YOUNGSTERS RACE ON THE BIG STAGE

Danish team manager Hans Nielsen hopes the sport’s shooting stars enjoy the “really huge” opportunity of racing on the Beckhoff FIM SGP3 stage at Wroclaw’s iconic Olympic Stadium on Friday (16:00 CET start).

Nielsen was elated to see Danish riders win both Semi-Finals with a 15-point maximum on Thursday. Villads Nagel Christiansen won Semi-Final 1 in the afternoon, with Mikkel Andersen powering to a five-ride full house of his own in Semi-Final 2 this evening.

Both men will be among the frontrunners for the Beckhoff FIM SGP3 Final as they race for the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship, which takes place in front of an online television audience for the first time, live from Poland.

As part of their vision to elevate the next generation of riders and create a clear pathway from grassroots racing to Speedway GP level, new global promoter Discovery Sports Events has invited the sport’s under-16 stars to race on the same stage enjoyed by the world’s best riders as they compete the night before the Betard FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw on Saturday.

Nielsen was delighted to see his young prospects come out on top in the 250cc event as 18 riders from seven nations – Denmark, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Sweden and Estonia contest what should be an epic Beckhoff FIM SGP3 Final on Friday.

The four-time world champion said: “It’s exciting for the future! It’s obviously nice that we have so many talents and it’s obviously great to see. It was a pleasure to work with the boys here. It was incredible.

“There will be some more people to watch them in the Final. This is big. Really big. For them to ride a track like this that they see on television in the GPs is really huge for them. They will learn from riding these tracks as well and will know for the future what it takes.

“It’s nice for us to see the different nations and how strong they are. There are plenty of strong nations. We had a German in third place in Semi-Final 2, as well as a couple of good Czechs and an Estonian too today.

“It’s great to see all the different countries doing well. It’s great that we Danes are doing even better at the moment. But we still have to see what happens in the Final on Friday yet. It is not over and done with. There are some great competitors out there and we are certainly taking nothing for granted.”

Andersen won the second semi-final ahead of fellow Danish rider Sebastian Mayland, who scored 14, with Germany’s Patrick Hyjek taking third spot on 13 points.

Poland’s Kacper Mania was fourth on 11, with Sweden’s Anton Jansson qualifying on 10, along with Great Britain racer Ace Pijper, who won his final heat to make the cut. Czech star Adam Bednar and Poland’s Gracjan Szostak took the final two places on nine.

Andersen is the son of 1997 FIM British Speedway GP winner Brian Andersen, who was in the Olympic Stadium pits to help his son and Nielsen says they have formed a great team.

He said: “Sometimes father and son relationships are not so helpful, but these two have a really good relationship – Brian and Mikkel.

“They get on well and Brian is not pushing him too hard. It’s all Mikkel’s drive and he does a lot of work himself, washing the bikes and everything. Brian has done a good job with the bikes and the mechanical side of it. That’s really good for the future and Mikkel knows what he is doing – it’s not all down to Dad.”

Alongside Semi-Final 1 maximum man Nagel Christiansen, British racer Luke Harrison booked his spot in the Final with 13 points, taking second place ahead of Poland’s Szymon Ludwiczak. His fellow countryman Antoni Kawczynski was fourth on 12.

The future looks bright for speedway in Estonia after Frido Viidas took fifth spot on nine points, finishing level with Alfons Wiltander of Sweden,

Denmark’s Patrick Kruse made it through on eight points, while Andreas Olsen of Sweden claimed this afternoon’s last spot in the Final, beating Germany’s Mario Hausl on countback after they tied on seven points.

BECKHOFF FIM SGP3 FINAL STARTING LINE-UP: 1. Antoni Kawczynski (Poland), 2. Patrick Hyjek (Germany), 3. Mikkel Andersen (Denmark), 4. Adam Bednar (Czech Republic), 5. Ace Pijper (Great Britain), 6. Kacper Mania (Poland), 7. Villads Nagel Christiansen (Denmark), 8. Anton Jansson (Sweden), 9. Luke Harrison (Great Britain), 10. Frido Viidas (Estonia), 11. Andreas Olsen (Denmark), 12. Szymon Ludwiczak (Poland), 13. Gracjan Szostak (Poland), 14. Sebastian Mayland (Denmark), 15. Alfons Wiltander (Sweden), 16. Patrick Kruse (Denmark). RESERVES: 17. Mario Häusl (Germany), 18. Mikolaj Krok (Poland).

BECKHOFF FIM SGP3 SEMI-FINAL 1 SCORES: 1. Villads Nagel Christiansen (Denmark) 15, 2. Luke Harrison (Great Britain) 13, 3. Szymon Ludwiczak (Poland) 13, 4. Antoni Kawczynski (Poland) 12, 5. Frido Viidas (Estonia) 9, 6. Alfons Wiltander (Sweden) 9, 7. Patrick Kruse (Denmark) 8, 8. Andreas Olsen (Denmark) 7, 9. Mario Häusl (Germany) 7, 10. Vojtěch Šachl (Czech Republic) 5, 11. Kasper Cymermann (Germany) 5, 12. Levin Cording (Germany) 4, 13. Dante Johansson (Sweden) 3, 14. Zoltan Lovas (Hungary) 3, 15. Maksym Sereda (Ukraine) 3, 16. Eryk Faranski (Poland) 2, 17. Ashley Jansen-Batchelor (Australia) 2, 18. Marcel Kowolik (Poland) DNR.

BECKHOFF FIM SGP3 SEMI-FINAL 2 SCORES: 1. Mikkel Andersen (Denmark) 15, 2. Sebastian Mayland (Denmark) 14, 3. Patrick Hyjek (Germany) 13, 4. Kacper Mania (Poland) 11, 5. Anton Jansson (Sweden) 10, 6. Ace Pijper (Great Britain) 10, 7. Adam Bednar (Czech Republic) 9, 8. Gracjan Szostak (Poland) 9, 9. Mikolaj Krok (Poland) 7, 10. Max James (Great Britain) 7, 11. Jan Hlacina (Czech Republic) 5, 12. Damirs Filimonovs (Latvia) 3, 13. Sven Cerjak (Slovenia) 3, 14. Otto Raak (Finland) 2, 15. Colby Mason (New Zealand) 2, 17. Emil Maroszek (Poland) DNR, 18. Jakub Panicz (Poland) DNR.