FRICKE: DOYLE COMEBACK BOOSTS AUSSIE HOPES

Triple Aussie champion Max Fricke admits bringing Jason Doyle out of his brief international retirement comes as a huge boost to the Roos ahead of tonight’s Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Semi-Final 2 in Wroclaw.

Doyle was part of the Aussie team alongside Fricke and Jack Holder as Australia ended its 20-year wait for a world team title in the 2022 FIM Speedway of Nations in Vojens last summer.

Former Speedway GP world champion Doyle did not take a ride in the FIM SON Final as Holder and Fricke delivered gold and later announced his retirement from the national side at the end of last year. But he gave team manager Mark Lemon a huge boost after reversing that decision in the spring and he teams up with Holder, Fricke, 2020 FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion Jaimon Lidsey and 2012 world champion Chris Holder to face Denmark, Finland and France tonight.

Fricke is delighted to have his Speedway GP rival back in the side. He said: “Doyley is a massive coup for Australia, to have him in the team. He will be a strong person for us. He’s Australian through and through and this is a big event for him.

“We have a strong team with Australia. It is always going to be tough in Poland’s back yard and they have a strong team as well. But we will give it our all and see how far we can go.”

Fricke raced to his joint-best Speedway GP of the season at the Holmgrens Bil FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on July 15 and will hope to bring this form or better into Monster Energy FIM SWC week. He said: “It was an improvement on the last couple of GPs, which is what we are always working towards. A little bit more would have been nice – making it into a final. But one step at a time and we will take what we got.

“Personally, I have been working towards trying to get some stuff working a little bit better and the World Cup is another big week.”