CARDIFF PRINCIPALITY STADIUM: LEBEDEVS REPLACES THOMSEN, AUSSIE DOYLE IS READY

Feature photo: Andzejs Lebedevs in action

LEBEDEVS REPLACES THOMSEN IN BRITISH GP LINE-UP

Latvian racer Andzejs Lebedevs will race in his second straight FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff after double Danish champion Anders Thomsen officially withdrew due to injury.

Thomsen underwent surgery on a broken hand after crashing in the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga on August 12.

Britain’s biggest indoor motor sport event comes too soon for the Gorzow and Vojens star as he continues his recovery, and Speedway GP first series substitute Lebedevs lines up in his third straight round after replacing Kim Nilsson in Malilla and Jack Holder in Riga.

Lebedevs scored six championship points in the 2022 event. After coming close to semi-final qualification at the last two rounds, he will be keen to take the next step in Cardiff.

We wish Anders a speedy recovery and return to the Speedway GP stage.Date: Wednesday August 30, 2023

AUSSIE DOYLE READY FOR CARDIFF

Aussie icon Jason Doyle is ready to make himself at home in Cardiff’s cauldron of noise as he gets ready for the roar of the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain fans this Saturday (September 2).

Doyle heads to the Principality Stadium with no shortage of support, having raced regularly in the UK since making his debut with the Isle of Wight in 2005.

While he’s a proud Aussie, the Norwich-based racer now calls the UK home and competes for Ipswich in the Sports Insure Premiership.

But much of his career has been based in Britain’s south-west, where he famously represented Swindon, inspiring the Robins to league-title triumphs in 2012, 2017 and 2019. He also won the old Elite League with the Poole Pirates in 2011 and the old Premier League with Somerset Rebels in 2013.

Doyle competed in South Wales long before his Speedway GP debut season in 2015, helping the Newport Wasps win the Premier League Knockout Cup in 2011.

While he is expected to be cheered on by travelling fans from Ipswich, Doyle also hopes his south-west fan base will be out in force for Britain’s biggest indoor motor sport event this Saturday.

“This is going to be my home Grand Prix,” he said. “Cardiff is amazing. We know the fans are electrifying and I do have a lot of support from the British fans, having been in Britain for around 20 years now.

“The support I have is amazing and I hope there will be a lot of Ipswich and other British fans supporting me. Cardiff is a special occasion for any speedway rider, and riding in front of that many people is just a great feeling.

“I have ridden for Swindon, Somerset and Newport. I have had a lot of clubs around that area. I have a lot of support and they have seen me grow from riding in the old Premier League to riding at the top of the world.

“I think I have a lot to prove to those guys also – to show I still have it and I hope they are all very proud of what I have done.

Doyle has reached four finals in the opening seven rounds, finishing second in Teterow and fourth in Croatia, Warsaw and Gorzow.

But he heads to Cardiff in fine form, buoyed by his victory at the FIM GP Challenge in Gislaved, Sweden on August 19, which guarantees his spot in the 2024 Speedway GP series.

Doyle’s last round win came at the 2017 FIM Australian Speedway GP in Melbourne – the night he famously became world champion. He hopes he won’t be waiting long for his next victory.

“I think it needs to happen soon!” Doyle admitted. “I feel like I am doing everything right to try and get there.

“Obviously it isn’t falling in the right place at the right time, but we have three more GPs to go, and I am feeling a lot more confident with the engines I am riding. That puts a lot less pressure on myself and the team.

“I feel like I am riding well sometimes; not all the time, but everyone around the world only sees the GPs. The 16 best riders in the world are fighting for one position. It’s not always easy. I know it’s a tough road, but we are going to keep pushing.”

There could be no better place to deliver that win than the Principality Stadium. Asked how he would feel to top the FIM British Speedway GP rostrum, Doyle admitted: “I can’t even think about the word that would describe how it would feel if I won in Cardiff. I will just go there, try and make the final, and then anything is possible.”