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LEMON DELIGHTED WITH FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS BUZZ AS INDIVIDUAL TICKETS GO ON SALE

Belle Vue Aces CEO Mark Lemon admits he has been bowled over by the response from fans as ticket sales continue apace for the FIM Speedway of Nations in Manchester from July 9-13.The Manchester club’s four-day event package was launched last week, with tickets for all four nights of the FIM SON at the National Speedway Stadium on sale HERE now.The Aces confirmed that the club’s ticketing website experienced record traffic as sales continue to climb following Belle Vue’s best ticket launch for an FIM event staged in Manchester.The FIM SON gets underway with Semi-Final 1 on Tuesday, July 9, featuring Poland, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Ukraine, before Semi-Final 2 on Wednesday, July 10 sees Australia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Latvia, USA, Slovenia and Norway face off.The top two nations and Final Qualifier winner in each Semi-Final join hosts Great Britain in the FIM SON Final on Saturday, July 13 as the Lions bid to regain the SON trophy they famously lifted on an epic night in Manchester in October 2021.The week also sees the sport’s top under-21 teams compete in the FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 on Friday, July 12 as Great Britain take on champions Poland, Denmark, Latvia, Australia, Germany, Czech Republic and Sweden.Lemon, who will serve as team manager for reigning FIM SON champions Australia in Manchester this summer, can’t wait for an action-packed week of racing and has been delighted with the public response so far. He said: “We’ve been inundated for weeks with messages asking when tickets would be going on sale, so we anticipated great interest in the event ahead of time.“But I think even we have been surprised by just how eager supporters have been to get their hands on the hottest tickets in Manchester this season, and we’re of course delighted.“It’s not just our excitement at welcoming the world’s best riders, such as Bartosz Zmarzlik, Freddie Lindgren and Leon Madsen and co. to Manchester, but also that of the international travelling fans. All eyes will be on the National Speedway Stadium in July, and we cannot wait to welcome everyone to the best racetrack for what is certain to be the most exciting week of speedway in the UK.” FIM Speedway World Championships director Laura Manciet commented: “I’m pleased to hear that there has been such a passionate response to the FIM Speedway of Nations’ return to Manchester.“The National Speedway Stadium is widely regarded as one of the world’s best racetracks and I am sure fans travelling to Manchester from around the world will enjoy an unforgettable week of action.“Great Britain’s victory in the 2021 FIM SON Final in Manchester will live long in the memory of the home fans in attendance that day, but 14 other countries will be determined to stop the Brits from regaining the title this summer. We cannot wait to see who comes out on top.”Tickets for FIM Speedway of Nations week in Manchester – including four-day event packages and tickets for individual days – are available online now. For more information and to buy, CLICK HERE.

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TWIST THE THROTTLE | WATCH EPISODE FIVE: DOWN TO THE WIRE

The race for FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship gold between Poland's Bartosz Zmarzlik and Sweden's Fredrik Lindgren went down to the final race of the 2023 season. Relive last year's grand finale in the final episode of Monster Energy's Twist the Throttle series.

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POLISH SENSATION CIERNIAK SET FOR SPEEDWAY GP DEBUT IN WARSAW

Double SGP2 champion Mateusz Cierniak makes his hotly-anticipated FIM Speedway Grand Prix debut on Poland’s grandest stage when he rides as Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw wild card on May 11.Cierniak dons the famous No.16 race jacket at the iconic PGE Narodowy, joining four-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik and SGP newcomers Dominik Kubera and Szymon Wozniak in flying the Polish flag in the nation’s biggest speedway event.The 21-year-old is already a two-time FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion after winning the 2022 and 2023 SGP2 series, topping the podium in four of the six rounds he raced over two years. He also played a pivotal role as Poland’s under-21 team won back-to-back FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 gold medals in 2022 and 2023.The Tarnow-born ace is no longer eligible to race as an under-21, but has brought his red-hot form into this year, finishing an impressive fifth in Poland’s prestigious Golden Helmet meeting in Opole on April 1.Cierniak has also helped PGE Ekstraliga club Lublin win back-to-back league championships over the past two seasons, and now he is targeting Speedway GP success as he appears on the senior World Championship stage for the first time.Joining Cierniak in Warsaw will be two more of Poland and world speedway’s brightest young talents, as Bartlomiej Kowalski (No.17) and Damian Ratajczak (No.18) have been named as track reserves for the PGE Narodowy event.

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WILD CARD ZAGAR HAILS PERFECT PRESENT FROM CROATIA

Slovenian star Matej Zagar says his Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia call-up was the ideal late birthday present as he lines up in Donji Kraljevec on April 27.Zagar is expected to bring an army of Slovenian fans across the border when he returns to the Speedway Stadion Milenium track where he won the 2019 and 2020 FIM SGP Challenges.With 128 Speedway GP outings, 1,003 championship points and 23 final appearances to his name, Zagar is no stranger to success in Speedway GP. And he can’t wait to return to the sport’s biggest stage in Croatia next week. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the event, he paid tribute to local organiser Darija Pavlic and her family for his call-up. He said: "I would like to thank Darija and the whole Pavlic family for the welcome, for the invitation and the opportunity to be a part of this story once again. “I love racing here, the stadium is amazing, as are the fans. You can see that the stadium was built with love and passion. “I received the wild card two days after my birthday, and it was the best gift. It will be another home race for me, as lots of Slovenian fans are coming as well."Pavlic looks forward to welcoming Zagar back and hosting riders and fans from all over the world in Donji Kraljevec. She said: “It has been 19 years since we've started racing at this stadium and we're happy to confirm Matej Žagar as our wild card for the third year in a row. “The organisation is coming along nicely, but it's still challenging. We're happy to have the support of Međimurje Tourist Board, the Croatian Tourist Board, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, the whole of Međimurje County and, of course, the fans that will come once again to Speedway Stadion Milenium to watch the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia. We expect fans from USA, Argentina, Australia, Spain, Norway, Finland; the whole of Europe is coming!”Dubravko Simenc from the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said: “We as a country need to be happy to have a chance to host an event like the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia. Events like these show a unique side of Croatia, show our beautiful country and show our hospitality; a trait we're all proud of. Thousands of visitors will experience Croatia, some of them for the first time. “Speedway is a tradition in Međimurje, and I would personally like to thank you all for a chance to be a part of an event like this. Croatia is more than sun and the sea; Croatia is a sports nation!”Matija Posavec, governor of Međimurje County, added: “Thanks to the energy, love, effort and will of a group of people we get the chance to watch speedway again at the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia. “We expect full stands, our accommodation is full, and we will have over 7,000 fans from all over the world in one place. “Of course, we as a county support this sporting story, as we have in previous years, and hopefully will in future. We're happy to see you soon in Međimurje County in Croatia!”Tickets for the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia in Donji Kraljevec on April 27 are still available online. Secure your spot at Speedway Stadion Milenium HERE now.

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THOMSEN SET FOR SPEEDWAY GP QUALIFIERS AS LYAGER TOPS VOJENS PODIUM

Danish star Anders Thomsen took a step closer to regaining his FIM Speedway Grand Prix status after booking his place in the Speedway GP and Speedway European Championship qualifiers at Vojens on Tuesday.Denmark’s national qualifier for the SGP and SEC international qualification rounds was won by Andreas Lyager on 13 points.Thomsen took second spot on 12, tying with 2022 Danish champion Rasmus Jensen, before beating him in a run-off for second on the night as both men take their places in the qualifiers.Former SGP2 rider Benjamin Basso made the cut on 10 points, while Frederik Jakobsen won the fifth and final berth on offer, triumphing in a run-off with Kevin Juhl Pedersen and Jonas Seifert-Salk after the trio tied on nine.Former Speedway GP regulars Peter Kildemand and Michael Jepsen Jensen both fell short of qualification on eight and seven points respectively. Mads Hansen missed out on six.It was a tough night for former world No.3 Niels-Kristian Iversen and Jesper Knudsen, who collided in heat one, with both withdrawing from the meeting.Lyager, Thomsen, Rasmus Jensen, Basso and Jakobsen will now advance to the Speedway GP qualifiers for the 2025 World Championship, which take place in Abensberg (Germany) and Debrecen (Hungary) on May 20 and Lonigo (Italy) and Zarnovica (Slovakia) on May 25. The top three or four riders in these qualifiers head to the FIM SGP Challenge at Czech track Pardubice on the city’s famous Golden Helmet weekend on October 4, when the top four riders will be guaranteed places in the 2025 Speedway GP series.The top five in Vojens will also take their places in the Speedway European Championship qualifiers in early May, with the leading riders advancing to the SEC Challenge at Latvian club Daugavpils on May 12. The top five riders there will join this year’s SEC line-up. The winner of the SEC series earns automatic qualification for the 2025 Speedway GP World Championship.Denmark’s current Speedway GP riders Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen will not contest the SGP qualifiers, but both are already certain of places in this season’s SEC field after Michelsen won his third European title in 2023, while Madsen took the silver medal.They are joined in the SEC line-up by fellow automatic qualifiers Janusz Kolodziej and Patryk Dudek of Poland, plus Latvia’s Andzejs Lebedevs, who makes his full-time Speedway GP debut this season.VOJENS SCORES: 1. Andreas Lyager 13, 2. Anders Thomsen 12+3, 3. Rasmus Jensen 12+2, 4. Benjamin Basso 10, 5. Frederik Jakobsen 9+3, 6. Kevin Juhl Pedersen 9+2, 7. Jonas Seifert-Salk 9+1, 8. Peter Kildemand 8, 9. Michael Jepsen Jensen 7, 10. Matias Nielsen 6, 11. Mads Hansen 6, 12. Bastian Borke 5, 13. Bastian Pedersen 5, 14. Tim Sorensen 5, 15. Nicolai Klindt 4, 16. Sam Jensen 0, 17. Jesper Knudsen 0, 18. Niels-Kristian Iversen 0.

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LEMON DELIGHTED WITH FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS BUZZ AS INDIVIDUAL TICKETS GO ON SALE

TWIST THE THROTTLE | WATCH EPISODE FIVE: DOWN TO THE WIRE

POLISH SENSATION CIERNIAK SET FOR SPEEDWAY GP DEBUT IN WARSAW

WILD CARD ZAGAR HAILS PERFECT PRESENT FROM CROATIA

THOMSEN SET FOR SPEEDWAY GP QUALIFIERS AS LYAGER TOPS VOJENS PODIUM