Adrian J from Five One Racing was on site at Nyköping Motorstadion to see a great first match in the 2019 Allsvenskan final as Eskilstuna’s Team Rapid met Griparna on Thursday night.
A tight match, where nerves caused several riders to hit the dirt, contained six 3:3 heats and was decided more by mistakes in the end.
One of the most dramatic looking spills included Griparna’s Anton Karlsson who took a tumble just 10 metres from the finish line when he clipped the side wall. The same heat saw Oliver Berntzon steal second place in a true moment of speedway brilliance. He chased Team Rapid’s Daniel Henderson for over a lap-and-a-half being rewarded with an extra point just 10 metres from the line. Rapid’s heat winner Linus Eklöf crossed the line with Berntzon and Henderson less than a bike length behind him when seconds later Karlsson, in fourth, unexpectedly upended himself as his handlebars touched the wall.
Not just the riders, but the mechanics were also feeling the pressure. Two engine stops prevented Rapid’s Eklöf and Victor Palovaara collecting any points at all as they never left the start line. Eklöf still scored the most for the visitors with 11, but Palovaara had an uncharacteristically poor night with three last places. It was a miserable week for the Swede that saw his team, Elit Vetlanda, go out in the semi-finals against Eskilstuna’s Elitserien team, Smederna.
Peter Ljung (pictured) also saw his Elitserien team Västervik eliminated on Tuesday when they were beaten in Målilla by Dackarna. But in Nyköping the 37-year-old did a captain’s job for Griparna excelling with three heat wins in four outings collecting 13 points in all.
Griparna will travel to Eskilstuna’s next Thursday with an eight-point advantage as the tie finished 49:41. It may just be enough to see them take a win from under the noses of the favourites, Team Rapid.
