Australian riders triumph on world speedway stage
Australia is the talk of the speedway world after a Grand Prix win, an U21 World Championship, and a triumphant comebackIt has been a bumper few days for Australia in world speedway, with Max Fricke picking up his first Grand Prix win, and Jaimon Lindsay winning the U21 World Championship.
Fricke, who hails from Mansfield, Victoria, topped the podium at the seventh round of the Speedway Grand Prix series in Torun, Poland. The Aussie ace beat title contenders Maciej Janowski, Tai Woffinden and points leader Bartosz Zmarzlik in the four-rider final.
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The 24-year-old is just the seventh Australian to win a round in the SGP era, joining Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Darcy Ward, as well as world champions Jason Crump, Chris Holder and Jason Doyle.
On top of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a tough season for Fricke, who is in danger of missing automatic qualification for 2021 with just one round remaining. But the current Australian Speedway Champion was dominant throughout the seventh round in Torun. 2020 is his first season as a full-time SGP rider, having previously raced as a reserve.
“It’s unbelievable. I think it will take a while for it to sink in,” said Fricke after his win. “I have been to Torun before and watched GPs. To win a GP has been a childhood dream for almost as long as I can remember, since I started racing.”
Poland’s Zmarzlik can clinch his second consecutive world title at final round of the series, but he will have to fend off challenges from Britain’s Tai Woffinden and Sweden’s Freddie Lindgren. Fricke’s compatriot, Jason Doyle, sits sixth in the standings.
Meanwhile, just a little south of Poland, in the Czech Republic, another Aussie, Jaimon Lidsey, claimed the U21 World Speedway Championship, dropping only one point for the night. The Mildura native (Red Cliffs to be precise) joins Fricke, Adams, Crump and Ward as former Australian World Junior Champions.
If that wasn’t enough, Crump, another Mildura native (via Bristol) and three-time SGP world champion, recently made his return to professional racing at the age of 45. Crump saddled up in the British Final in Belle Vue, finishing an impressive third. He is set to ride for Ipswich in the British Premiership once racing resumes.
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