HOLDER: TIME FOR NEXT AUSSIE GENERATION TO SHINE

FIM Speedway of Nations world champion Jack Holder is backing a new generation of Aussie stars to emerge following Jason Doyle’s decision to step down from the national side. Holder joined forces with Speedway GP rival Max Fricke to end Australia’s 20-year wait for a world team title when they beat Great Britain in the FIM SON Grand Final at Vojens on July 30. Former world champion Jason Doyle competed in the Semi-Final but didn’t take to the track in the Final as team manager Mark Lemon kept faith with Holder and Fricke. Doyle recently announced his retirement from national team duty, handing the gauntlet to a new generation of Aussies to go for FIM Speedway World Cup gold in Polish city Wroclaw from July 25-29. With five riders needed as the FIM SWC returns for the first time since 2017, the likes of Brady Kurtz, Rohan Tungate, Sam Masters and Jaimon Lidsey will be fighting for places, along with 2012 world champion Chris Holder. Holder is still confident the Roos have the firepower to push for a team-title double. Asked about Doyle’s decision to step down, he said: “That’s his own decision and obviously he can do what he likes. He has been there for a while now and it’s his choice to step down. “It’s the time when we needed every Australian as we go back to the SWC format. But it opens up the door for a few other youngsters and it should be good. We are Australian and we always fight to the death. There are plenty of options. We have plenty of depth in Australian speedway. There are a few of us over there wanting to represent our country.” Lublin and Sheffield star Holder can’t wait for the chance to swap his Speedway GP and club kevlars for the Aussie green and gold. He added: “It’s a good week where we take a step back from racing each other, put on the Aussie suit and race for our country. It’s always a good laugh. “We want to go there and win it again. We have the depth to do it and we are not going there to finish last – that’s for sure. “Everyone steps it up a level and we are the world champions from the Speedway of Nations. Hopefully we can do it all again.”

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NILSSON FAMILY BUSINESS EXPANDING

Speedway GP newcomer Kim Nilsson says Swedish title-winning father Tommy will still be part of his racing team, even if he has to expand ahead of his World Championship debut season. While Nilsson has raced as a Speedway GP wild card and track reserve before, his victory at the 2022 FIM GP Challenge in Glasgow means he will line up in the series full time this season. For much of his career, Nilsson has been aided in the pits by his father Tommy, the 1983 Swedish champion who also finished 10th in the 1977 World Final. While Tommy will remain very much part of team Nilsson, Kim admits he has been forced to recruit an additional mechanic to meet the demands of racing in Speedway GP, as well as competing for Swedish club Rospiggarna and German-based Landshut in the Polish First Division. He said: “To start with, there was a lot of talk about how it would be possible to do the whole season in the GPs. Of course, I still wanted to race in the leagues like before, and it is a big change for me. “Before, it was just me and my dad doing everything. I do a lot on my own – washing the bikes and everything like that. But we only have 24 hours in the day, and I have had to get some help now. “I have employed a mechanic and I am trying to get some more help around the team, so that I don’t have to do everything. “I will still have a finger in everything. I’m that kind of person. I need to be hands-on. But at least I will have some help with bike washing, building the bikes and preparing in between the races. “My dad will still be at the meetings, but he won’t be as involved as before. He’s nearly 68 now, so I think he needs to have it a bit easier.” Having followed in his father’s footsteps to reach the modern-day equivalent of a World Final, Kim is doing the Nilsson family proud. Asked how Tommy feels to see him in Speedway GP, Kim replied: “He’s not the kind of person that says he’s proud, but I am guessing he is a bit proud. He has been involved in all my seasons, servicing my engines. We have a really good partnership. “I have had different people helping me abroad all the time, but in Sweden, he has been there at all the meetings since I started pretty much.” Father and son partnerships have a mixed history in the Speedway GP pits, with some ending in constant arguments. But having worked with Tommy for his whole career, 33-year-old Nilsson is pleased their bond has stood the stresses and strains of speedway life. He said: “It works well for us. Of course, we have arguments, but it’s only because we both want to do well. We always find a way to sort things out and we work quite well together.”

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SGP QUIZ | MALILLA SPEEDWAY GP WINNERS

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FIM SPEEDWAY TOP 5 MOMENTS | TETEROW

As speedway toasts its 100th anniversary season, FIMSpeedway.com looks back at the top five moments celebrated at each of our 2023 FIM Speedway venues. Today, we feature Teterow’s Bergring Arena as the FIM Speedway GP of Germany returns on June 10. 1. DOYLE’S DELIGHT IN 2016 Speedway GP launched at Teterow in 2016 – the first time Germany had staged a round since Gelsenkirchen hosted the 100th SGP in 2007. The Bergring Arena meeting was also a huge milestone as it was the 200th Speedway GP event since the series launched in 1995. A sizeable crowd turned out in the forests of north-eastern Germany, and they witnessed a second straight victory for Aussie ace Jason Doyle, who topped the Gorzow podium just two weeks earlier. It was the second of three wins on the bounce for Doyle, as he won the next event in Stockholm too. But sadly, his title charge was halted by a crash at the penultimate round in Torun. He certainly made up for that disappointment by finally getting his hands on the Speedway GP trophy in 2017.   2. ZAGAR ZOOMS TO VICTORY Slovenian star Matej Zagar developed a reputation as a man who could deliver a purple patch of form when he needed it most, and he cemented his Speedway GP status with a big victory at the 2017 Teterow event. Despite recording just one podium that season before he arrived at the Bergring Arena, Zagar showed his skills around one of the series’ tightest and most technical tracks to top the box ahead of Martin Vaculik and Doyle. It was the first of two straight wins for the Ljubljana-born racer, who also triumphed at the next round in Stockholm before going on to finish seventh in the final standings. Teterow’s tight turns can be daunting for some of the Speedway GP elite, but Zagar usually comes into his own on a track that tests throttle control more than pure power.   3. WOFFY’S TETEROW TONIC After a stumble in Slovenia, the pressure was on Great Britain hero Tai Woffinden to respond in the 2018 Speedway GP title race. A costly and controversial starting exclusion saw him leave the previous round in Krsko with just five championship points as Poland’s Bartosz Zmarzlik closed the gap in the title race. But Woffy took charge when he needed to most, delivering a fine victory at the Bergring Arena ahead of Doyle and Zmarzlik. The result steadied the ship for Woffinden and allowed him to finish the job by topping the podium at the final round in Torun for title No.3 as he became Britain’s most successful speedway star.   4. MAGIC MOMENTS IN GERMANY After missing the opening round of the 2019 series due to injury, Poland’s Maciej Janowski knew he was unlikely to land the sport’s biggest prize that year. But he took a giant stride towards automatic qualification for 2020 with a huge win at the Bergring Arena, beating fellow countryman Zmarzlik to top spot. After a long career racing in the UK and Sweden, Janowski is another rider who frequently proves a tight and technical circuit holds no fears for him. His Teterow triumph was the highlight of a fairly average season by his high standards, which saw him take sixth spot overall. But automatic qualification may have been in doubt, had Janowski not delivered this vital victory in Germany.   5. DUDEK ON TOP AS TETEROW RETURNS After a two-year absence from the calendar due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Speedway GP action made its return to Teterow as the sport entered a new era with Discovery Sports Events in 2022. While the track tested the sport’s finest on the night, Poland’s Patryk Dudek was more than up to the challenge as he defied a lacklustre start to the season to take the victory. After scoring five points at the opening three rounds, there was no stopping Dudek in Germany. It was the highlight of a season, which saw him claim seventh sport overall, just missing out on automatic qualification, but doing enough to earn a permanent wild card for 2023 from the SGP Commission. But most significantly, Speedway GP was back on German shale. It was also a special night for GB star Robert Lambert, who reached his first-ever SGP final, taking fourth place.   What will happen in the 2023 FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Teterow on June 10? Be there and find out! Tickets are available now via: https://bergring-teterow.de/der-vorverkauf/

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NIELSEN CONTENT WITH STINT AS DANISH NATIONAL BOSS

Speedway GP legend Hans Nielsen says he’s “very happy with the job I have done” as Danish team manager, despite missing out on his 23rd FIM Speedway gold medal. The Professor won four individual world titles, seven FIM Speedway World Pairs crowns and an incredible 11 FIM Speedway World Team Cups with Denmark as a rider. Nielsen collected two FIM Speedway of Nations bronze medals as a coach in 2020 and 2021 but fell short of winning Denmark’s first gold since their 2014 FIM Speedway World Cup victory at Bydgoszcz. Asked if he regretted anything after missing out on world-glory as a manager, Nielsen said: “I don’t know about regrets or whether I could have done anything different. I am not really sure and can’t really put my finger on anything. “I enjoyed it. It has been hard work and a lot of travelling. Sure, it was a lot of pressure, and it was tough getting to know everybody when I first came in. There were a few stumbling blocks along the way. You have to expect that as a manager. “I wouldn’t say there’s one thing I would have done differently. I think I have done the best I can and I am very happy with the job I have done. “We never unfortunately won the Speedway of Nations. But with Leon picking up a couple of silver medals in those years, I helped out as much as I could there, as well as all the others who were in the Grand Prix.” Nielsen admits he takes pride in the Danish training camps he organised as riders headed for sunnier climes to warm up for the season. He said: “One of the great things was going off during the winter on our training camps. That’s one of the big things that have been new since I took over. The lads really enjoy that. “It would have been nice if we could have had the under-21s with us as well, but it’s an expensive trip. With finance not incredibly good at the DMU, we couldn’t all go. But we did get some sponsors helping out over the last few years. It’s a lot of work. You have to get sponsors and you have to get organised for trips, but that’s part of the job.”

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