NORWEGIAN TEEN POLLESTAD EYES SGP DREAM AHEAD OF GORZOW SGP2 SHOWDOWN

Norwegian shooting star Mathias Pollestad dreams of putting his country back on the FIM Speedway Grand Prix map as he heads into the KGHM FIM SGP2 of Poland – Gorzow on Friday.

The iconic Edward Jancarz Stadium hosts the sport’s top riders for the KGHM FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow on Saturday night.

But first, the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship race takes centre stage, with reigning SGP2 champion Mateusz Cierniak leading the standings on 20 points after winning the opening round in Prague on June 2. His fellow Polish stars Bartlomiej Kowalski in second and Damian Ratajczak in third joined him on the podium at Marketa Stadium.

But Pollestad raced to a fantastic fourth place on a night which saw him win three heats, including a breath-taking victory over Cierniak as he overhauled the Lublin racer to take the chequered flag in race seven.

Pollestad should feel at home on the Edward Jancarz Stadium circuit. He competes for tonight’s host club Stal Gorzow and is making rapid progress. He is averaging 2.189 points per race in the Under-24 Ekstraliga this season and his form has even earned the 18-year-old sensation a spot in their PGE Ekstraliga senior side.

Former Speedway GP world No.4 Rune Holta was the last Norwegian rider to reach the top four in a World Under-21 final event, when he took the silver medal in 1994.

Pollestad knows there’s a lot of work to do to match or better that result, or maybe follow Holta into Speedway GP one day.

“That’s the dream,” he said. “But it’s a long way to go. Everything can happen in the future. For now, I am just focused on SGP2 and the Under-24 Ekstraliga. I am trying to be as good as I can be. We will see if I go into higher leagues in Poland and Sweden next year.

“I am really happy that they gave me a permanent SGP2 wild card because Norway had Rune Holta who raced in the GPs, but that was a long time ago.

“After Holta, speedway dropped off a lot in Norway. I hope I can change that because it will be fun to race more at home and not only be in Poland, Sweden and Denmark.”

For now, Pollestad must test himself in the Polish, Swedish and Danish leagues, and he admits having Stal Gorzow’s support as he takes the step beyond Norway to test himself in the sport’s most competitive nation has been priceless.

“It makes a really big difference,” he said. “If you don’t come into a really good club and get the help, it’s much harder to come to the top. But if you have the team that I have at Stal Gorzow now, it’s much easier to go up step by step. They know everything and I do not know so much.

“In the winter I trained really hard and changed engines. I tried different ones and now I have found something that’s really good.

“Everyone in the team is working 100 percent, so I hope I can keep the speed up and score some good points.”

The KGHM FIM SGP2 of Poland – Gorzow sees Latvia’s Francis Gusts make his first appearance in the championship this season after he sat out the opening round in Prague with a wrist injury.

Australian Under-21 champion Keynan Rew raced to 12 points in Prague and will hope to build on that in Gorzow, with Sweden’s Gustav Grahn on 11 and Danish prospect Emil Breum on 10.

The event also sees former FIM Speedway Youth World Championship winner Oskar Paluch make his much-anticipated SGP2 debut. Son of Stal Gorzow legend Piotr Paluch, who raced for the club from 1987-2007, the 17-year-old is being tipped for success as he stands sixth in the Under-24 Ekstraliga average charts on 2.500 points per race.

2023 KGHM FIM SGP2 OF POLAND – GORZOW LINE-UP (in FIM ranking order with rider numbers): 161 Emil Breum (Denmark), 27 Keynan Rew (Australia), 94 Esben Hjerrild (Denmark), 33 Norick Blodorn (Germany), 243 Philip Hellstrom-Bangs (Sweden), 302 Bartlomiej Kowalski (Poland), 842 Mateusz Cierniak (Poland), 43 Casper Henriksson (Sweden), 140 Francis Gusts (Latvia), 63 Nicolai Heiselberg (Denmark), 118 Gustav Grahn (Sweden), 523 Damian Ratajczak (Poland), 999 Mathias Pollestad (Norway), 226 Anze Grmek (Slovenia), 44 Petr Chlupac (Czech Republic), 16 Oskar Paluch (Poland – wild card), 17 Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland – first track reserve), 18 Mateusz Bartkowiak (Poland – second track reserve).

GORZOW SGP2 FANZONE: FRIDAY, JUNE 23

Enjoy the first of two fun-filled afternoons in Gorzow at Friday’s KGHM FIM SGP2 of Poland – Gorzow fanzone.

Friday’s fanzone opens at 12:30 CET, with all of the 2023 FIM SGP2 riders signing autographs from 16:30 CET. 

Fans can grab a photo with the Speedway GP trophy. Vintage bikes will be on display, and food, drink and official merchandise will be available for purchase.

WHERE TO WATCH: KGHM FIM SGP2 of Poland – Gorzow – Friday, June 23 at 19:00 CET.

Coverage can be enjoyed via discovery+ and the Eurosport App in markets where these are available.

Coverage is also available on:

·      Poland – Eurosport Extra

·      Across the Baltics – Go3

·      United States of America / Canada / New Zealand: Recast: recast.tv/fimspeedway