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PEDERSEN: 2023 INJURIES FORCED ME OUT AT KROSNO

Triple world champion Nicki Pedersen insists it was the back injury he suffered at Peterborough in March that forced him out of Grudziadz’s trip to Krosno on Sunday afternoon – not further problems with his pelvis.Pedersen’s 2022 season was ended by a badly broken hip and pelvis – injuries which could have halted the 46-year-old’s career and saw him undergo surgery in both Poland and Denmark.Incredibly, he made a full recovery and got back on track in time for the new PGE Ekstraliga season. But the Danish team manager suffered a heavy blow to his back when he made his Peterborough debut against Ipswich on March 27.The injury prompted him to opt out of the UK, and Pedersen called an end to his meeting at Krosno, admitting he couldn’t cope with the heavy track conditions.But the Danish team manager, who was keeping a close eye on his national-team riders in the pits at the Tehnix FIM Speedway GP of Croatia last Saturday, insists the problem is not the injuries he picked up last year. Posting on Facebook, he wrote: “My pelvis that I broke and the injury I sustained back in June 2022 has actually been fine – no problem with this. “But after having yet another crash in Peterborough in March, I still have severe pain in my back. When the track is very heavy, I struggle to be strong and flexible enough in my back and leg. My pain is just too much.“That's why I had to withdraw from the meeting last night. Fortunately, tracks are usually in really good condition around the pole line and well prepared.“But Krosno is a newly promoted club to the Ekstraliga. They have had new stands built over the winter and they have had a lot of heavy vehicles driving on the track, so they have therefore not been able to get the track well prepared and packed yet. “There has not been enough heat in the weather yet for this, but I wonder if it will get better now that summer is on its way.  I'm going to have to fight back with strength to these kinds of challenging tracks that I've raced on before.”

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EKSTRALIGA | MAGIC STARS AS WROCLAW HOLD ON FOR VICTORY

Polish racer Maciej Janowski roared back into form with 11 paid 13 points for Wroclaw as they held on for a 46-44 win at home to Czestochowa in the PGE Ekstraliga on Sunday.Magic endured a difficult night in the series-opening Tehnix FIM Speedway GP of Croatia, leaving with just three championship points.But he bounced back in his home city, joining forces with Speedway GP rival Dan Bewley to grab a match-winning 3-3 behind Czestochowa’s former Wroclaw rider Maksym Drabik in heat 15.Bewley collected 11 points, while 2021 Speedway GP world champion Artem Laguta added eight and Great Britain star Tai Woffinden scored four paid five.The margin of victory could have been more, but Polish star Piotr Pawlicki was controversially booted out of heat five by referee Pawel Slupski following a crash for Lions’ Kacper Woryna. Pawlicki still scored six paid seven.Drabik raced to 13 paid 14 for Czestochowa on his old home track, while Mikkel Michelsen tallied 10 and Leon Madsen scored seven paid eight.In the day’s other meeting, Czech charger Vaclav Milik racked up 13 paid 14 points for Krosno as they defeated visitors Grudziadz 49-41.Milik was backed up by 10 paid 12 points from 2017 Speedway GP world champion Jason Doyle and 10 from Latvian star Andzejs Lebedevs. Aussie star Max Fricke was Grudziadz’s top performer on nine paid 10, but the club’s victory hopes were dashed when triple world champion Nicki Pedersen withdrew from the meeting after two rides, reportedly feeling the effects of his 2022 injuries on a reportedly difficult track.For full details of the day’s results, scorers and the latest league table, click HERE (link in Polish).

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POLAND’S ZMARZLIK ZOOMS TO SECOND STRAIGHT FIM CROATIAN SPEEDWAY GP VICTORY

Poland’s triple world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik hailed his crew for helping him turn his night around as he defied a starting slip-up to storm to his second straight Tehnix FIM Speedway GP of Croatia win on Saturday. Zmarzlik launched his title defence in fine style as he powered to victory in the final ahead of Great Britain racer Robert Lambert and Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren after Aussie ace Jason Doyle failed to capitalise on a stunning start, crashing on the first corner. This allowed Zmarzlik to make it back-to-back wins at the Speedway Stadion Milenium, where he topped the podium on April 30, 2022. The Lublin and Lejonen rider suffered the blow of being excluded from his second race in heat five but bounced back to cruise into the semi-finals on 10 race points, before celebrating his 19th Speedway GP win. A delighted Zmarzlik, who raced successive PGE Ekstraliga meetings for Polish club Lublin on Thursday and Friday, was delighted to end a busy run of racing by topping the 2023 Speedway GP World Championship. He said: “I am really happy. It was a hard weekend for me. We didn’t have everything working the best, but thanks to my boys for doing a really good job. I made the final and by the final, I was feeling much better.” Zmarzlik insists his starting exclusion didn’t break his concentration after his desire to make a fast start from the tricky gate three backfired. He said: “When I thought about gate three in this moment, I wanted to make a really good start. But nothing changed after that. I was very calm. I was just waiting for my next heat so that I could show my best.” Next up for Zmarzlik and his rivals is the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw in front of a packed PGE Narodowy on May 13. Zmarzlik is still chasing his first Warsaw final and victory, and he looks forward to battling for his points. He said: “Warsaw is a great place for the Polish riders, and I will just fight again there.” Heavy rain ahead of racing left riders battling to adapt to track conditions, but runner-up Lambert believes it helped him as he reached his third Speedway GP podium. He said: “I was not so fast in Qualifying Practice. I think the rain helped me a little bit. The track came to me. “In the final, I didn’t really make the best of starts. There was a bit of carnage on the first corner with Doyley going wide. A lot of guys didn’t know where to go and I was waiting for a red light that didn’t come. I made a move and managed to hold off Freddie, even though he was buzzing behind me.” Lambert is still chasing his first Speedway GP win. After two second places, he believes he is edging ever closer. He said: “I am working hard to take this next step. For sure it will come in the future. There are a few more steps to come and I want to enjoy the moment of racing in this series.” Third-placed Lindgren only qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of fourth place in the 2022 Speedway GP series, ranking him ahead of Aussie duo Jack Holder (12th) and Max Fricke (13th) after they tied on eight points and could not be separated on countback in the race for the last semi spot. After a nervous wait for confirmation that he had qualified for the semis, Lindgren was pleased to capitalise and collect 16 championship points. He said: “It seemed like no-one could decide – or at least they took a long time. When it’s equal on countback and we beat each other, it’s the highest ranked guy from last year who got it, and that was me.” Lindgren also took advantage of a mistake from British star Tai Woffinden in semi-final two to snatch second place and reach the final. He said: “Luckily for me, Woffy came in a bit hot in turn three. I rode a really tight corner, rode where no-one else had ridden, got some grip and passed him, so I did right there.” SPEEDWAY GP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 20, 2 Robert Lambert 18, 3 Fredrik Lindgren 16, 4 Jason Doyle 14, 5 Tai Woffinden 12, 6 Mikkel Michelsen 11, 7 Dan Bewley 10, 8 Martin Vaculik 9, 9 Jack Holder 8, 10 Max Fricke 7, 11 Patryk Dudek 6, 12 Anders Thomsen 5, 13 Leon Madsen 4, 14 Maciej Janowski 3, 15 Kim Nilsson 2, 16 Matej Zagar 1.  

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MEDAL BID FOR BEWLEY?

Great Britain star Dan Bewley believes he has to pace to push for a World Championship medal as he lines up in tonight’s Tehnix FIM Speedway GP of Croatia in Donji Kraljevec.Bewley admits he needed a couple of rounds to settle in Speedway GP after scoring six in the opening round in Croatia and three in Warsaw.But after racing to his first Speedway GP heat win and semi-final at round three in Prague, Bewley raced to a run of five straight semis and double-figure scores, including unforgettable victories back-to-back victories in Cardiff and Wroclaw in August.Bewley stormed to sixth spot in the final standings to automatically guarantee his place for 2023, and now he would love to climb even higher – with a medal challenge firmly in his sights.He said: “That’s the plan for sure. Looking back at last season, I showed in the Qualifying Practice sessions that speed is not the issue. It’s just the rest of it. I just have to be more consistent and put myself in better positions and see what we can do.“Last year went better than a lot of people expected. It was good. I think it took me a few rounds just to win a heat race. From there in Prague, I felt I could do more and again in Teterow.“Then I had the two wins and it kind of felt ‘I’m here now!’ It was cool just to progress over the season and be back for this year.”

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LAMBERT: SPEEDWAY GP WIN GETTING CLOSER

Great Britain racer Robert Lambert believes he is getting closer to his first Speedway GP win as he gets his 2023 series underway in tonight’s Tehnix FIM Speedway GP of Croatia.Lambert stormed to fifth place in the 2022 Speedway GP World Championship and was the highest-finishing British rider ahead of Dan Bewley in sixth and Tai Woffinden in eighth. With the top six riders qualifying for the following year’s Speedway GP, it meant Lambert did not need a wild card pick to secure his spot in the series.The former European champion admits he exceeded his own pre-season expectations. But going into 2023, he would love to join Bewley and Woffinden in the Speedway GP winner’s circle after just missing out with a second place in Vojens and third in Wroclaw last year.He said: “We are very close to getting that first top spot on the podium, but it was definitely a great experience to be on the podium twice last season and I want to add to that throughout this season.“Fifth was one space higher than I expected. I had the goal of getting in the top six to qualify myself for 2023. Getting one step higher was a great achievement. It was a little bit touch and go and nerve-wracking because I didn’t qualify at the qualification round in Glasgow. “I had to do it through the top six. It added a bit of extra pressure and mixed things up. But I managed to achieve the goal I set out to achieve.”Lambert had mixed fortunes in Croatia last year, winning his opening two rides, before recording a third and three fourth places.That was still enough to earn him a healthy 10 championship points. He said: "I didn’t actually do too badly here. I made the semi-final. “The track itself was fairly slick. I kind of struggled with setup, but the points don’t make it look like I struggled too much, which is a good thing. "I have been here many times before for pre-season practice and know the track well, so I am looking forward to the opening round of the Speedway GP series.”

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PEDERSEN: 2023 INJURIES FORCED ME OUT AT KROSNO

EKSTRALIGA | MAGIC STARS AS WROCLAW HOLD ON FOR VICTORY

POLAND’S ZMARZLIK ZOOMS TO SECOND STRAIGHT FIM CROATIAN SPEEDWAY GP VICTORY

MEDAL BID FOR BEWLEY?

LAMBERT: SPEEDWAY GP WIN GETTING CLOSER