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BEWLEY HAILS WROCLAW'S LIFE-CHANGING LEAP OF FAITH

Cardiff winner Dan Bewley admits a leap of faith from Polish champions Wroclaw helped him establish himself as a top-line rider. The Cumbrian surged up to fourth place in the Speedway GP World Championship after an unforgettable victory at the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff last Saturday. Bewley became the first home winner at Principality Stadium since Chris Harris topped the podium 15 years ago. And tonight he could secure his place in the 2023 Speedway GP series if he finishes in the top three at the FIM GP Challenge in Glasgow, where he is joined by fellow SGP regulars Robert Lambert, Jack Holder, Max Fricke and Anders Thomsen, with 2012 world champion Chris Holder a late addition to a stellar line-up. While Bewley is enjoying a meteoric rise in the sport, he admits it might not have happened, had Wroclaw not recruited him for the 2020 season and stuck with him as he established himself in the world’s toughest speedway league. The 2021 FIM Speedway of Nations world champion said: “It’s a story not many people know, but I actually had a pretty terrible season with Rybnik in 2019. I only did a few meetings – well, one or two good races I should say. “I only signed in Wroclaw in the Ekstraliga because nobody in the First Division wanted me. It was pretty funny. I will always be pretty thankful to Andrzej Rusko and all the management in Wroclaw for believing in me and seeing something. “I took the opportunity and I struggled a little bit. I always felt I had the ability; I just wasn’t executing and putting everything together. But I think it’s paying off for them now because we are a pretty strong team.” Bewley now hopes to make it back-to-back Speedway GP wins in the Betard FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw next Saturday. The Brit admits he was surprised when people predicted him to win in Cardiff – especially as he feels Wroclaw’s iconic Olympic Stadium track suits him much better. He said: “It’s funny. People were tipping me to win in Cardiff. If you were a betting man, it is the closest type of track to Warsaw and I was pretty average there. “If people were tipping me to win in Wroclaw, I would say ‘fair enough’, but I didn’t know about Cardiff. I wouldn’t really say Cardiff was my best track, but maybe in the end it was.” FIM GP CHALLENGE LINE-UP: 1 Oliver Berntzon, 2 Vaclav Milik, 3 Dan Bewley, 4 Max Fricke, 5 Andzejs Lebedevs, 6 Rasmus Jensen, 7 David Bellego, 8 Anders Thomsen, 9 Szymon Wozniak, 10 Chris Holder, 11 Rohan Tungate, 12 Robert Lambert, 13 Jack Holder, 14 Dominik Kubera, 15 Michael Jepsen Jensen, 16 Kim Nilsson.

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HOLDER UP FOR GLASGOW CHALLENGE

Aussie ace Jack Holder admits the FIM GP Challenge “is harder than a Speedway GP” as he bids to book his place in the 2023 series in Glasgow on Saturday. Holder is no stranger to pressure, having recently beaten Great Britain in the FIM Speedway of Nations Grand Final to claim Australia’s first world team title since 2022. But the FIM GP Challenge is known as the most cutthroat meeting in world speedway for a reason as 16 riders battle it out over 20 rides, with the three top scorers earning the life-changing prize of 2023 Speedway GP qualification. A podium place would ensure that Holder returns to the sport’s top table next season, regardless of where he finishes in the 2022 Speedway GP standings. Cardiff winner Dan Bewley, Robert Lambert, Max Fricke and Anders Thomsen are also bidding to defend their Speedway GP positions. They are joined in the meeting by Speedway GP first reserve Andzejs Lebedevs, Danish champion Rasmus Jensen, Swedish champion Oliver Berntzon, Polish Championship joint leader Dominik Kubera, Kai Huckenbeck, Rohan Tungate, Szymon Wozniak, Kim Nilsson, David Bellego, Vaclav Milik and Michael Jepsen Jensen. With a stellar line up battling it out in Scotland, Holder knows he faces a tough task to guarantee himself a second straight Speedway GP season. He said: “It’s a meeting which is harder than a Speedway GP, with no semis or finals. You just have to get as many points as you can and hope you are in the top three by the last race. “You have to score points in every race and have a bit of luck on your side sometimes. Your bikes need to be good. But we will go there and do what we do best. Fingers crossed it all works out.” Holder is 13th in the current Speedway GP standings on 44 points after scoring a career-best 12 points at the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff last Saturday. He was gutted to move up just one place in the standings, having been beaten by Leon Madsen and Bartosz Zmarzlik in his semi-final to fall just short of his maiden final appearance. “I thought I would have bumped up a little bit more than I did,” Holder admitted. “I only went up one place. But it’s only a handful of points to seventh or eighth and it’s getting pretty tight. “I really wanted to get into the final to get those points back. Dan is up in fourth now and not far off the front three. But it was my best GP yet. Making another semi-final was my main goal. But when everything is going well, you want to get to the final. It didn’t happen, but hopefully next time.” Having watched older brother Chris win the FIM British Speedway GP in 2010 and 2012, Holder was delighted to pile up the points on his Cardiff debut. He said: “It was awesome to get the chance to ride in Cardiff. It has always been a dream of mine. I made the semi-final, which is always the main goal. “I am pretty disappointed I didn’t get through to the final because I was feeling really good, and I felt I could have won if I got there. But there is always next time.”    

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ZMARZLIK TELLS BEWLEY TO ENJOY THAT FIRST-WIN FEELING

Speedway GP World Championship leader Bartosz Zmarzlik told Cardiff hero Dan Bewley to enjoy the moment after he became the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff’s first home winner in 15 years last Saturday. Zmarzlik knows better than most how it feels to top the podium on home shale, having won the FIM Gorzow Speedway GP twice – achieving his first victory as a wild card in 2014 to become the youngest-ever SGP winner at 19 years and 140 days old. Bewley was already an FIM Speedway of Nations world champion, but his Principality Stadium triumph will always go down as one of the biggest wins of his career. Zmarzlik zoomed over to the Cumbrian on the slow-down lap and was quick to congratulate him, and make sure he was taking it all in. The Pole said: “After the final, I came to Dan and said to him ‘mate, you must remember this. You only feel what you feel now when you do it the first time.’” Zmarzlik was elated to reach his fifth final in as many visits to the Principality Stadium. He said: “When I look at my history and what I have done in Cardiff, I have been in the final every time and I am very happy and proud about this. “Almost every time I have been on the podium in Cardiff. In 2017, I was in third position in the last corner and then I was fourth, so I nearly made the podium then too. “Last Saturday I was second and I am very happy. I had gate three in the final and gate three is very hard. But I made a really good start from three. “I was not so happy after practice, but Saturday was a new day. I scored points in Cardiff and this is the most important thing for me. We have four rounds to go and I am focused for these.” Zmarzlik is now 22 points clear at the top of the Speedway GP standings, having reached his fourth final of the season. Despite winning five rounds in 2021, Zmarzlik has one victory to his name so far this season – claimed at round one in Croatia. But he insists reaching semis and finals is the priority. He said: “My plan for this season is I don’t have to win everything – I just need to always score the points and get to the semi-finals and final. This is important and I am focused on this.”

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PEDERSEN JOINS RACE TO BECOME DANISH BOSS

Triple world champion Nicki Pedersen has launched a bid to replace Hans Nielsen as Danish team manager – and he has no plans to stop racing. Pedersen won four FIM Speedway World Cups with his country but has found himself out of the national side under Nielsen’s tenure following a fall-out between the Danish legends. Nielsen won FIM Speedway of Nations bronze medals in 2020 and 2021 and stepped down following this year’s Final in Vojens, where the Danes finished fourth. With the position of national coach now open for 2023, Pedersen has emerged as a candidate and feels there is no-one better for the job ahead of the FIM SWC’s return in Wroclaw next summer. He told TV2: “Right now there are no other Danes better than me that you can take if you really want to get ahead in the sport and get Denmark to produce results again. There is no-one else who is better. I know how to set up the bikes and how to assemble a team. There is no one else who can do it better than me. The DMU also knows this well.” It is not unprecedented for a national team manager to continue their riding career with Mark Lemon remaining on the bike for three years after becoming Australian boss. Pedersen is currently recovering from a badly broken hip and pelvis suffered in June. But he sees no reason why he couldn’t do the Danish national job on top of his role as a rider. He said: “It could well be that a transition could be made, where I did both for a few more years and was also linked to the DMU. It could easily happen. “If you have the right conditions for what the national coach must be able to do and participate in, then you can easily agree the contract so that I become national coach now, while I myself continue to ride at the same time.” Pedersen and the DMU have had an up-and-down relationship at times, but the Odense-born ace believes they could work together. He said: “Now I feel more like you should never say never. I have a good working relationship with the DMU and we have a lot of respect for each other, even though we have had a few fights over the years. We’ve learned from the things we’ve been through, so I don’t see it being a problem to work together.” The DMU’s head of sport Soren Andersen is open to the idea of Pedersen continuing his racing career and managing his country. He said: “I can see a setup where the national coach is an active rider. We will not exclude any applicants. We can adjust some tasks so that it fits the profile. It is about getting the most optimal solution in the long run. “Nicki Pedersen could be an interesting name on an equal footing with all sorts of others. We have a lot of talented candidates out there, and I am convinced that we will hire a talented national coach. “There is reasonable interest, and several people have approached us after we advertised the position. We can also hear that it is a job that is talked about in the speedway environment.”

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ELITSERIEN | LAMBERT STARS AS SMEDERNA SEE OFF LEJONEN

Great Britain racer Robert Lambert roared to 15 points for Swedish side Smederna as they signed off their regular Bauhaus Elitserien season with a 51-39 victory away to second-placed Lejonen to secure top spot on Tuesday. Lambert romped to four wins, a second and a third place over six heats. He was backed up by a 10 paid 12-point haul from 2022 FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff winner Dan Bewley. Polish star Grzegorz Zengota followed up his third place in Monday’s Polish Championship second round in Krosno with 10 paid 11, while Kacper Woryna scored nine paid 11. Double world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik zoomed to 17 points for the Lions, with his fellow Polish Championship leader Dominik Kubera notching nine. Elsewhere, Aussie duo Chris Holder and Max Fricke put in stellar performances for Indianerna as they overcame visitors Dackarna 47-43. Holder topped the scorechart on 14 points, with Fricke adding 13. Their fellow countryman Brady Kurtz hit back with 14 for the Malilla men, while Danish champion Rasmus Jensen scored 13. In the day’s other meeting, American international Luke Becker starred on 12 paid 13 points for Piraterna as they triumphed 55-35 at home to Vastervik. Czech charger Vaclav Milik collected a straight 12, with Piotr Pawlicki scoring 11 paid 12 and Oskar Fajfer adding 10 paid 12. Speedway GP star Freddie Lindgren was Vastervik’s best performer on 14. For the latest league table, visit (in Swedish): https://www.svemo.se/Sporter/Resultat/Speedway/Serier/BAUHAUSLigan2022/Serietabell/

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BEWLEY HAILS WROCLAW'S LIFE-CHANGING LEAP OF FAITH

HOLDER UP FOR GLASGOW CHALLENGE

ZMARZLIK TELLS BEWLEY TO ENJOY THAT FIRST-WIN FEELING

PEDERSEN JOINS RACE TO BECOME DANISH BOSS

ELITSERIEN | LAMBERT STARS AS SMEDERNA SEE OFF LEJONEN