There were plenty of Swedes racing this weekend in Poland but Filip Hjelmland was not one of them. That's because Poznan's first match at home against German newcomers, Wolfe Wittstock was called off by the referee before it started. No less that 3 of the German riders did not have the right licences, whilst SpecHouse PSZ Poznan's track was deemed unfit for racing. Both clubs may faces heavy fines for the fiasco.

Surprisingly, two times, national Swedish champion, Jacob Thorssell was also not present in the Gdansk lineup for either of their matches in eWinner1 this weekend. Thorssell defended his title in Målilla last Thursday, whilst the U21 title was won by Alexander Woentin at the same track on Saturday. It was his third title in a row and SVEMO will be breathing a sigh of relieve that they had already signed him up to be Sweden's representative in the U21 World Champions in Pardubice in October.

So to Poland, and on Saturday Peter Ljung collected 9 pts and Kim Nilsson 4 pts when Unia Tarnow visited Gniezno. There were Swedes a-plenty in this one as Oliver Berntzon and Timo Lahti were in the home sides depot for Car Gwarant Kapi Meble Budex Start Gniezno.

In heats 10 and 14 were nearly all Swedish affairs, except for the fact that the struggling Nilsson was not at tapes. In 10 was Swedish 1-2-3 with Lahti leading out Berntzon and Ljung. In 14 it was a reversal of fortunes. The heat was won by Tarnow's Michal Gruchalski but it was Ljung in second to make it a 1:5 to the visitors whilst Berntzon and Lahti were the final two home.

Riding high after a great performance in the SEC in Toruń, that was the only heat Lahti did not score in and he was the highest scorer for Gniezo with 12. But it was not enough as Tarnow ran out winners.

But both Berntzon and Lahti were in action again on Monday as they travelled to Bydgoszcz for Round 5. The Finn/Swede was the team's top scorer and Berntzon took 6 pts as the club ran away with the match 39:51.

Lokomotiv Daugavpils had their work cut out when league leaders, eWINNER Apator Toruń, came to Latvia on Sunday. But Pontus Aspgren had a good afternoon and picked up 7 points for the losing side, who went down 39-51.

Week's totals:

Timo Lahti, Gneizno, 22 (12 and 10 in two matches). 12th overall.

Oliver Berntzon, Gneizno, 11 (6+2 and 5+1 in two matches). 20th overall.

Peter Ljung, Tarnow, 9. 18th overall.

Pontus Aspgren, Daugavpils, 7. 37th overall.

Kim Nilsson, Tarnow, 4. 46th overall.

Jacob Thorssell, Gdansk, - . 23rd overall.

Filip Hjelmand, Poznan, - N/A

On Thursday in Målilla, Sweden, Jacob Thorssell retained his Swedish National Championship title in a final against Oliver Berntzon and Pontus Aspgren. And this weekend they were all back in action against each other in eWINNER1 in Poland.

Berntzon got revenge on his Dackarna teammate, Thorssell when Car Gwarant Kapi Meble Bedux Start Gniezno travelled to Zdunek Wybrzeze Gdansk on Saturday. Both were involved in the nomination heats at the end of the close fought match. But as well as being his teams’ top scorer, Berntzon, alongside Finnish/ Swedish teammate, Timo Lahti, collected a 3:3 in heat 15 to make the final score 44:46. By contrast, the home team’s Thorssell came last in Heat 14.

Meanwhile, it was mixed results for the Swedes in Unia Tarnow when they smashed Abramczyk Polonia Bydgoszcz, 53:27, at home. Kim Nilsson was at number 1 but only scored 3 pts and was replaced by reserve Matteuz Cierniak, who had a great night topping the team with 12.

Tarnow’s Peter Ljung had a better night, having already come raced twice this week in the TAURON SEC. He put in 9 points including one in Heat 15.

In Sunday’s match, Pontus Aspgren returned to Poland as his team Lokomotiv Daugavpils travelled to Arged Malesa TZ Ostrovia. Whilst the Swede scored well, by the time he came second in Heat 15, the match was already over for the visitors as they went down 49:41.

In the Ekstraliga, Antonio Lindbäck’s disappointing season continued as he collected only 3 points. That despite his team, RM Solar Falubaz Zielona Góra, crushing Motor Lublin at home by 52:38.

eWINNER1 Totals:

Oliver Berntzon, Gniezno 10
Timo Lahti, Gniezno 9
Peter Ljung, Tarnow 9
Pontus Aspgren, Daugavpils 8
Jacob Thorssell, Gdansk 7 Kim Nilsson, Tarnow 3

Tonight was Round 4 of the TAURON SEC in Rybnik, strangely enough the third competition in the Coronavirus affected 2020 European Championship.

It may be the third Polish venue the TAURON SEC has visited this year, but the person on top of the winner's podium was the same - 2018 European Champion, Leon Madsen. He beat Grigorji Laguta, Bartosz Zmazlik and Nicki Pedersen in the final and now goes ahead in the whole competition by 6 with 42 pts.

British rider, and local rider for ROW Rybnik in the Ekstraliga, Robert Lambert lost the chance to qualify for the final when he appeared to have a mechanical issue at the start of the Last Chance Heat leaving him in last place. However, he picked up a good amount of points in the evening and is in second place, just one point ahead of veteran, Nicki Pedersen, who has 35 pts.

Elsewhere on the track, current champion, Mikkel Michelsen, failed to make it through the knockout stage of the competition but is still in fifth overall on 30 pts. Grigoji Laguta is just ahead of him in fourth with 33 pts overall.

Meanwhile Swede, Peter Ljung had by far his best TAURON SEC, collecting 6 points. But a second warning for false starts meant an exclusion for the Swede in Heat 17 ruining any chance of advancing to the knockout stages.

Tomorrow the will be doing it all again as Round 3 takes place in Gneizno.

2019 TAURON Speedway European Champion, Mikkel Michelsen, sits in fourth place with 23 points after the first two rounds. He is just 3 points away from leader and fellow Dane, Leon Madsen, but he is taking it all in his stride, “I only had 15 points at this time last year, so there’s nothing to worry about!” he laughs.

Coronavirus has affected everyone, including the speedway world, and the 25 year old Dane is starting to look at things differently, “I spent 7 years living out of a suitcase, so it is kind of nice just to be in one place,” he says with the maturity that has come with his rise to the top of the speedway world.

“I feel really good on the bike right now, I feel at one with it. I think a lot changed for me last year,” he goes on, “I really enjoyed my racing and I am much more sure about my ability now”.

The first two rounds have gone well for the current champion, with 6^th in Torun and 2^nd place behind Madsen in Bydgoszcz. He knows his compatriot is the man to beat, “Leon’s going really well right now,” he reflects.

There are three more rounds, including a return to Torun, but the reigning champion is not too concerned about where he races, “It is not so much about the track, but the preparation. The TAURON SEC always chooses really good venues, but the preparation at Torun was really slick and is does not suit my racing style at all. Bydgoszcz was much better, because even if you were in last place, you still had a chance to win.”

He goes on, “I’ve had some good finishes at Gniezno and Rybnik but - whatever - I’m the defending champion, I am here to win every race,” he says, oozing confidence from a man who knows he has got what it takes to beat the best.

“I live really close to the track in Rybnik and it’s really cool. It has strange geometry that can really catch people out. And as regards Torun? Well, you cannot just talk about the preparation. I’ve been analysing the videos and a few times I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, I know what I can do different next time”.

This is Michelsen’s third TAURON SEC in a row and he has never come less than fourth place. And there is a steely determinism in his voice that tells you he will not let go of the title of European Champion without an epic fight.

Dackarna's Oliver Berntzon (pictured) helped his League 1 team take a big win at home against Arged Malesa TŻ Ostrovia Ostrów Wlkp.. They won 54:36 and the Swede took home 12 points for the second week in a row for Car Gwarant Kapi Meble Budex Start Gniezno.

Finnish/ Swedish teammate, Timo Lahti scored 9 pts at the same venue where he will be racing in Round 4 of the TAURON SEC on Thursday night. The Championship will be returning to Gniezno after having completed Round 3 of the SEC only one day before in Rybnik. The Finn, who races in Elitserien under a Swedish license, confirmed he will return to Rospiggarna for the 2020 season.

Daugavpils v Gdansk

The 2019 champion, Jacob Thorssell impresses in his match for Zdunek Wybrzeże Gdańsk this weekend. He was his team's highest score with 12 pts as they won away from home at SC Lokamotiv Daugpavpils, 40:50. The Swedish riders in the home side did not have such as successful Saturday afternoon. Pontus Aspgren collected 7 pts whilst Linus Sundström struggled with 0.

Tarnow v Toruń

The only other Swedes in action over the weekend were the experienced Kim Nilsson and Peter Ljung. The latter won the eWINNER1 individual competition last week. However, their team Unia Tarnow were completely overpowered at home to a eWINNER APATOR Torun side containing talented brothers Chris and Jack Holder, as well as Polish stalwarts, Adrian Miedzinski and Tobiasz Musielak. Ljung collected just 6 points in a far from perfect preparation for a week with a European Championship on Wednesday and the Swedish championship on the following day.

The National Championship

With no Swedes in action in the PGEE Ekstraliga this weekend, all eyes were on the eWinner1 League looking at the riders' form before the Swedish National Championship on Thursday. All of the 6 Swedish riders in the league will be competing in Målilla. Racing on his home track, Berntzon should be favourite as he is the highest placed Swedish rider in League 1:

Oliver Berntzon (5) - 2.182

Jacob Thorssell (15) - 1.778

Peter Ljung (18) - 1.636

Timo Lahti (23) - 1.556

Pontus Aspgren (40) - 1.222

Kim Nilsson (45) - 1.000

Linus Sundström (50) - 0.667

Statistics from Zuzelend

[Name //(position in league) // p+b/h]

The second division of Polish speedway finally got underway this weekend. All except one of the four matches had Swedes involved, meaning that a raft of Nordic riders were in action for the first time this season in competitive team racing.

Oliver Bernzton (pictured) was the top scorer for his team, CAR GWARANT START GNIEZNO, gaining 12 pts from 6 heats. But it was not enough for the visitors as they lost 55-35 at EWINNER APATOR TORUN.

Meanwhile, Peter Ljung put a disappointing run in the TAURON SEC behind him to also score 12pts from six for travelling UNIA TARNOW. They snatched a two point victory at ZDUNEK WYBRZEŻE GDAŃSK. And it was Ljung who scored those winning points with a second place in the final Heat 15 making him the team’s top scorer in the close fought match.

In other matches, LOKOMOTIV DAUGAVPILS may have lost, but everyone was glad to see Linus Sundström back on the bike again. He was involved in a horrific crash at the end of last season that left him wheelchair bound, though fortunately this was only a temporary stage of his recovery.

Whilst Ljung and Berntzon were the only Swedes to score in double figures in the eWinner 1 league, but no one will be losing sleep over that in these early days. Final individual scores were:

Linus Sundström, Daugavpils, 6 pts

Kim Nilsson, Tarnow, 6 pts

Jacob Thorssell, Gdansk, 4 pts

Pontus Aspgren, Daugavpils, 4 pts

Leon Madsen took the checkered flag first again as the TAURON SEC circus takes its whistle stop tour around Poland this July as the second round took place in Bydgoszcz tonight.

The 2018 European Champion again needed the Last Chance/ Semi Final heat to get through the last round. But once there he made no mistake to beat Russians Emil Sayfutdinov (4th) and Grigorij Laguta (3rd) as well as countryman, Mikkel Michelsen (2nd) to bag his second TAURON SEC win in five days. He also took the overall lead from Robert Lambert and Nicki Pedersen by just two points as both the Brit and veteran Danish rider failed to qualify for the final.

Round 3 will take place next Wednesday evening in Gniezno.

The 2018 European Champion, Denmark's Leon Madsen, above, won the first Round of this year's TAURON SEC in Torun tonight.

The Dane did not qualify automatically for the final but had to go through the so called Last Chance Heat, a form of semi final where no points are scored, to decide who would meet three time world champion, Nicki Pedersen and British rider, Robert Lambert in today's final.

Madsen came second behind Bartosz Smektala in the Last Chance heat meaning that there were two Danes, a Brit and one person from the host nation where in the final.

The inside lane had been the clear favourite during the evening. But even though it was veteran Pedersen who had it, he was unable to secure victory. Taking the lead from the gate, he accelerated too hard as he came out of turn 2 and struggled to maintain control of the bike as he first wheeled and then slid out towards the fence. Lambert, who had started well in Gate 2 seemed to have been gifted a chance for the win, but somehow from Gate 4 Madsen came screaming around the outside, avoided the drifting Pedersen, to cut Lambert off and take the lead which he refused to let go off.

Madsen had previously won at Torun in the last SGP race of 2019, and showed why he is currently the highest scoring rider in the Ekstraliga with a great final performance.

Robert Lambert and Nicki Pedersen both lead the competition with 14 points after the first round, with the Brit being given the leader's Golden Bib by virtue of beating the 43 year old when they went head-to-head in tonight's race.

Round 2 will be in Bydgoszcz on Wednesday when no less than Emil Sayfutdinov will be the wildcard.

18-year-old Polish rider, Matteusz Swindicki is racing his first ever season in the Ekstraliga. And with the whole speedway world focusing in on the only league to be racing at the moment, the young Pole is even more in the limelight as he slots in at #6 or #7 on the ELTROX WLOKNIARZ Czestochowa team alongside fellow junior, Jakub Miskowiak.

After the first three rounds the team are in first place and Swindicki himself has clocked up an average of 1.556. That puts him above experienced riders, such as Swedish SGP rider, Antonio Lindbäck and well as older compatriots such as Krzysztof Kasprzak and Krzysztof Buczkowski.

Last year was his first in Nice 2 where he was racing with Wilki Krosno. “It was a really hard season, you had to fight hard for points and everyone has good motorcycles”, he says reflecting on 2019.

And whilst he finished the season with an average of 1.532, his highlight was actually the silver with Czestochowa in the Polish Junior Team Championship in September.

Understandably, this year is something extra special as he takes on first team duties with Wlokniarz, “riding with a lion on the plastron is a dream come true for me”, he says excitedly, “being in a team with Fredrik Lindgren or Jason Doyle is a unique experience,” he adds.

It seems that the 18-year-old is thriving in the big time. His team have scored at least 53 points in every game and Swidnicki is not just a bystander, he is a contributor. In the first match of the season he scored 6 points. He won Heat 8 and together with the Australian former World Champion, Jason Doyle. They took a 5-1 against no less than the talented duo of Kenneth Bjerre and Przemyslaw Pawlicki from MRGARDEN GKM Grudziadz.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, he is taking it one match at a time, focusing on getting as many points as he can. But he hints in the future that Sweden might be on the cards, “racing in the Swedish league is also my dream,” he says, “the tracks in Sweden aren’t easy, but thanks to that I can learn a lot,” he philosophises.

ELTROX WLOKNIARZ Czestochowa are making a serious bid to oust perennial favourite, FOGO UNIA Leszno from the top spot in Polish speedway. Whilst the club’s superstars, like Leon Madsen, might make the headlines, do not forget the important role of riders, like Swidnicki as he debuts at the top level of the sport.

Mattuesz is sponsored by Team Zuzelend and Five One Racing wants to thank them for making this interview possible. Read more at about Polish speedway at www.zuzelend.com

In the 1980s, Katie Mason (now Kate McAuley) was the first women to ever sign a professional contract in British speedway when she raced for Hackney Hawks in London. Later she was a coach and whilst she’s never put the bike away, now she is more of a fan who watches from the stadium rather than racer on the track.

“I really love Torun, it’s a fantastic stadium and probably one of the best race tracks in the world”, she says with enthusiasm.

She’s been watching the SEC since One Sport took over the event in 2013 and her favourite series was in 2014 when then 25-year-old Russian Emil Sayfutdinov won in a close fought competition over Danes Nicki Pedersen and Peter Kildemand.

The Russian took home the victory by just six points. That winning margin, just two heat wins, was accumulated by faultless racing in the qualifying stages in Round 2 in Togliatti and in the final Round 4 at Czestochowa, where he did not lose a single heat - until the finals.

Winner that night in Poland was fellow Russian, Grigorji Laguta, who will also feature in this year’s line-up alongside 2016 SEC champion, Nicki Pedersen.

But as well speaking to the first British women’s rider to break into the sport, we also catch up with German, Sindy Weber. She made history as the first ever woman to ride in Poland’s Nice 2 league when she represented Polania Pila against Wanda Kraków in August last year, just two days after her 19^th birthday. She was paired with Swede, Tomas Jonasson (pictured) in her first heat.

Weber is from a speedway family, “I grew up in a speedway stadium!” she laughs.

“I usually find the TAURON SEC much more interesting than the SGP races. There's a lot more action there and it's exciting to the end. And, I must say, One Sport is a very good organizer”, she says giving a rider’s understanding of what is needed to make these events work.

We ask her if she would like to appear at the SEC, “Of course! But I think it would be very difficult to ride in the SEC as a woman. I have no sponsors so we have to finance everything ourselves,” she says honestly.

McAuley and Weber have both been ground-breaking women in the sport of speedway. Right now, they can enjoy the SEC from the stands, but let’s hope that women like them will soon also compete against the men in this great competition.