.

"It still hasn't sunk in. I'm feeling so good and I just want to celebrate now, but there are still more races to come this year."

Hancock travels to Leszno, Poland, on Sunday afternoon for Zielona Gora's Ekstraliga play-off final, first leg.
But he ends his Grand Prix season with the FIM Enea Gorzow SGP of Poland on October 8, when he will be presented with the brand-new World Championship trophy.

It will also be a special night for his team, led by manager Richard Child, as well as mechanics Rafal Haj, Bodzio Spolny and Stefan Andersson. Hancock said: "Richard has been with me for a really long time. Rafal is my chief mechanic and he has been with me for ages too. We've learnt so much together.

"Bodzio has been great as well and these guys work so hard. They've been with me in some good times and some really bad times.

"I owe this to them. This is for Richard and of course Stefan has come into our team this year.

"This is for them and more importantly my wife Jennie. Like I've said before, she is my everything – my wife, my therapist and my perfect person to go home to every time."

Meanwhile, Andreas Jonsson was delighted to turn an indifferent start to his Croatian SGP into his third Grand Prix gold medal of 2011.

Jonsson also won the rounds in Terenzano and Torun and is now second in the World Championship on 118 points after moving one clear of Jaroslaw Hampel, who ended his night at the semi stages.

Having taken just four points from his opening three races, Jonsson feared his medal push was going to suffer a serious setback, before finding some speed to go home with a tremendous tally of 18.
He said: "I'm just happy I could pull this one out. I have one more Grand Prix to go in Gorzow. Hopefully I can do my best there and I hope that will also be a great night.

"I don't want to focus too much on chasing the silver. I just have to put my head down and work really hard in the last Grand Prix. Then, after my last heat, hopefully my goal will be achieved. It's a big challenge for me, but I'm ready for it."

There was fantastic news for British fans as Chris Harris picked up the silver medal in Gorican for the second season in succession. The Cornishman left Croatia with 19 points – one more than Jonsson.

And while he is still waiting for his first SGP win since he triumphed at Cardiff in June 2007, he admits reaching the rostrum for the first time this season was a real lift. He said: "I still can't get on top of that podium, but I'll take that second. It was a fantastic night and I'm really pleased with it. I can't say much more really.

"The track got a little bit slicker and I lost a little bit of speed towards the end. But the boys worked fantastically well all weekend and I have to say a big thanks to my pit crew. They got the bikes working well."

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After 10 out of 11 Rounds): 1 Greg Hancock 154, 2 Andreas Jonsson 118, 3 Jaroslaw Hampel 117, 4 Jason Crump 104, 5 Tomasz Gollob 98, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 98, 7 Kenneth Bjerre 97, 8 Chris Holder 95, 9 Fredrik Lindgren 85, 10 Nicki Pedersen 79, 11 Antonio Lindback 69, 12 Chris Harris 67, 13 Rune Holta 53, 14 Janusz Kolodziej 45, 15 Artem Laguta 25, 16 Magnus Zetterstrom 19, 17 Thomas H Jonasson 17, 18 Darcy Ward 15, 19 Matej Zagar 14, 20 Scott Nicholls 5, 21 Damian Balinski 4, 22 Matej Kus 3, 23 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 24 Mikkel B Jensen 2, 25 Tai Woffinden 2, 26 Simon Gustafsson 1.

FIM NICE CROATIAN SGP SCORES: 1 Andreas Jonsson 18, 2 Chris Harris 19, 3 Fredrik Lindgren 12, 4 Greg Hancock 15, 5 Kenneth Bjerre 12, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 10, 7 Jaroslaw Hampel 9, 8 Rune Holta 9, 9 Jason Crump 8, 10 Chris Holder 7, 11 Tomasz Gollob 5, 12 Matej Zagar 5, 13 Janusz Kolodziej 4, 14 Artem Laguta 4, 15 Nicki Pedersen 4, 16 Antonio Lindback 3, 17 Dino Kovacic DNR, 18 Matija Duh DNR.

Ward gets second calling

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:13:00 +0200

Australian speedway sensation Darcy Ward has been rewarded for his astonishing World Championship debut in Torun with a wild card for the FIM Enea Gorzow Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on October 8. The double World Under-21 champion dons the famous No.16 race jacket for the last SGP event of 2011 at Gorzow's stunning Edward Jancarz Stadium.

Ward announced his arrival on the Grand Prix stage in style at Torun's Marian Rose Motoarena on August 27 by collecting the bronze medal. If he had managed a faster start in the final, Ward undoubtedly had the speed to pick up a debut win as he chased meeting winner Andreas Jonsson and second-placed Jaroslaw Hampel furiously for four laps.

But the teenager will head to Gorzow in confident mood after that performance and has been in blistering form for his clubs. He bagged 17 paid 19 points for the Poole Pirates in their British Elite League play-off semi-final, first leg at King's Lynn on Monday, and has topped the UK averages with a circa 9.91 figure, including bonuses. The Australian World Cup rider has also played a starring role at reserve in Polish First Division club Gdansk's promotion push.

The Gorzow meeting will be the start of a huge weekend for Ward. He will also race in the last round of the World Under-21 Final at Polish track Gniezno on October 9, when the 19-year-old could become the first rider in the sport's history to lift three world junior titles. He will then lead Poole into an Elite League play-off final, second leg against Eastbourne or Lakeside on October 10, provided Pirates can overturn their three-point aggregate deficit in their semi-final home leg against King's Lynn on Monday night.

Ward is joined in the field for the Gorzow SGP by track reserves Bartosz Zmarzlik and Kamil Pulczynski. Like Ward, Zmarzlik is a World Under-21 finalist and the Gorzow youngster has shown huge potential this season. He has been allocated the No.17 race jacket.

Meanwhile, Torun reserve Pulczynski follows his brother into the SGP limelight after Emil Pulczynski was handed a track reserve spot for the Torun SGP. He wears No.18.

Swedish referee Krister Gardell will take charge of the action.

Matej Zagar - Wild Card in Croatia

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0200

Slovenian star Matej Zagar has been handed his second FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) wild card of the year after being called-up for the FIM Nice Croatian SGP in Gorican on September 24.

Zagar, who dons the famous No.16 race jacket, appeared in the FIM Nice Italian Grand Prix in Terenzano on July 30 and reached the semi-finals with nine points. Having failed to qualify for next season's World Championship at the GP Challenge in Vetlanda on August 20, the 28-year-old will be determined to push his case for a permanent wild card place for 2012. Zagar spent two years as a full-time Grand Prix rider. He finished seventh in 2006 to qualify automatically for the following season's competition, but lost his spot after coming 14th in 2007.

The Gorzow rider will be joined in Gorican by track reserves Dino Kovacic and Matija Duh.

Croatian starlet Kovacic, 17, looks set to follow in the footsteps of fellow countryman Jurica Pavlic in carving out a career on the world stage. He has qualified for this year's World Under-21 Final, and has scored seven points from the opening two rounds.

Meanwhile, Slovenian racer Duh returns to the Croatian SGP pits, where he served as reserve last season. He took one ride when Chris Holder was excluded for exceeding the two-minute time allowance in heat 19, but failed to score.

The referee for the Gorican event will be Great Britain's Craig Ackroyd, who also took charge of the FIM European SGP at Leszno in April and the FIM Scandinavian Grand Prix at Malilla in August.

Hancock wins in Vojens

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:29:00 +0200

American star Greg Hancock laid one hand on the World Championship trophy in Vojens on Saturday night, and pledged to continue putting his rivals to the sword. The Californian won the FIM Dansk Metal Nordic Speedway Grand Prix to move on to 139 points and extend his advantage at the top of the standings to a mammoth 31. If he leaves the FIM Nice Croatian SGP in Gorican with a lead of 25 or more, he will lift the World Championship trophy for the second time at the final round in Gorzow on October 8. Hancock produced some astonishing speed out of the first corners and quickly left runner-up Jason Crump for dead in the final. Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren won a superb scrap with Australian champion Chris Holder for third place. But the night belonged to the SGP series' eldest statesman. The 41-year-old celebrated one of the most vital victories of his career on the circuit where he was first crowned world champion in 1997. And even though second-placed Hampel has a mountain to climb on 108 points, Hancock refuses to let up as he gets nearer and nearer to ending his 14-year search for a second crown. He said: "Of course it's close, but there are still two big rounds left to go. I want to win it convincingly and I'm not here to drop points. I'm here to take points. "It's a good thing that I've got those points, but I'm keeping the same focus. I'm not thinking about what's going on behind me; I'm just thinking about chasing the world title. You've got to score points to win it, so I'm going to keep scoring points." If Hancock can seal top spot in Croatia, it would save him having to fend off Hampel in the hostile atmosphere of Gorzow, where Herbie is far from Mr Popular as he rides for the club's deadliest rivals Zielona Gora. But the Swedish-based racer is ready to fight for as long as it takes. He said: "It doesn't matter for me. I want to win the World Championship, so when it comes, it comes. "Of course I would love to go to Gorican and win that round as well. I'm not getting greedy, but I really love my speedway and I love what's going on. My bikes are running fantastically. I feel good too." Hancock produced one of the moves of the night in heat 15, when he bulldozed Crump aside on turn four. The ruthless attack underlined the desire which has burned inside the Piraterna man this year. But the Cradley Heath legend was quick to thank the Aussie for letting him make the move safely. He said: "I tried to make the best of the situation. I saw an open door and I had to go for it. I had the speed. Jason is a great racer and I knew that he would run me hard, but there is a big level of trust we have between each other. I'm grateful to race against him." The World Championship leader embraced his pit crew on the fourth turn as he took his victory lap and it's clear there is a tremendous buzz within Team Hancock. "It's unbelievable," Herbie admitted. "People don't understand how hard these guys work. "Obviously I work hard too, but these guys work way more hours than I do, trying to make sure that everything is 100 percent. They're the ones responsible for keeping me on track. I've still got to go out and do the job, but it takes a team to make it work. "I'm stoked right now and I thank my mechanics so much and my sponsors as well." WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER NINE ROUNDS): 1 Greg Hancock 139, 2 Jaroslaw Hampel 108, 3 Andreas Jonsson 100, 4 Jason Crump 96, 5 Tomasz Gollob 93, 6 Chris Holder 88, 7 Emil Sayfutdinov 88, 8 Kenneth Bjerre 85, 9 Nicki Pedersen 75, 10 Fredrik Lindgren 73, 11 Antonio Lindback 66, 12 Chris Harris 48, 13 Rune Holta 44, 14 Janusz Kolodziej 41, 15 Artem Laguta 21, 16 Magnus Zetterstrom 19, 17 Thomas H Jonasson 17, 18 Darcy Ward 15, 19 Matej Zagar 9, 20 Scott Nicholls 5, 21 Damian Balinski 4, 22 Matej Kus 3, 23 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 24 Mikkel B Jensen 2, 25 Tai Woffinden 2, 26 Simon Gustafsson 1. NORDIC SGP SCORES: 1 Greg Hancock 22, 2 Jason Crump 17, 3 Freddie Lindgren 13, 4 Chris Holder 11, 5 Kenneth Bjerre 13, 6 Nicki Pedersen 10, 7 Emil Sayfutdinov 9, 8 Artem Laguta 9, 9 Jaroslaw Hampel 8, 10 Andreas Jonsson 8, 11 Antonio Lindback 6, 12 Chris Harris 5, 13 Tomasz Gollob 5, 14 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 15 Rune Holta 3, 16 Janusz Kolodziej 2, 17 Michael Jepsen Jensen DNR, 18 Mikkel Michelsen DNR.

Speedway - Tony Olsson

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:23:00 +0200

Tony Olsson, successor of Ole Olsen at the end of the 2009 season, will stay as FIM Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup Race Director. His contract with the FIM has been renewed for the next five years. His work during the last three seasons has been considered excellent.

Tony was a professional speedway rider in England from 1986 to 1997 and has held a FIM Clerk of the Course licence since 2005. He has also worked as Track Racing Coordinator at the Swedish Motorcycle Federation (SVEMO) and was Speedway Team Manager for Sweden from 2001 to 2004.

Asked about this new contract, Tony Olsson stated:
"I am really happy for this renewal; to sign a new contract for another five years will give me some stability. I have learned a lot during these last three seasons working for the FIM and I feel confident to be able to continue to fulfill my tasks in the best possible conditions."

Roy Otto, Director of the FIM Track Racing Commission (CCP), stated:
"The contract renewal of Tony Olsson is excellent news for the FIM and the world of Speedway Grand Prix. Tony has done an outstanding job as Speedway Race Director during the last three years and I have no doubt that he will continue to fulfill this tasks perfectly for the years to come."

AJ on a roll

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:38:00 +0200

Swedish champion Andreas Jonsson is determined to keep his incredible roll going after winning a second SGP gold medal in three rounds at the FIM Enea Torun Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on Saturday. The Stockholm-born racer held off a ferocious charge from world No.2 Jaroslaw Hampel and got revenge for the Pole's last-bend smash and grab in the Scandinavian SGP at Malilla on August 13. World Under-21 champion Darcy Ward made an incredible Grand Prix debut to claim the bronze medal, while GP Challenge winner Antonio Lindback powered to fourth place. Jonsson was tenth in the World Championship after five rounds and four points adrift of the top eight. But after bagging 20 in the Marian Rose Motoarena, he is third in the standings on 92 and looks nicely poised to finish in the competition's top three for the first time in his career. American legend Greg Hancock still leads the SGP series on 117 points, while Hampel has 100 in second and is gaining on the Californian. Jonsson, who celebrates his 31st birthday on Saturday, is in the form of his life and is chasing hard too. He is keen to keep his red-hot run going into the final three rounds at Vojens, Gorican and Gorzow. He said: "I've just broken loose in the last month and a half and it has been going great everywhere I've been. I'm really happy at the moment. I'm just trying to stay focused, do the best I can and hopefully the form will keep going. "I was 10th before the Terenzano (Italian) Grand Prix and now I'm third. It's good, but there are still three rounds to go and anything can happen. I just need to stay focused and score some points." Jonsson was desperate to avoid a repeat of his final heartbreak in Malilla, when Hampel tore past him on the run to the finish line and denied him a huge victory in front of his home fans. With Ward attempting to scythe his way under the Pole for four laps, Hampel was never given a clear run at the Swede and there is no doubt this helped AJ. A relieved Jonsson said: "I knew even if I made the start that I had two really fast guys behind me in Darcy and Jarek. I didn't want to lose the lead like I did in Malilla, and I just made it. "I'm really happy about it and I'm really happy about getting as many points as I did." Meanwhile, disaster struck for world champion Tomasz Gollob, who was taken to hospital by his team after the meeting. The Pole was knocked out when Russian racer Artem Laguta lifted and T-boned him on the last turn of heat 17. The 40-year-old has been plagued by crashes this month, but bravely got up to take his place in the semi-finals and bagged third place to finish his night on 12. This result drops him down to fourth in the standings on 88 points, but Gollob appears to have greater worries than that. His manager Thomas Gaszynski said: "It was very, very bad. He has definitely got a concussion. His head is just spinning and it was one of those off-nights again. "We were unlucky with when Artem just took him out completely – stone cold. "Artem did attempt to apologise, but you have to control the bike. I know these things happen; I know he didn't do it intentionally. But Tomek has had too many accidents in such a short time. Enough is enough. I think we have used up our limit of bad luck. "We've got to go to the hospital, get his head checked and see what the situation is." WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER EIGHT ROUNDS OF 11): 1 Greg Hancock 117, 2 Jaroslaw Hampel 100, 3 Andreas Jonsson 92, 4 Tomasz Gollob 88, 5 Jason Crump 79, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 79, 7 Chris Holder 77, 8 Kenneth Bjerre 72, 9 Nicki Pedersen 65, 10 Fredrik Lindgren 60, 11 Antonio Lindback 60, 12 Chris Harris 43, 13 Rune Holta 41, 14 Janusz Kolodziej 39, 15 Magnus Zetterstrom 19, 16 Thomas H. Jonasson 17, 17 Darcy Ward 15, 18 Artem Laguta 12, 19 Matej Zagar 9, 20 Scott Nicholls 5, 21 Damian Balinski 4, 22 Matej Kus 3, 23 Mikkel B Jensen 2, 24 Tai Woffinden 2, 25 Simon Gustafsson 1. FIM ENEA TORUN SGP OF POLAND SCORES: 1 Andreas Jonsson 20, 2 Jaroslaw Hampel 18, 3 Darcy Ward 15, 4 Antonio Lindback 12, 5 Greg Hancock 13, 6 Tomasz Gollob 12, 7 Rune Holta 8, 8 Magnus Zetterstrom 7, 9 Chris Holder 7, 10 Jason Crump 7, 11 Emil Sayfutdinov 7, 12 Nicki Pedersen 6, 13 Kenneth Bjerre 6, 14 Freddie Lindgren 5, 15 Artem Laguta 1, 16 Chris Harris 0, 17 Piotr Pawlicki DNR, 18 Emil Pulczynski DNR.

Kolodziej misses FIM Enea Torun SGP of Poland

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:38:00 +0200

Polish champion Janusz Kolodziej has been ruled out of the FIM Enea Torun SGP of Poland on Saturday, and his manager Krzysztof Cegielski says the rider has been carrying kidney damage since April.

Kolodziej will be replaced by Grand Prix series first reserve Magnus Zetterstrom, who dons the No.19 race jacket for the third time this season following his appearances in Cardiff and Terenzano.

Leszno rider Kolodziej crashed hard on his Ekstraliga home track in heat 20 of the season-opening FIM Fogo European SGP on April 30.

He has been carrying the internal damage ever since and aggravated the problem when he took another thumping fall in Vetlanda's Swedish Elitserien home meeting with Vargarna on August 9.

Kolodziej has not undergone surgery, but his manager Krzysztof Cegielski confirmed the rider is being kept in hospital until Tuesday for observation.

The Tarnow-born man hopes to be fit for the FIM Dansk Metal Nordic SGP at Vojens on September 10. And Cegielski is pleased his good friend has finally got to the bottom of a problem, which has had a catastrophic impact on his form this year.

He said: "The crash in Sweden before the GP in Malilla aggravated the injury he got at the GP in Leszno when he crashed. He didn't break anything, but he destroyed something inside. He could sit on the bike and ride, but he was never 100 percent.

"He tried to ride after the crash in Vetlanda, but he didn't feel okay and he couldn't concentrate on riding properly. We all know what the result was. It wasn't any good and he didn't feel happy. He was always thinking about the injury, the pain and so on.

"This was the time to go to hospital and check everything was correct, and now he's going to be much better for having a rest and getting everything right. Afterwards, he can start again and concentrate only on speedway."

Cegielski admits Kolodziej should have taken some time off after the Leszno round and nipped the problem in the bud.

"It was a mistake that he rode the meetings afterwards in Poland and Sweden," the former SGP regular said. "We can say that for sure now.

"He got better and started to ride better, but he crashed again and exactly the same thing happened.

"Now he must take a break because he cannot concentrate on speedway and riding. It's quite serious because the kidneys must work properly.

"I'm sure that he will be fit for Vojens, but I don't know how long he will take off. It will be one week or something like that."

Bjarne Pedersen awarded Wild Card at Vojens

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:47:00 +0200

Bjarne Pedersen celebrated his World Championship return for 2012 by landing the wild card for the FIM Dansk Metal Nordic Speedway Grand Prix at Danish track Vojens on September 10.

The Ryde-born racer, who last served as a full-time SGP star in 2008, finished second in the GP Challenge at Vetlanda last Saturday to book his spot in next year's field. But the Holstebro star will get a brief taste of the competition this season when he dons the No.16 race jacket at Vojens.

Pedersen starred in Event One of the FIM Speedway World Cup at the Vojens Speedway Center on July 9 and top-scored with 12 points as Denmark stormed straight into the SWC Final. He has also led British Elite League club Eastbourne into the play-off race and is part of Indianerna's table-topping team in Sweden. But there is no doubt getting back into the World Championship for next year was Pedersen's top priority.

The former world No.6 failed to reach the top eight in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and it was clear he had fallen out of love with SGP racing. But the 33-year-old says his hunger to become world champion has returned.

He said: "It's difficult to explain, but this year I didn't do the qualifiers because I felt I had to do them. I did them because I wanted to be there. I wanted to win the big meetings again and that desire has come from inside of me. That's probably the most important thing.

"I've always said that if I really want it, I know I can go out and do it. I've gone through the qualifier a few times before. It's not just about saying that you want to get into the Grand Prix; you have to get your head down and get things sorted out. I got into the top three and that was my goal before the season."

Pedersen picked up two wins and three seconds in his Vetlanda heats to book his 2012 SGP place along with meeting winner Antonio Lindback and third-placed Piotr Protasiewicz. But the Dane is not thinking about his permanent return to the big time just yet and admits his big result is still sinking in.

He said: "I think it will probably feel better and better in the next couple of days. Everything happened so quickly. In a couple of week's time, I will realise how important that meeting was. But of course, it's great to have another go in the Grand Prix."

Asked his SGP target for 2012, Pedersen replied: "I haven't thought for one minute about that. It's something I'll do in the winter with the people around me. It's important everyone knows what the goal is. I'm not focusing on next year right now. I have some clubs I need to do well for at the end of the season. All my focus is back on the league meetings now."

Pedersen will be joined in Vojens by track reserves Michael Jepsen Jensen and Mikkel Michelsen. Jepsen Jensen, who races for Vojens in the Danish Super League, dons the No.17 race jacket, while Slangerup rider Michelsen will wear No.18.

The referee for the meeting is Frank Ziegler from Germany.

Hampel takes Scandinavian GP

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 00:51:00 +0200

Polish hotshot Jaroslaw Hampel was coy about his chances of making a last-gasp World Championship challenge after snatching a dramatic victory in the FIM Scandinavian Speedway Grand Prix at Swedish track Malilla on Saturday. The world No.2 made a sensational swoop around local hero Andreas Jonsson on the last turn of the final to steal the gold medal and go second in the SGP standings. Hampel is 22 points behind series leader Greg Hancock, who finished on eight. While the Californian is still firm favourite to top the World Championship rostrum this year, the Leszno and Vetlanda star has four rounds left to try and overhaul him. But Hampel has no intention of getting carried away by the second SGP triumph of his career as he is just 16 points ahead of eighth-placed Kenneth Bjerre, who finished third ahead of Emil Sayfutdinov in the Malilla meeting. The Polish World Cup winner said: "There are four rounds to go and we need to wait and see what happens in the next one. "I'm really enjoying it and everything looks very good. I'm racing well everywhere in the Polish league and Sweden. I hope everything can be good in the end with the Grand Prix. "But it's pretty tight with the points between second and seventh position. Anything can happen." Hampel set a new Malilla track record of 55.7 seconds in heat three after producing an electrifying start and powering home to lower the previous 55.9 mark held jointly by Hans Andersen, Antonio Lindback, Nicki Pedersen and Jonsson. But he struggled to reproduce that blistering speed in his following four heats and managed two seconds and two thirds. This took him into the semi-finals on nine points, where Hampel blasted around Jason Crump on turn two to deny the Aussie, who finished his five heats with a 15-point maximum, a spot in the last four. A delighted Hampel said: "I was very quick at the end. In my first start I beat the track record, but then I was missing something in my bike. "I couldn't race as fast as before and I changed the bike in almost every single race. In the end I found what I needed to do and then I raced fast and well. "Everything went very well in the semi-final and final. I couldn't score too many points before the semi-final and get a choice of gates. But the final was good. I tried to go very quick behind Andreas and the outside line was the best one." Dackarna rider Jonsson had an enormous following at his Elitserien home circuit and Hampel's incredible last-gasp move to snatch the gold medal from the Swede did not give his fans a happy ending. But the Polish contingent left on cloud nine, and Hampel was ecstatic to find the speed he needed to tear around AJ at the death. He said: "I was wondering whether I was quick enough or not because I built up my speed for almost four laps behind Andreas and I was very close. "I tried to do something on the first corner, but I knew that if I missed the gate, I could still stay very close to the guys and attack. I was second after the first turn and then I just had to think what I needed to do to pass Andreas. Fortunately, I made it. "The only way was to go around the outside line because the inside was pretty slick and I couldn't attack there. I built up my speed and I hit some dirt on the last corner. My bike was really quick and that's why I passed Andreas." Jonsson was gutted to miss out on his second SGP win at the G&B Arena, but the Stockholm-born man was more than happy to storm up to fifth in the standings on 72 points – level with Jason Crump in fourth spot and Emil Sayfutdinov in sixth. He said: "I'm really happy with my results so far. I got beaten on the line and that's really tough. But I'm still happy with the meeting and I scored a lot of points in my home meeting and made it to the final. "Jason had a maximum and he got thrown out in the semis. That can happen, so I'm really happy I reached the final and got an extra four points there. I'm fifth at the moment and we have four more Grand Prix rounds to go, so anything can happen." Meanwhile, Bjerre returned to the top eight for the first time in three months. His form is picking up ahead of the FIM Torun SGP of Poland on August 27 and the FIM Dansk Metal Nordic SGP at Vojens on September 10, where he will be highly fancied to triumph. Bjerre said: "It has been pretty tough for me this season. Over the past couple of rounds I have made it to the final and I'm enjoying it since the World Cup break. I've got my engines working and I'm just looking forward to the next one." There was better news for British fans in Malilla as Chris Harris produced his performance of the season to reach the semi-finals and finish the Grand Prix on 10 points. He is now 12th in the World Championship with 43, but remains 23 points adrift of the top-eight automatic qualification spots for 2012. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER SIX ROUNDS) : 1 Greg Hancock 104, 2 Jaroslaw Hampel 82, 3 Tomasz Gollob 76, 4 Jason Crump 72, 5 Andreas Jonsson 72, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 72, 7 Chris Holder 70, 8 Kenneth Bjerre 66, 9 Nicki Pedersen 59, 10 Freddie Lindgren 55, 11 Antonio Lindback 48, 12 Chris Harris 43, 13 Janusz Kolodziej 39, 14 Rune Holta 33, 15 Thomas H Jonasson 17, 16 Magnus Zetterstrom 12, 17 Artem Laguta 11, 18 Matej Zagar 9, 19 Scott Nicholls 5, 20 Damian Balinski 4, 21 Matej Kus 3, 22 Mikkel B Jensen 2, 23 Tai Woffinden 2, 24 Simon Gustafsson 1. FIM SCANDINAVIAN SGP RESULTS : 1 Jaroslaw Hampel 17, 2 Andreas Jonsson 19, 3 Kenneth Bjerre 16, 4 Emil Sayfutdinov 13, 5 Jason Crump 16, 6 Chris Harris 10, 7 Thomas H Jonasson 9, 8 Greg Hancock 9, 9 Freddie Lindgren 8, 10 Chris Holder 7, 11 Antonio Lindback 7, 12 Rune Holta 4, 13 Nicki Pedersen 3, 14 Tomasz Gollob 3, 15 Artem Laguta 1, 16 Janusz Kolodziej 1, 17 Simon Gustafsson DNR, 18 Linus Sundstrom DNR.

Darcy Ward granted Torun Wild Card place

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:04:00 +0200

Double World Under-21 champion Darcy Ward makes his much-anticipated senior World Championship debut in the FIM Enea Torun Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on August 27.

The 19-year-old Australian has been handed the wild card berth and dons the famous No.16 race jacket at the stunning Marian Rose Motoarena, where he raced his Polish Ekstraliga home meetings in 2009 and 2010.

Ward arrived in Europe as a complete unknown in summer 2008 and started his career with Boston in the British Conference League. But in the space of just two and a half years, he has won the World Under-21 crown twice. Ward has represented Australia in two FIM Speedway World Cups and was part of their silver medal-winning side in Gorzow last month.

He has also lifted three Aussie Under-21 titles and with Poole Pirates has soared to the top of this year's British Elite League averages with a circa 10.16 figure, which includes bonus points,

With SGP series organisers BSI Speedway and the FIM opting to open up wild card picks to riders from outside the nation staging a round this season, Ward has been given the chance of a lifetime in Torun. The Queenslander was honoured to be told he would be mixing it with the sport's elite and admits reaching the semi-finals on one of Polish speedway's grandest stages would be "unbelievable."

The Lejonen and Gdansk starlet said: "When I got the phone call I wasn't shocked. I knew I had been going pretty well and I'm a two-time under-21 champ. I knew they would look at me. But I was pretty honoured to say 'yes'.

"I'll be bringing my Dad over for it as it's a big moment for my family as well. They're very proud.

"I'm really looking forward to it. If I made the semis, that would be unbelievable, but just to score some points, have some fun and be in the Grand Prix is what I am going for. I suppose I've beaten these guys in the leagues, but when they all come together in one big meeting, it's pretty hardcore."

Ward joined his close friend Chris Holder's Grand Prix pit crew last season in a bid to get a sneak preview of life in the SGP series. After years of riding as team mates at Poole and Lejonen, they will lock horns as rivals on the Grand Prix stage for the first time in Torun.

"It was always going to happen," Ward said. "But we'll race each other like it's anyone else. I'm happy and everyone like Chris and Davey (Watt) are pretty stoked for me. But now I've got to go and race against Chris and that will be interesting."

Ward will be joined in the Torun SGP field by track reserves Piotr Pawlicki and Emil Pulczynski.

Pawlicki, who dons the No.17 race jacket, has rapidly emerged as one of Poland's most exciting young talents and finished fourth in the opening round of the World Under-21 Final at Poole on July 24 with 12 points. Meanwhile, Pulczynski rides for Torun in the Ekstraliga and will hope to put his local knowledge to good use if called upon. He has been allocated the No.18 race jacket.

The referee for the meeting will be Sweden's Krister Gardell.

AJ on top in Terenzano

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:21:00 +0200

Swedish champion Andreas Jonsson won the FIM Nice Italian Speedway Grand Prix in Terenzano on Saturday, and says his victory was a "step in the right direction" towards his World Championship dream.

The Dackarna and Zielona Gora man topped the rostrum to climb up to eighth place – the final automatic qualification spot for the 2012 series. He is unlikely to make a push for the world title this term as American legend Greg Hancock extended his lead at the SGP summit to 22 points by pipping Antonio Lindback to second place by half a wheel.

But Jonsson has higher aspirations than just being part of the Grand Prix scene. He remains determined to become his nation's first world champion since Tony Rickardsson lifted his record-equalling sixth title in 2005, and AJ feels his Terenzano triumph could be a turning point in his racing career.

He said: "It is really important for me and the goal of my career is to be world champion one day. This is one step in the right direction. But it's no good if you win one Grand Prix and come last in 10, so I have to get it more consistent – definitely. My goal for this year is to focus and try to reach the finals. If you do that, you score enough points to stay in the higher positions."

Jonsson's form has been sensational in the Polish Ekstraliga and Swedish Elitserien this term and he has been running his Grand Prix rivals ragged on a weekly basis. The Stockholm-born man hopes he can produce the same consistency in the World Championship throughout the second half of 2011.

He said: "It has been going well for the last month. We've found a few good setups with the engines and I've been feeling pretty comfortable. I just haven't had any Grand Prix rounds in this time and I've been doing really well in all my meetings. This has proved I can do well in the GP too, and hopefully I can perform just as well in the next one."

Jonsson admits he failed to hit his brilliant best in the SGP series' opening rounds, but the rider is glad he persisted with his engines and feels they are now producing the results he needs.

He added: "I've been riding pretty much the same engines all the time and I feel I'm getting to know the bikes better and better. That's what it's all about; making the setup right for you, riding the bikes as much as you can to get used to them and make them so that you can use them 110 percent."

Defending champion Tomasz Gollob arrived at Terenzano as red-hot favourite after dropping just three points from a possible 48 during his past two visits. But his love affair with the Motoclub Olimpia circuit ended in heartbreak as he exited the meeting before the semi-final stages on five points.

It was also a difficult night for Britain's sole SGP rider Chris Harris. Despite winning heat seven, his six-point tally wasn't enough to take him into the meeting's latter stages.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER SIX ROUNDS) : 1 Greg Hancock 95, 2 Tomasz Gollob 73, 3 Jaroslaw Hampel 65, 4 Chris Holder 63, 5 Emil Sayfutdinov 59, 6 Jason Crump 56, 7 Nicki Pedersen 56, 8 Andreas Jonsson 53, 9 Kenneth Bjerre 50, 10 Freddie Lindgren 47, 11 Antonio Lindback 41, 12 Janusz Kolodziej 38, 13 Chris Harris 33, 14 Rune Holta 29, 15 Magnus Zetterstrom 12, 16 Artem Laguta 10, 17 Matej Zagar 9, 18 Thomas H Jonasson 8, 19 Scott Nicholls 5, 20 Damian Balinski 4, 21 Matej Kus 3, 22 Mikkel B Jensen 2, 23 Tai Woffinden 2, 24 Simon Gustafsson 1.

FIM NICE ITALIAN SGP POINTS : 1 Andreas Jonsson 17, 2 Greg Hancock 15, 3 Antonio Lindback 17, 4 Kenneth Bjerre 12, 5 Jaroslaw Hampel 12, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 11, 7 Janusz Kolodziej 10, 8 Matej Zagar 9, 9 Freddie Lindgren 7, 10 Jason Crump 6, 11 Chris Harris 6, 12 Chris Holder 6, 13 Tomasz Gollob 5, 14 Rune Holta 5, 15 Magnus Zetterstrom 3, 16 Nicki Pedersen 3, 17 Mattia Carpanese DNR, 18 Guglielmo Franchetti DNR.

Jonasson to make second wild car appearance

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:41:00 +0200

Swedish international Thomas H Jonasson makes his second World Championship appearance of 2011 after being handed the wild card for the FIM Scandinavian Speedway Grand Prix in Malilla, Sweden, on August 13. Jonasson, who wears the famous No.16 race jacket, made his SGP bow at Malilla's G&B Arena last year and scored an impressive eight points. This is often enough to take a rider into the semi-finals of a Grand Prix, but he missed out by a point in a very competitive round. Jonasson returned to the series for the FIM Meridian Lifts Swedish SGP in Gothenburg on May 14 and scored a very promising eight points from four races before rain forced the round to be curtailed after 16 heats. The 22-year-old also made his FIM PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna Speedway World Cup debut earlier this month and impressed with his hard-charging style and solid performances for his country. Jonasson races for his hometown club Vetlanda in the Swedish Elitserien, which is just 50km from Malilla. He also competes for Gdansk in the Polish First Division. He will be joined in the meeting by track reserves Simon Gustafsson and Linus Sundstrom. Gustafsson, who dons the No.17 jacket, races for Eastbourne in the British Elite League as well as table-topping Indianerna in the Swedish Elitserien. He is also in this year's World Under-21 Final line-up. Sundstrom, who wears No.18, races for Peterborough in the UK and Piraterna in Sweden. The referee for the FIM Scandinavian SGP will be Great Britain's Craig Ackroyd, who took charge of the season-opening FIM Fogo European Grand Prix in Leszno.

New five-year deal for British SGP in Cardiff

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:21:00 +0200

The FIM British Speedway Grand Prix returns to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in 2012 after a new five-year deal was agreed with both the stadium and the Welsh Government. Next year's spectacular is set to take place on Saturday, August 25 2012 and early-bird tickets are now on sale with savings of up to 15% for those who take advantage of the offer before August 31, 2011. It will be the twelfth British SGP to be hosted at the Millennium Stadium, with this year's flagship World Championship event attracting in excess of 43,000 fans – putting it right up there with the biggest on the British motorsport calendar. Speaking about the continued commitment to Cardiff, BSI Speedway managing director, Paul Bellamy, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have been able to extend our contract and commitment to Cardiff and the Millennium Stadium for another five years. As ever, we will look to continue to raising the bar and give fans the most amazing experience. "This year's meeting was again a huge success and as a city, Cardiff has totally embraced World Championship speedway. The Fanzone proved even more popular than ever this time around. "As always, we want to ensure fans are getting value for money. So as well as joining forces with the stadium and Welsh Government, we'll once again be working with Cardiff & Co to offer fans booking advance tickets the chance to reserve hotel rooms at reasonable rates. "This new five-year deal is great news for us, the fans and for Cardiff, and we're very much looking forward to another great year leading up to the next British SGP." First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones, said: "I'm delighted that we are able to announce a funding package for the BSI Speedway Grand Prix for 2012 - 2016 which will give stability for the event to grow and prosper in Wales. "The event attracts visitors from outside of Wales to Cardiff and provides a significant economic boost to the city. This year, the event was televised in 140 territories, giving Wales' profile a major boost. "This support secures the event at the Millennium Stadium for the next five years as it is an important fixture for the summer season in the city." Millennium Stadium Manager, Gerry Toms, said: "We are delighted that the British SGP will be continuing its close and successful association with us for the next five years. "The event has become a firm attraction on the calendar of major events which take place at the Millennium Stadium and it is always an exciting, entertaining and dramatic occasion when speedway comes to Cardiff. "All of the world's best riders take part and the levels of skill and competition on show create a truly amazing spectacle for the fans. "The feedback we get from people who attend is invariably always extremely positive and the atmosphere and excitement created by speedway extends from the stadium on to the streets of our capital city with a true sense of something big taking place here. "There is always a sense of growing excitement as we transform the stadium from a rugby venue into a racetrack and the hard work everyone puts in is always worth it because we are always assured of a great show." Around 20% of the city's hotel's capacity will be made available at favourable prices to those fans booking early. Tickets can be purchased via www.speedwaygp.com by clicking on the '2011/2012 tickets' button in the top right-hand corner and clicking on '2012 events.' They are also available by calling Ticketmaster on 0844 248 5029. International fans should call +44 161 425 7770. Fans keen to take advantage of the accommodation offer should follow the link to a dedicated website, which can be found on their e-mail confirmation from Ticketmaster. Meanwhile, those purchasing their tickets over the phone can call Cardiff and Co on 029 2087 1023 with their ticket booking reference details.