LEBEDEVS SEEKS PERFECTION AS HE TAKES FIM GP CHALLENGE IN GISLAVED

Latvian racer Andzejs Lebedevs knows only perfection will do as he bids to realise his Speedway GP dream at the FIM GP Challenge in Gislaved on Saturday.

Lebedevs is serving as this season’s first substitute rider for Speedway GP. He scored eight championship points at the Holmgrens Bil FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on July 15 and six at the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga last Saturday.

Now the Daugavpils-born racer would like to become a full-time member of the Speedway GP series and could book his place in the line-up for 2024 with a top-three finish in Gislaved.

He faces some stiff competition for qualification from current Speedway GP stars Jason Doyle, Martin Vaculik and Robert Lambert, a former Lejonen rider who has accepted a late call-up for the FIM GP Challenge on his former Bauhaus Elitserien home track, replacing the injured Jack Holder

The FIM GP Challenge gives 16 riders five races to potentially change their lives as they battle it out over a hard-fought 20 heats with only the top three scorers earning spots in Speedway GP for next season. One mistake or mechanical mishap could cost riders the chance of a lifetime, and Lebedevs is determined to strive for perfection in Sweden.

He said: “Speedway GP qualification is my goal for this season. I have made the GP Challenge. This is a very important meeting for me, and I want to show a good result and good speedway.

“I am really excited, and this is everything for me. I want to be a GP member for next season. The GP Challenge is a one-day meeting and everything must be perfect – your luck, your engines and your mental approach. You can’t have any bad luck like a broken chain or something like this.”

Even if the starts in Gislaved do not go to plan, Lebedevs believes a top racetrack offers him a plan B. He said: “Gislaved is a really good track. It’s a good racing track, where it is not crucial just to make the start. You can race everywhere. 

“I raced there in a league meeting not long ago and I had a really good result – I scored 13 paid 14 points. That result gives me some more confidence for this meeting. 

“Hopefully it will be my day and I come home with a big smile. Then I hope this smile will stay with me, and I can start my preparations for next season with big ideas.”

While Lebedevs will start among the favourites along with Doyle, Vaculik and Lambert, the event features a host of former Speedway GP riders, bidding to regain their World Championship status, including former FIM Speedway World Cup winner Michael Jepsen Jensen of Denmark, Polish brothers Przemyslaw and Piotr Pawlicki and German ace Martin Smolinski, with hometown favourite Oliver Berntzon named at reserve on his home track.

French racer Dimitri Bergé is bidding to build on a fine Monster Energy FIM SWC in Wroclaw last month and become his nation’s first Speedway GP rider, while former Polish champion Szymon Wozniak, current Speedway GP second substitute Jan Kvech and Danish star Frederik Jakobsen will also fancy their chances.

Double Swedish champion Jacob Thorssell is the host nation’s sole representative in Gislaved and will be determined to follow compatriot and 2022 FIM GP Challenge winner Kim Nilsson in earning his place in Speedway GP.

American racer Luke Becker hopes to start a new era for the USA in Speedway GP following his mentor Greg Hancock’s retirement, and Nicolas Covatti and Paco Castagna are vying to become Italy’s first full-time Speedway GP rider since Paco’s father and FIM Track Racing Commission director Armando Castagna competed in the 1998 series.

FIM GP CHALLENGE LINE-UP: 1 Frederik Jakobsen (Denmark), 2 Jan Kvech (Czech Republic), 3 Dimitri Bergé (France), 4 Szymon Woźniak (Poland), 5 Jacob Thorssell (Sweden), 6 Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark), 7 Nicolas Covatti (Italy), 8 Przemyslaw Pawlicki (Poland), 9 Robert Lambert (Great Britain), 10 Paco Castagna (Italy), 11 Martin Smolinski (Germany), 12 Martin Vaculik (Slovakia), 13 Jason Doyle (Australia), 14 Piotr Pawlicki (Poland), 15 Luke Becker (USA), 16 Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia). RESERVES: 17 Oliver Berntzon (Sweden), 18 Philip Hellström-Bängs (Sweden).