VOJEN’S FIM AWARD

Legendary Danish club Vojens has been crowned FIM Speedway’s Local Organiser of the Year for 2022 after staging an unforgettable FIM Speedway of Nations – with just 19 days’ notice.

Vojens is the first winner of global promoter Discovery Sports Events’ new annual prize, which will be given to one FIM Speedway local organiser, which could honour anything from excellence and professionalism to those who deliver impressive improvements and innovation at their event.

As well as hosting the FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on September 10, which attracted a crowd of 12,500 fans, Vojens stepped in at the eleventh hour to stage four huge nights of FIM SON racing from July 27-30, as Australia saw off 14 other countries to win their first world team title since 2002.

It was the first time the FIM SON had been staged at one venue across four straight nights as part of Discovery Sports Events’ vision to create a truly international festival of racing.

Working around the clock with just 19 days to prepare, the Vojens team delivered an incredible tournament, earning them the FIM Speedway Local Organiser of the Year title.

With Danish club Esbjerg withdrawing as FIM SON host in early July, Vojens CEO Jacob Olsen insisted there was no way he would allow the prestigious event to be lost to Denmark.

He said: “It’s in my blood. I want Danish speedway to grow and be on the map with big events. I also really want the Danish riders to do well with the whole history of success we have in Danish speedway.

“It would have been a big blow if this event had been taken out of Denmark to another nation. I didn’t have to think that much. I didn’t want the FIM SON to disappear out of the country.

“It all went quite crazy when (head of DSE) François Ribeiro called me 19 days before the Speedway of Nations. It was very sad that Esbjerg couldn’t push through the event. I was on holiday in Spain with my family and our company manager Helge Frimodt Pedersen was at his summer house. Our stadium operator Jens Jorgen Forum was on holiday in the US.

“At the time when François called, we were building the new grandstand, so everything was hectic. I asked him if he would give us one day and then we would come back to him if we could do it. We called the day after and said: ‘let’s go for it.’ Then the work really began.

“We have talked a lot about it since the event. We can’t understand how we made the event so great. We got so much respect from the FIM and Discovery for the work and effort we put into it. I am very delighted for not only me and the company, but the whole team behind me. Of course, special thanks to Helge, who was outstanding in his role.”

Olsen says the FIM Speedway Local Organiser of the Year award caps off a special 2022 season for Vojens.

He said: “I am very delighted to get the prize. It’s quite special with Discovery coming on board and all these new things that are happening in the sport. Now they are offering this promoter award, which I think is a great thing. It keeps us all on our toes.

“Of course, 2022 was quite a special season for us at Vojens. The Speedway GP event was great – probably the best event we have had so far with everything Discovery brings – the fanzone and whole setup made it really fantastic. The racing was some of the best we have had in Vojens for many years.

“On top of all this, we won the Danish Championship with our league team Sønderjylland Elite Speedway, which was a great title for us to get. It was history for us because that was the first time Vojens has ever won the championship in the Danish league.

“That gives us a bit of confidence and we have had an increase in crowds by about 30 percent. It was a really big year for us.”

Congratulating the Vojens team, François Ribeiro, head of Discovery Sports Events, said: “Staging an event with a year to plan and work on the arrangements is no easy task. To deliver the FIM Speedway of Nations – four nights of racing with just 19 days to make it happen is astonishing.

“With vast experience of staging big events and their incredible professionalism, we had every confidence Vojens could deliver a successful FIM SON, and we were all rewarded with some epic racing.

“On behalf of the DSE team, I say a huge congratulations to Vojens, and also a big thank you to all of our local organisers, who work so hard to make FIM Speedway events possible.”

Vojens is set to stage two high-stakes nights of racing in September, with the penultimate round of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series taking place there on Saturday, September 16.

There is also racing on Friday, September 15, when this year’s FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion will be crowned at the FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens – the final round of the SGP2 series.

“This is going to be a big year too,” Olsen said. “I have a good feeling about it. We are delighted that we are going to have SGP2 in Vojens on the Friday, which means a lot to us. We have some really good Danish riders coming through and we are also very happy we can crown the world champion in SGP2 here.

“We have three really good Danish riders in Speedway GP this year with Leon Madsen as last year’s runner-up and Anders Thomsen and Mikkel Michelsen, who have a bit more experience in the series now.

“I think Denmark will be very strong in the coming season and, with Nicki Pedersen coming in as team manager, I think it’s one of the best moves we have made in the sport for a long time.”