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ELITSERIEN | HELLSTROM-BANGS EXTENDS SMEDERNA STAY

Swedish talent Philip Hellstrom-Bangs has extended his stay with Bauhaus Elitserien side Smederna for 2024.He joined the Eskilstuna outfit ahead of the 2023 season and has established himself as one of Sweden’s brightest prospects, finishing seventh in this season’s SGP2 series.He is joined in signing a new Smederna contract by Joel Andersson, with young gun Anton Jansson penning a three-year deal for the club.Hellstrom-Bangs hopes to build on a solid campaign in Eskilstuna. He said: “I am satisfied with my first season in Smederna. I think I've had a lot of good heats and we've won most of the reserve heats. In 2024, I hope we can make it to the play-offs. Then I hope for a big crowd to support us – we need that.”Elsewhere, Vastervik local favourite Anton Karlsson has agreed a new contract with the coastal club.  

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POLISH RACER CIERNIAK DEFIES DRAMATIC FINISH TO SEAL FIM SGP2 TITLE DOUBLE IN VOJENS

Double FIM SGP2 world champion Mateusz Cierniak admits he feared he would “lose everything” after holding on to retain his FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship in dramatic style in Vojens, Denmark on Friday.Cierniak led an unforgettable Polish one-two-three on 49 points with Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens winner Damian Ratajczak, who topped the podium in the final round to snatch silver on 45. Bartlomiej Kowalski took the bronze medal on 42 – pipping Australian Under-21 champion Keynan Rew (41) to third place by one point.Lublin and Lejonen racer Cierniak went into the Vojens round with a 10-point lead over Rew and Kowalski, and the Tarnow-born star just needed to avoid last place in semi-final one to seal the SGP2 crown. But disaster struck when Cierniak’s front wheel caught the bottom tape, with referee Craig Ackroyd forced to disqualify him from the re-run.Victory in the final for either Rew or Kowalski would have seen the title snatched away from Cierniak, who won the opening two rounds in Prague and Gorzow – the second of those with a sensational seven-ride maximum. But both riders finished third in their semi-final, missing out on qualification for the final, handing gold to a very relieved Cierniak.The 20-year-old is only the fourth double FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion in history, following in the footsteps of former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov, Aussie icon Darcy Ward and Polish star Maksym Drabik.Despite being tipped as red-hot favourite to grab gold, Cierniak feared his tapes slip-up had cost him junior speedway’s biggest prize. He said: “Everyone was telling me over the last few weeks, ‘Oh, you have it! No-one will take this from you.’ But I was telling everyone, ‘Keep calm, I still have a lot of work to do.’“This competition was very difficult. There was a lot of pressure, a lot of stress and I had every emotion. I was sad, I was happy, I was angry – everything. I wanted to cry! It’s just unbelievable what happened.“In my mind, this very short moment before the tapes went up in the semi-final was very long. I was waiting, waiting and maybe I was a little bit too nervous.“When I hit the tapes, my first thought was, ‘Oh, my God! We have worked all season for this, I hit one tape in this heat and now it’s possible to lose everything.’ For sure, luck smiled on me and Bartek and Keynan had pressure too. They knew what was at stake and now I have been working for all season.” 

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FIM SGP2 GOLDEN DOUBLE FOR POLISH STAR MATEUSZ CIERNIAK

Champion Mateusz Cierniak led an incredible Polish one-two-three on the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship rostrum after sealing the FIM SGP2 gold medal for the second straight season in Vojens, Denmark tonight.Cierniak lifted the trophy in dramatic style on 49 points, despite touching the tapes in semi-final one. With nearest rivals Bartlomiej Kowalski of Poland and Keynan Rew of Australia both missing out on final qualification in two nail-biting semis, the Lublin star breathed a huge sigh of relief in the pits as he retained his crown.He joins former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov (2007 and 2008), Australian icon Darcy Ward (2009 and 2010) and Polish star Maksym Drabik (2017 and 2019) in the club of double FIM Speedway Under-21 world champions.Cierniak’s fellow Polish star Damian Ratajczak stormed to victory in the Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens final ahead of Sweden’s Casper Henriksson, Danish track reserve sensation William Drejer and Latvia’s Francis Gusts. This saw Ratajczak snatch the silver medal in epic style on 45 points, before celebrating with tears of joy.Despite falling short of the final, Kowalski completed a Polish clean sweep of the podium places, claiming the bronze medal on 42 points.Full report to follow later.

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POLISH RACER CIERNIAK CHASES SENSATIONAL FIM SGP2 DOUBLE IN VOJENS

Polish star Mateusz Cierniak bids to sign off a stellar junior career with back-to-back FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championships in the Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens tonight.As part of their 10-yeavision for FIM Speedway, global promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports is showcasing world speedway’s next generation of stars.From the brand-new 190cc class launched this summer by six-time FIM Speedway world champion Tony Rickardsson, aimed at 11 to 13-year-olds, to the SGP3 250cc class for under-16s and SGP2 for speedway’s top under-21 talents, the sport’s next generation now has the chance to climb the pyramid into the Speedway GP World Championship while racing at the sport’s biggest arenas.Friday’s event sees the SGP2 class of 2023 battle it out at Denmark’s national speedway stadium in the third and final event of the three-round FIM SGP2 series, which Cierniak won in 2022.

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LEBEDEVS & PARNITSKIY CALLED UP FOR VOJENS WEEKEND

Latvian racer Andzejs Lebedevs has joined the line-up for the DeluxeHomeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens after Danish star Anders Thomsen officially withdrew from his home event on Saturday, September 16.Thomsen underwent surgery after suffering a broken hand in the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga on August 12. He was ruled out of the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff last Saturday and the Vojens event also comes too soon for him.Speedway GP first substitute rider Lebedevs steps in for his fourth appearance in the 2023 series as he bids to reach his first semi-final of the season and make his debut in a Speedway GP final.There is also a change to the line-up for the Jørgen Hansen Biler FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens on Friday, September 15.Swedish star Gustav Grahn announced that he was taking a break from the sport following round two of the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship series in Gorzow in June.SGP2 first substitute rider Nazar Parnitskiy of Ukraine steps into the line-up for his series debut, wearing No.785. He impressed in the qualifier at Czech track Pardubice in May, falling just a point short of a full place in the line-up. Parnitskiy has represented Polish club Leszno in both the PGE Ekstraliga and the Under-24 Ekstraliga this season. He will hope to put that experience to good use against the sport’s top under-21 stars in the final round of this season’s SGP2 series, where Poland’s Mateusz Cierniak needs a top-six finish to guarantee his second straight World Under-21 title.

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ELITSERIEN | HELLSTROM-BANGS EXTENDS SMEDERNA STAY

POLISH RACER CIERNIAK DEFIES DRAMATIC FINISH TO SEAL FIM SGP2 TITLE DOUBLE IN VOJENS

FIM SGP2 GOLDEN DOUBLE FOR POLISH STAR MATEUSZ CIERNIAK

POLISH RACER CIERNIAK CHASES SENSATIONAL FIM SGP2 DOUBLE IN VOJENS

LEBEDEVS & PARNITSKIY CALLED UP FOR VOJENS WEEKEND