THOMSEN’S HOMECOMING JOY IN VOJENS

Double Danish champion Anders Thomsen admits he missed the Danish FIM Speedway Grand Prix sponsored by Ecco “big time” in 2020, as the event makes a blockbuster return to Vojens on Saturday.

Thomsen can’t wait to line up on his Metal Speedway League home track, where he races for Sønderjylland Elite Speedway.

The 27-year-old stormed to his first-ever SGP final and rostrum when he finished third in Togliatti on August 28, while Artem Laguta took victory to move within a point of World Championship leader Bartosz Zmarzlik as the title race hots up with three rounds to go.

As the top two riders continue their battle over the gold medal, Thomsen is out to impress on a Vojens track where he has won back-to-back Danish Championships in 2020 and 2021.

This will be the biggest meeting he has ever raced at the home of Danish speedway, and the Odense-born ace cannot wait to take on the sport’s biggest stars in Vojens for the first time as a full-time SGP rider.

He said: “It’s going to be amazing. Of course racing in front of my home crowd will be a special thing for me. I have been on the track a few times in Danish rounds, but not as a full-time Grand Prix rider.

“Getting the SGP series back to Denmark is a great thing. We missed it big time last year. Vojens is a very professional club in Denmark and they will do everything to put on a perfect event. They want to make it a big show.

“After the last round, I am crossing my fingers I can get on the podium again and especially in front of the Danish crowd. It would be amazing.”

Thomsen’s third place in Togliatti put him 10th in the SGP World Championship on 60 points – leaving him 22 short of Tai Woffinden, who holds the sixth and final automatic qualification place for SGP 2022.

If Thomsen is unable to reach the top six, he could still take his place in next season’s series with a wild card from the SGP Commission.

While that decision is out of his hands, the Dane is determined to push his case in Vojens, where he lines up alongside fellow countrymen Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen.

He said: “It’s hard to say anything about the wild cards. Of course my chances of getting into the top six are pretty slim, but I will do the best I can to finish well and show them I can be at the top and I am good enough to get a wild card.

“When it comes to Danish riders, we have Leon higher up and Mikkel already has a place for 2022 after winning the European Championship. So it looks a little bit tough, but if I show how good I am and show some X-factor, maybe they will look at me.

“I want to fight even more and now I am really hungry to get some more medals after standing on the rostrum in Togliatti.”

Thomsen has reached four semi-finals so far this season and believes he has grown in confidence as the series has progressed.

He said: “I feel like I started the GP series and I was nervous. It was all new to me and I was not the best at the start of the series. But I have built it up and it is going better and better.

“If I get a wild card for next year, I am sure I will be more prepared and know what I am going into. Then I can get a better result.

“It was the same in the Ekstraliga. I started out not so well in my first year in 2019. The year after was better and this year has been great.

“It always takes time, but I am hungry – really hungry – to get more podiums. I also feel my team is getting into the rhythm of being GP mechanics. I do feel we can be at the top.”

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 139, 2 Artem Laguta 138, 3 Fredrik Lindgren 108, 4 Emil Sayfutdinov 105, 5 Maciej Janowski 91, 6 Tai Woffinden 82, 7 Leon Madsen 72, 8 Max Fricke 70, 9 Jason Doyle 68, 10 Anders Thomsen 60, 11 Robert Lambert 48, 12 Martin Vaculik 45, 13 Dominik Kubera 44, 14 Matej Zagar 36, 15 Oliver Berntzon 18, 16 Krzysztof Kasprzak 18, 17 Gleb Chugunov 8, 18 Jan Kvech 7, 19 Aleksandr Loktaev 6, 20 Vadim Tarasenko 4, 21 Pontus Aspgren 1.

DANISH SGP SPONSORED BY ECCO LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers): 95 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland), 108 Tai Woffinden (Great Britain), 66 Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden), 71 Maciej Janowski (Poland), 30 Leon Madsen (Denmark), 69 Jason Doyle (Australia), 222 Artem Laguta, 89 Emil Sayfutdinov, 54 Martin Vaculik (Slovakia), 46 Max Fricke (Australia), 55 Matej Zagar (Slovenia), 105 Anders Thomsen (Denmark), 93 Oliver Berntzon (Sweden), 187 Krzysztof Kasprzak (Poland), 505 Robert Lambert (Great Britain), 16 Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark – wild card), 17 Mads Hansen (Denmark – first track reserve), 18 Tim Sorensen (Denmark – second track reserve).