FOUR SPEEDWAY GP STARS IN STELLAR PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL LINE-UP
Speedway GP quartet Dan Bewley, Fredrik Lindgren, Jason Doyle and Robert Lambert face a strong early-season test when they line up at tonight’s Peter Craven Memorial meeting in Manchester.The annual event at the National Speedway Stadium – home of the 2024 FIM Speedway of Nations – features a stellar field, with Speedway GP substitutes Max Fricke and Maciej Janowski also in action, while 2022 SGP2 wild card Celina Liebmann makes history as the first female rider to compete against undoubtedly the strongest line-up she has faced so far.FIM North America champion Luke Becker, four-time FIM Speedway World Cup winner Niels-Kristian Iversen and triple British champion Chris Harris also compete, along with Belle Vue Aces favourites Brady Kurtz, Jaimon Lidsey, Norick Blodorn, Ben Cook, Connor Bailey and Connor Mountain.The event gives SGP riders a golden opportunity to warm up for the Speedway GP World Championship season, which gets underway with the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia in Donji Kraljevec on April 27.A host of the stars on show will also be hoping to stake their claim for places in their country’s FIM SON three-rider starting line-up as 15 countries battle it out for the sport’s world team title in Manchester from July 9-13.Lindgren got his season underway with victory in Charles Wright’s testimonial meeting at Redcar on Sunday and will hope to build on that, while reigning Peter Craven champion Doyle bids to win a record fifth title. But Belle Vue No.1 Bewley and former Belle Vue riders Lambert and Fricke will be keen to make the most of their Manchester track knowledge.Looking ahead to the event, Belle Vue CEO Mark Lemon said: “Over the years, we’ve been proud to witness how the Peter Craven Memorial has evolved into such a prestigious event, attracting some of the best riders in the world to race in it. “I think this is the first time we’ve had such a strong Grand Prix presence in the field, including the world No.2 Freddie Lindgren. “It’s fantastic to feature all our current Belle Vue Aces, which supporters would naturally expect, and I strongly believe each one of them has plenty to contribute to the evening. “When we put this line-up together, we wanted to see fierce competition, but we also pride ourselves on inclusivity and we recognise that this event is an excellent opportunity for young riders. “The inclusion of the first female speedway racer to compete in this prestigious event has caught the attention of many. Celina Liebmann is not too different to our young German Ace Norick Blodorn. The likes of Norick, Drew Kemp and Fredrik Jacobsen were relative unknowns when they first raced in the Peter Craven Memorial and look at them now! “Norick has developed into a Premiership-calibre rider at the tender age of 19 and for Celina and Connor Bailey, they too can also benefit, not just from the experience of racing in this meeting but racing alongside some of the best in the world.“This line-up is one of the best we’ve ever had at the National Speedway Stadium and ticket sales so far certainly speak volumes to that, and we hope everyone is as excited as we are.”PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL LINE-UP: Fredrik Lindgren, Max Fricke, Dan Bewley, Luke Becker, Brady Kurtz, Jaimon Lidsey, Jason Doyle, Celina Liebmann, Connor Mountain, Norick Blodorn, Robert Lambert, Maciej Janowski, Connor Bailey, Ben Cook, Chris Harris, Niels-Kristian Iversen.
PRESTIGIOUS CRYSTAL WING AWARD FOR SLOVAKIAN HERO VACULIK
Speedway GP star Martin Vaculik has been honoured among the best of the best in Slovakia after picking up the prestigious Crystal Wing (Krištáľové krídlo) sports award in Bratislava on Saturday.Vaculik was nominated for the prize after racing to a career-best third place in the 2023 Speedway GP World Championship, becoming the first Slovakian rider in history to reach the rostrum.The Crystal Wing awards, presented live on national TV channel RTVS, honour Slovakian people who put themselves and their country in the spotlight in a wide range of fields. These include philanthropy, economics, journalism and literature, theatre and audiovisual arts, fine arts, music, popular music, sports, medicine and science, innovation and startups, extraordinary success abroad or another significant achievement.With Speedway GP televised live and free-to-air on RTVS throughout 2023, Vaculik took the sport to new heights in his homeland, winning Speedway GP rounds in Prague and Cardiff along the way.Vaculik was elated to be recognised with the Crystal Wing award. He said: “I would like to thank you very much for awarding me the Crystal Wing in the sports category. “This award is very prestigious, just to be nominated among so many amazing personalities I have had the chance to see is also something special to me. “Certainly, it is a great honour and a great motivation for me to continue working hard. I'll keep doing what I'm doing the best I know how. “Thank you very much to my family and the people who gave me this wonderful award. I promise to give it my all on the track. Thank you very much.”
CARDIFF LOCAL ORGANISER MAYFIELD SPORTS MANAGEMENT HONOURED FOR 2023 SGP EVENT
FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain - Cardiff local organiser Mayfield Sports Management has been named as FIM Speedway Local Organiser of the Year for 2023.MSM was tasked with organising Britain’s biggest indoor motorsport event for the very first time and was recognised by the FIM Speedway global team for delivering a very complex event with tireless energy, professionalism and enthusiasm.It was a year when Speedway GP fans witnessed some of the best racing ever staged at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, delivered on a temporary track, which was constructed over a painstaking three days using 180 lorry loads of shale.As well as facilitating the construction of the track by three-time FIM Speedway world champion Ole Olsen, MSM also had the task of helping WBD Sports deliver the popular fanzone on Cardiff’s City Hall Lawn. They also ensured that the track and all the other SGP staging equipment, including the pits, waiting area and central stage, were safely removed from Principality Stadium in the days that followed the event.
JANOWSKI: I HAVE MISSED BRITISH RACING
Polish racer Maciej Janowski admits he has missed racing in Britain as he makes his Sports Insure Premiership comeback with the Oxford Spires at home to fellow top-flight returnees Birmingham Brummies tonight. Janowski last raced in the UK full-time in 2015, when he won an historic third straight Elite League title with the Poole Pirates. He has since competed in Sweden alongside his Speedway GP events and PGE Ekstraliga commitments with hometown club Wrocław. With Janowski missing out on a full-time place in the Speedway GP series for 2024, he has opted to add British racing to his schedule. And he is delighted to be back in the UK as Oxford stages its first top-flight meeting since the club originally closed in 2007. He said: “I remember when I have been in Britain, I have felt a little bit better on the bike. Britain gives you a lot of experience of different kinds of tracks and a lot of other things. I want to be in working mode and race a lot.“I have been thinking about coming back for the last couple of years. I have been missing Britain. I know that it is a very good place to improve your skills and make yourself better.“In Britain you have smaller and narrower tracks. You race very close to each other. You also have many different shapes of track and very technical ones. I am in a part of my career when I want to come back and remind myself of a few things. I want to try something new. I need some fresh air in my riding and with my career, so I think this will be very exciting.”Janowski admits the deal was easy to arrange after holding talks with Mark Courtney, father of Oxford co-promoter Jamie. He said: “Mark lives very close to the Wroclaw track. We had a meeting, and he called his son. We fixed everything in 30 minutes. It was really easy.“I got a couple of calls from different clubs, but we fixed the deal very fast. The main thing was to find a mechanic over there and a workshop. I was trying to find a club where everything would be sorted out how I want, and it was very easy to fix everything with Oxford because of Mark. I wanted to have a mechanic from Britain, who has a workshop and all the stuff we need.“It would be hard to find someone in Poland, send them to Britain and ask them to stay for the whole season. This was the easiest way. I have an English mechanic – Scott Nicholls’ old mechanic. I am very excited to be back, and I think this will be a very exciting time.”Janowski leads an Oxford team with plenty of strength in depth, also including triple British champion Chris Harris, double Australian champion Rohan Tungate, Nicolai Klindt, Lewis Kerr, Charles Wright and Ashton Boughen. Asked about Spires’ title chances, Janowski insists he’s determined to deliver the points expected of him first and foremost. He said: “I will not say that I am going to Britain to win the league. Of course, if there is an opportunity to do that, we will try. But first of all, I want to be a good point of the team and that’s the most important thing for me.“I hope we are going to have good fun and we will definitely have good support from the club. I know all the riders and I am pretty sure it will be a fun year.”
FOUR SPEEDWAY GP STARS IN STELLAR PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL LINE-UP
PRESTIGIOUS CRYSTAL WING AWARD FOR SLOVAKIAN HERO VACULIK
SPEEDWAY GP QUIZ | BARTOSZ ZMARZLIK'S VICTORIOUS VENUES
CARDIFF LOCAL ORGANISER MAYFIELD SPORTS MANAGEMENT HONOURED FOR 2023 SGP EVENT
JANOWSKI: I HAVE MISSED BRITISH RACING
sgp News
19/03/2024
FOUR SPEEDWAY GP STARS IN STELLAR PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL LINE-UP
Speedway GP quartet Dan Bewley, Fredrik Lindgren, Jason Doyle and Robert Lambert face a strong early-season test when they line up at tonight’s Peter Craven Memorial meeting in Manchester.The annual event at the National Speedway Stadium – home of the 2024 FIM Speedway of Nations – features a stellar field, with Speedway GP substitutes Max Fricke and Maciej Janowski also in action, while 2022 SGP2 wild card Celina Liebmann makes history as the first female rider to compete against undoubtedly the strongest line-up she has faced so far.FIM North America champion Luke Becker, four-time FIM Speedway World Cup winner Niels-Kristian Iversen and triple British champion Chris Harris also compete, along with Belle Vue Aces favourites Brady Kurtz, Jaimon Lidsey, Norick Blodorn, Ben Cook, Connor Bailey and Connor Mountain.The event gives SGP riders a golden opportunity to warm up for the Speedway GP World Championship season, which gets underway with the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia in Donji Kraljevec on April 27.A host of the stars on show will also be hoping to stake their claim for places in their country’s FIM SON three-rider starting line-up as 15 countries battle it out for the sport’s world team title in Manchester from July 9-13.Lindgren got his season underway with victory in Charles Wright’s testimonial meeting at Redcar on Sunday and will hope to build on that, while reigning Peter Craven champion Doyle bids to win a record fifth title. But Belle Vue No.1 Bewley and former Belle Vue riders Lambert and Fricke will be keen to make the most of their Manchester track knowledge.Looking ahead to the event, Belle Vue CEO Mark Lemon said: “Over the years, we’ve been proud to witness how the Peter Craven Memorial has evolved into such a prestigious event, attracting some of the best riders in the world to race in it. “I think this is the first time we’ve had such a strong Grand Prix presence in the field, including the world No.2 Freddie Lindgren. “It’s fantastic to feature all our current Belle Vue Aces, which supporters would naturally expect, and I strongly believe each one of them has plenty to contribute to the evening. “When we put this line-up together, we wanted to see fierce competition, but we also pride ourselves on inclusivity and we recognise that this event is an excellent opportunity for young riders. “The inclusion of the first female speedway racer to compete in this prestigious event has caught the attention of many. Celina Liebmann is not too different to our young German Ace Norick Blodorn. The likes of Norick, Drew Kemp and Fredrik Jacobsen were relative unknowns when they first raced in the Peter Craven Memorial and look at them now! “Norick has developed into a Premiership-calibre rider at the tender age of 19 and for Celina and Connor Bailey, they too can also benefit, not just from the experience of racing in this meeting but racing alongside some of the best in the world.“This line-up is one of the best we’ve ever had at the National Speedway Stadium and ticket sales so far certainly speak volumes to that, and we hope everyone is as excited as we are.”PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL LINE-UP: Fredrik Lindgren, Max Fricke, Dan Bewley, Luke Becker, Brady Kurtz, Jaimon Lidsey, Jason Doyle, Celina Liebmann, Connor Mountain, Norick Blodorn, Robert Lambert, Maciej Janowski, Connor Bailey, Ben Cook, Chris Harris, Niels-Kristian Iversen.
Discover18/03/2024
FOUR SPEEDWAY GP STARS IN STELLAR PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL LINE-UP
17/03/2024
PRESTIGIOUS CRYSTAL WING AWARD FOR SLOVAKIAN HERO VACULIK
16/03/2024
SPEEDWAY GP QUIZ | BARTOSZ ZMARZLIK'S VICTORIOUS VENUES
15/03/2024
CARDIFF LOCAL ORGANISER MAYFIELD SPORTS MANAGEMENT HONOURED FOR 2023 SGP EVENT
14/03/2024
JANOWSKI: I HAVE MISSED BRITISH RACING
13/03/2024
MAVTV TO BROADCAST FIM SPEEDWAY ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES UNTIL 2026
12/03/2024
SCOTT STEPS IN FOR BIRMINGHAM
11/03/2024
WRIGHT BACK ON TRACK WITH OXFORD
10/03/2024
HUCKENBECK: ALL SET FOR SPEEDWAY GP
09/03/2024
SPEEDWAY GP QUIZ | CROATIA 2010 LINE-UP