SGP STAR NILSSON EXTENDS ROSPIGGARNA DEAL

Speedway GP newcomer Kim Nilsson hopes remaining at Swedish club Rospiggarna can leave him well placed to take on a season of change in 2023.

Nilsson was the surprise winner of the 2022 FIM GP Challenge at British track Glasgow in August, securing his spot in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series for next year.

With world No.4 Fredrik Lindgren not set to compete in his homeland next season, Nilsson becomes the sole Swedish Speedway GP star to race in the 2023 Bauhaus Elitserien.

Nilsson joins forces with the likes of Swedish rising star Victor Palovaara, as well as 2022 SGP2 rider Wiktor Przyjemski.

Ahead of the biggest season of his career, Nilsson hopes sticking with the Hallstavik club will help him negotiate a big year of change.

He told the club’s website: “It feels good to extend with Rospiggarna. I feel very comfortable at the club and since there will be a lot of changes as it is with me joining the GP series and with the club having an almost completely new team, the security I feel in the club feels very important.

“It feels like the club is starting a bit on a new ball for next season with some new names and young guys joining, and I think I can add a lot with the experience I have.

“If we manage to create as good a cohesion in the team as we had before so that everyone pulls in the same direction, I think it will be really good. I’m really looking forward to meeting both the crowd and everyone in the association again in the 2023 season!”

Rospiggarna boss Peter Jansson is pleased to have Nilsson at the helm of a new-look Hallstavik side.

He said: “It is incredibly gratifying that Kim chooses to stay. He is a fantastic team captain who, with his leadership qualities and professionalism, is a huge support in the pits.

“Rospiggarna 2023 will look a little different and we are investing a lot in young riders. So it is important to have a guy like Kim but also Victor and Kai who form the foundation.

“Next season, a whole new world will open up for him when he will race in the Speedway GP series, but he will come well prepared for it. He has fought for it for many years, and it is fun that we in Rospiggarna get to be part of that journey. We are the only team in the Bauhaus league that has a Swedish Speedway GP rider next season.”