DANISH TREBLE FOR THOMSEN?

Anders Thomsen hopes to head into Saturday’s KGHM FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow as a triple Danish champion when he goes for national glory in Slangerup on Wednesday.

Thomsen won back-to-back Danish Championships in 2020 and 2021 and hopes to become only the ninth rider to win the competition for a third time, when he comes up against the likes of double European champions Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen.

Neither of those Speedway GP rivals has lifted the Danish title and Thomsen is determined to keep it that way.

Last year’s Danish Final was won by Rasmus Jensen and Thomsen admits he was hampered by a shoulder injury that night as he took second spot. But he’s determined to regain the crown just days before he goes for his second straight Speedway GP win on his Polish home track Gorzow.

Ahead of Wednesday’s Slangerup showdown, he said: “I put a lot of effort into it. It’s a big clap on the shoulder if you win the Danish Championship and show that you are the best Dane. I will do all I can. 

“I was so close last year. I got injured the week before. I suffered a broken shoulder. I still continued and raced the Danish Championship. I just missed out on winning it. But it was a good night for me.”

While the Danish Final is raced over 20 heats followed by a final for the top four riders, points make prizes with three points awarded for a race win, two for second and one for third in every heat – even the final. 

The points are tallied up over the evening and this means winning the final doesn’t necessarily see a rider crowned Danish champion – as Thomsen found out in 2022.

He said: “I won the final, but I didn’t collect enough points to win it. I was missing some. I want to do the best I can to win it this year.

“There are many riders who can take the win and it’s just about counting the points all evening – the points in the final count as well. It’s all about being stable the whole night and not just being good at the end. 

“Many people from Denmark really want to win the Danish Championship because it’s something special to be national champion here. I put a lot of effort into this.”

Thomsen may race for FIM Danish Speedway GP host club Vojens at the country’s national speedway stadium. But he still likes the idea that the national final moves around Denmark’s top tracks – ensuring the same riders do not always benefit from home advantage.

“It is good to move it around for sure,” Thomsen said. “Vojens is my home track and I like it there. I know some good setups as well. But the Danish Championship should move around and that’s why they have moved it to another track this year.

“I haven’t raced at Slangerup a lot lately. I have been there once this year, but for the last two years, I haven’t been there. Hopefully it suits me, and we can win the title one more time.”

DANISH FINAL LINE-UP: Rasmus Jensen, Kenneth Bjerre, Anders Thomsen, Leon Madsen, Mikkel Michelsen, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Andreas Lyager, Michael Jepsen Jensen, Frederik Jakobsen, Rene Bach, Jonas Jeppesen, Peter Kildemand, Benjamin Basso, Nicolai Klindt, Patrick Hansen, Mads Hansen. RESERVES: Jonas Seifert, Kenneth Hansen.