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LINDBACK EXTENDS MASARNA STAY

Swedish star Antonio Lindback races on with his local team Masarna into 2023. The Rio Rocket has penned a fresh deal with the club, having made his return to the sport in their colours last year – months after announcing his retirement from racing at the end of 2020. Lindback will also compete for Polish Second Division side Poznan and Allsvenskan league champions Valsarna after helping them to Sweden’s second-tier title this season. The former Speedway GP rider is joined in the Avesta outfit’s squad by young guns Aleks Lundqvist and Eddie Bock. Elsewhere, Indianerna sealed a fresh agreement with Polish racer Norbert Krakowiak for 2023. Krakowiak joined the Kumla club’s Elitserien side last year after helping their Allsvenskan League team to championship gold in 2021. While a knee injury side-lined him this year, he’s pleased to be back in Indians colours. He told the club’s website: “I have enjoyed the club from day one and am very happy to continue with the Indians in 2023. “We hope it will be a good season with many victories and that I can contribute as many points as possible. I will work hard this winter to come as prepared as possible for the 2023 season.”

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ZMARZLIK AND MICHELSEN WIN PGE EKSTRALIGA AWARDS

Speedway GP duo Bartosz Zmarzlik and Mikkel Michelsen both received top honours at the PGE Ekstraliga Gala in Warsaw on Monday. The annual awards evening honours the best riders in the world’s top speedway league, with Speedway GP and SGP2 stars featuring heavily on the list of nominees – selected by 2010 world champion Tomasz Gollob and legendary Polish coach Marek Cieslak. Triple world champion Zmarzlik collected another prize as he was crowned Polish Rider of the Year, winning the public vote on 38.50 percent ahead of Dominik Kubera, who polled 31.48 percent. Janusz Kolodziej took third place, with Patryk Dudek fourth and Jaroslaw Hampel fifth. Zmarzlik also carried off the trophy for Race of the Year, won for his heroics in heat 13 of Gorzow’s match at Lublin on August 7. Danish racer Michelsen led Lublin to the club’s first-ever top-flight title this season, and this comfortably saw him voted the league’s Foreign Rider of the Year. Michelsen triumphed on 40.78 percent of the vote, with Gorzow star Martin Vaculik second on 21.83, Czestochowa’s world No.2 Leon Madsen third on 17.61, Torun racer Robert Lambert fourth on 16.43 and Gorzow’s Anders Thomsen fifth with 3.35. Torun wild card Kacper Woryna carried off the Surprise of the Year prize on 38.54 percent, narrowly beating double Speedway GP winner Dan Bewley, who notched 38.12 percent of the vote. SGP2 world champion Mateusz Cierniak was named Junior of the Year, claiming 40.19 of votes cast, with Nice FIM SGP2 of Poland – Torun winner Jakub Miskowiak second on 38.62 percent. Wroclaw’s Bartlomiej Kowalski was third, with Mateusz Swidnicki fourth and Wiktor Lampart fifth. Champions Lublin claimed the Team of the Year award, with Ostrow collecting the prize for best under-24 team, despite the seniors suffering relegation. Gorzow boss Stanislaw Chomski was crowned Coach of the Year on 29.89 percent after leading his side to the PGE Ekstraliga play-off final. Title-winning Lublin chief Jacek Ziolkowski took second place on 28.90. The prizes are named Szczakiels in honour of Poland’s 1973 world champion Jerzy Szczakiel, and a Golden Szczakiel was presented to record PGE Ekstraliga appearance-maker Piotr Protasiewicz, after the former Speedway GP rider announced his retirement at the end of the season.

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SGB PREMIERSHIP | LAMBERT INSPIRES ACES INTO GRAND FINAL LEAD

Speedway GP star Robert Lambert insists the pressure is on Sheffield after roaring to a 15-point maximum for Belle Vue as they claimed a 51-39 lead over the Tigers in the SGB Premiership Grand Final on Monday. The Great Britain hero went unbeaten for a second straight Aces meeting as he continues his stellar end-of-season cameo appearance, replacing the injured Max Fricke for the play-offs. Lambert was well supported by 10 paid 13 points from skipper Brady Kurtz, while Slovenian star Matej Zagar tallied a straight 10. Polish star Tobiasz Musielak led the Tigers scorechart on eight paid nine, while 2021 British champion Adam Ellis registered eight. No.1 Jack Holder managed two points on a difficult night in Manchester. Sheffield must now overturn a 12-point deficit if they are to win their first-ever top-flight title and deny Belle Vue their first since 1993. Lambert was delighted with his own performance and a solid team display that puts Aces in with a great chance of ending this 29-year wait. He said: “The last two meetings couldn’t have gone much better. It has been pretty good and it’s nice to be here with such a great team. There is a great atmosphere and the boys have been working very hard all season for this moment. “It’s better to be 12 points up and they are under pressure now to get those points back. We need to go there, fight strong early on and go do the job.” Sheffield boss Simon Stead believes the tie is still very much in the balance as the sides head back to Owlerton. He said: “It’s half time, all to play for. It’s not a disaster by any stretch. I think we’ve been dealt a rough hand in a couple of heats but it’s 12 points. I think it sets up the final at Sheffield on Thursday really nicely.” Aces’ night was marred by heavy crashes for former British champion Charles Wright and Australian reserve Jye Etheridge, with both now potentially doubts to feature in Thursday’s second leg. Etheridge fell awkwardly in a tight first turn in heat four, before Wright was sucked into the fourth-bend fence as he hunted down Musielak in heat nine. Lemon now looks set to check on their fitness ahead of the Sheffield decider. Photo: Taylor Lanning

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KOWALSKI LEADS POLISH U23s TO EURO GOLD

Polish young gun Bartlomiej Kowalski starred for his country in the European Under-23 Championship Final in Tarnow as Poland grabbed gold on Sunday. The Betard FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw track reserve joined forces with three of the top four riders in this season’s SGP2 series, Mateusz Cierniak, Jakub Miskowiak and Wiktor Lampart. But it was the Wroclaw junior who stole the show on 13 points from five rides as Poland triumphed comfortably on 46 points, beating Denmark (38), Great Britain (23) and Sweden (13). Miskowiak collected 12 points just over a week after winning the Nice FIM SGP2 of Poland – Torun. Lampart – runner up in that final round – added eight and SGP2 champion Cierniak scored seven. Former Speedway GP finalist Dominik Kubera collected a maximum six points from his two rides. Last year’s FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship runner-up Mads Hansen scored 10 for Denmark, along with Matias Nielsen and Jonas Seifert-Salk. Speedway GP star Dan Bewley led the GB challenge on 13 points, while Jonatan Grahn, brother of SGP2 star Gustav Grahn, led the Swedish team’s scoring on six. POLAND 46: 1 Mateusz Cierniak 7, 2 Wiktor Lampart 8, 3 Bartlomiej Kowalski 13, 4 Jakub Miskowiak 12, 5 Dominik Kubera 6. DENMARK 38: 1 Matias Nielsen 10, 2 Tim Sorensen 8, 3 Mads Hansen 10, 4 Jonas Seifert-Salk 10, 5 Kevin Juhl Pedersen DNR. GREAT BRITAIN 23: 1 Dan Bewley 13, 2 Tom Brennan 3, 3 Leon Flint 4, 4 Drew Kemp 3, 5 Jason Edwards DNR. SWEDEN 13: 1 Anton Karlsson 5, 2 Jonatan Grahn 6, 3 Noel Wahlqvist 0, 4 Ludwig Selvin 0, 5 Casper Henriksson 2.

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HOLDER: TIGERS FIRED UP FOR GRAND FINAL

Aussie racer Jack Holder says his Sheffield side is fired up for SGB Premiership Grand Final this week as the Tigers seek their first top-flight title. The Yorkshire club faces Belle Vue over two legs, with the opener at Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium on Monday, before the sides return to Owlerton for the decider on Thursday. Holder cannot wait for what will be his first play-off final in the UK, which sees Sheffield bid to win Britain’s top division for the first time, while the Aces seek their first championship win since 1993. Sheffield come into the tie on a huge high after seeing off semi-final rivals Wolverhampton comfortably, winning both legs on their way to a 108-72 aggregate victory. “We showed our class,” Holder said. “Everyone was performing, and we’re all fired up. We’re really looking forward to the Final. “I’ve never been in a play-off final in Britain before, so it’s going to be pretty cool, but anything can happen in the play-offs.” Holder comes up against a Belle Vue team led by recent Aces signing Robert Lambert, who was drafted in to replace injured Aussie champion Max Fricke.

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LINDBACK EXTENDS MASARNA STAY

ZMARZLIK AND MICHELSEN WIN PGE EKSTRALIGA AWARDS

SGB PREMIERSHIP | LAMBERT INSPIRES ACES INTO GRAND FINAL LEAD

KOWALSKI LEADS POLISH U23s TO EURO GOLD

HOLDER: TIGERS FIRED UP FOR GRAND FINAL