THOMSEN TARGETS SON RETURN

Anders Thomsen is determined to fight his way into the Danish side as they go for FIM Speedway of Nations Final gold on home shale in Esbjerg on July 30.

The Danish champion missed out on a place in the national team for last season’s competition, with Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen racing to the country’s second straight bronze medal.

With three senior spots up for grabs this summer, Thomsen will be hopeful of regaining his spot for Denmark’s home tournament, with the host nation seeded straight through to the FIM SON Final.

He said: “We will see who (team manager) Hans Nielsen picks for the Speedway of Nations. I feel I have a good chance to be in. But he is the boss and if I am not in, I am not in.

“It would be really great to race the Speedway of Nations in Denmark for the first time. Getting such a big meeting back to Denmark is a really big thing.”

Thomsen is delighted to see the FIM SON taking place in seaside city Esbjerg, which also stages the Semi-Finals on July 27 and 28, with SON2 – the FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship – on July 29.

He said: “It’s a lovely stadium in Esbjerg. It’s an old kind of speedway stadium. But what a race track it is! It’s a big racing track with a lot of banking.

“The guys working with the track know what they are doing, so it will be good speedway there. It’s such a nice track to race and a lovely place. They also ride motocross where the stadium is and have car tracks. It’s a really great place.

“Esbjerg is one of my favourite tracks. I always have good points and good meetings there.”

Denmark’s last world team gold medal came at the 2014 FIM Speedway World Cup Final in Bydgoszcz, when Esbjerg-born Niels-Kristian Iversen famously rounded Poland’s Janusz Kolodziej on the last bend of the final race to seal the Ove Fundin Trophy.

The Danes won the old World Pairs Championship eight times, but are yet to claim the FIM SON crown. And Thomsen knows this summer’s tournament offers a great opportunity to push for the podium.

He said: “We have one of the biggest opportunities, and when you are racing in your home country, you are always more focused on getting a medal.

“You never know, but I am sure we can have a good one. We are a good speedway nation and we can go all the way for a medal.”