Juniorlandslagsmeriterade Tim Wahlgren har en stark säsong bakom sig i Västervikströjan.

Under måndagen kom beskedet att den 23-årige forwarden kör vidare i VIK.

Kramfors-produkten är överens med Västervik om ett avtal för ett år.

Sportchefen Emil Georgsson glädjs åt att Tim Wahlgren blir kvar.

- Efter en trevande inledning på säsongen så fick Tim fart på grejerna från jul och framåt och drev laget offensivt stundtals. Det slutade med poängbästa säsongen hittills och vi tror att det finns en växel till att lägga i. Vi är glada över att Tim skrivit på för ännu en säsong med oss och ser fram emot att följa hans fortsatta utveckling hos oss, säger VIK:s sportchef till klubbens hemsida.

Victor Öhman - som har huserat i den norska högstaligan de två senaste säsongerna - återvänder till det svenska seriesystemet.

Den här gången blir det spel i Troja/Ljungby, tillika de allsvenska nykomlingarna.

Den 26-årige centern har skrivit på ett avtal för en säsong med smålänningarna.

Övikssonen har 227 matcher i HockeyAllsvenskan (Björklöven, Oskarshamn, Västervik och Modo) på meritlistan sedan tidigare.

Sportchefen Daniel Håkansson om den intressanta värvningen.

- Victor är en klassisk spelfördelande center som under flera år spelat på en bra hög nivå. Han har sin styrka i tvåvägsspelet och vi hoppas att han i rätt omgivning kommer att trivas och även lyfta poängmässigt, säger Trojas sportchef till klubbens hemsida.

Triple header in Prague

Billed as a double header in Prague, the 2021 FIM Speedway Grand Prix actually started with three days of racing in the Czech capital after Saturday’s Round 2 was abandoned after Heat 11 due to heavy rainfall. According to SGP rules, at least 16 heats must have been completed for the results to have carried over to Sunday’s meeting. So fans in Prague were treated to a full 23 heats before Artem Laguta (pictured) was crowned champion and Maciej Janowski declared as the current leader of the series on Sunday afternoon. The Polish rider leads Laguta and fellow Russian, Emil Sayfutdinov by six points after the first two rounds.

Good racing; bad planning?

SGP Race Director, Phil Morris kept to the rules, but with bad weather forecast in Prague it meant that there was always a good chance the meet would never make it to Heat 16, despite the best efforts of the racing staff.

It could be argued that the fans won out getting to see the best riders in the world race 57 heats against each other over three days. Alternatively, the SGP organisation might consider it was bad publicity for the sport to have a half finished event.

In any case, we can say that there were both winners and losers to prematurely stopping a round and starting again from scratch the following day.

Losers

The definite loser in the decision to cancel Saturday night’s event was Leon Madsen who had a maximum 9 pts from three heats on Saturday and was in first place when the competition was abandoned.

By contrast, at the end of Sunday’s Round 2, the Danish rider only had one heat win, had amassed just 7 pts and finished in 10th place with no chance of taking part in the semifinals.

Likewise, Tai Woffinden also had a worse time of it on Sunday finishing just above Madsen in ninth. When the Round was interrupted prematurely he was fifth placed having scored 6 pts from three heats.

Winners
However, at the same time as some lost out, there were also winners among some of the riders who benefitted from an extra night’s sleep and a fresh start. They were primarily Martin Vaculik and Anders Thomsen. The Slovenian had just 3 pts from three heats, whilst the Danish rider had failed to score at all by Saturday’s Heat 11.

The restart was the perfect remedy for these two as they raced their way to the semifinals on Sunday more than tripling their scores with 10 pts and 9 pts respectively. For both riders it was their best result of the series so far.

Next Rounds in Wroclaw

The first two rounds of this year’s SGP were won by Sparta Wroclaw riders, Janowski and Laguta. And in two weeks time we will travel their southwest Poland city for another double header in Rounds 3 and 4 of the World Championships. With home track advantage no-one will be surprised if the same two names finish off at the top of the podiums again as they did in 2020s double header in the town. So, all things being equal these two should also continue to be the leading riders in the SGP series by 10 pm on Saturday 31 July (weather permitting).

Tonight the 2021 FIM Speedway Grand Prix finally gets underway with the first of a double header in Prague. The series will consist of 11 rounds in 2021 including a number of back to back meetings in the same venue, as tonight.

Three in a row for Zmarzlik?

Bartosz Zmarzlik, the current World Champion, is looking to retain the title to make it the third championship in a row. And whilst he is many people's favourite for the 2021 series, and whilst he is the top scorer in Sweden's Elitserien, he is not actually the best rider in the Ekstraliga. We take a brief look at the individual standings in Poland's and Sweden's top league to give a feel for the riders' form coming into tonight's event. In both leagues Zmarzlik, Maciej Janowski and Artem Laguta occupy the top three spots for riders who are going to participate in the SGP.

Ekstraliga

It will be of no surprise that 10 of the top 16 riders in the Ekstraliga are already in the SGP with Janusz Kolodziej and Nicki Pedersen the only riders who are in the Top 10 who are not in World Championships this year.

Individual rankings 2021 (Ektsraliga)

1. Maciej Janowski WRO 2.672

2. Bartosz Zmarzlik GOR 2.644

3. Artem Laguta WRO 2.397

4. Martin Vaculik GOR 2.339

6. Jason Doyle LES 2.175

7. Tai Woffinden WRO 2.167

9. Leon Madsen CZE 2.121

13. Robert Lambert TOR 2.036

14. Emil Sayfutdinov LES 2.036

16. Anders Thomsen GOR 1.947

21. Matej Zagar ZIE 1.771

25. Max Fricke WRO 1.695

27. Fredrik Lindgren CZE 1.655

38. Krzysztof Kasprzak GRU 1.367

In EWinner 1 league:

27. Oliver Berntzon OST 1.792

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Elitserien

The last few years have seen a trend for the SGP riders to not race in Sweden with half of the Top 10 in the 2020 World Championships not competing in the Elitserien. Most notable of these was Sweden's own Fredrik Lindgren. However, this year has seen a return of many riders to the top league in Sweden particularly as the regular season in Poland comes to an end. Although the Ekstraliga's rules that mean you can only race in one country outside Poland has meant that the Danish riders have almost all decided to race in their home country, including Leon Madsen and Anders Thomsen as well as the newly crowned European champion, Mikkel Michelsen who will have to wait until 2022 to return to the SGP Series. However, in the last few weeks Emil Sayfutdinov has signed for Rospiggarna and Lindgren makes a return, this time to Västervik.

Whilst these last two riders have not yet acquired an officical average, let's take a look at the scorers so far for those SGP riders who have been racing in Elitserien:

Individual Standings 2021 (Elitserien)

1. Bartosz Zmarzlik VETS 2.857

2. Artem Laguta WSMK 2.593

7. Maciej Janowski DAC 2.429

8. Robert Lambert LEJ 2.400

12. Jason Doyle DAC 2.344

17. Max Fricke IND 2.138

23. Krzysztof Kasprzak LEJ 1.941

25. Oliver Berntzon LEJ 1.900

Australian U21 World Champion, is racing for Unia Leszno in Poland as well as doubling up for their development team, Rawicz. Part of the reason he is racing in EWinner 2 is the new regulations in Ekstraliga that means the riders are only allowed to race in one other country outside Poland. And the young Australian has chosen Sweden to be that other nation, making 2021 his first ever season in Elitserien when he signed with Västervik Speedway.

“I chose Västervik because Morgan [Andersson] got in touch,” he replies, “I think it is going good so far,” he adds and with a heat average of 1.667, Lidsey is Västervik’s fourth highest scorer in a team that includes Artem Laguta, Pawel Przedpelski and Bartosz Smektala.

In addition to this high-powered arsenal, the east coast club announced this week that they are signing none less than Sweden’s top rider, Fredrik Lindgren. He also said that Andersson was the main reason he was coming to the team after a year off from Swedish speedway. With the signing of the Czestochowa rider, the club are showing that they mean business in 2021.

What’s the difference between Poland and Sweden?

“The Ekstraliga is very intense and there’s a lot of pressure and high expectations,” he says from behind his shades as sun streams into the depot in Motala, “It’s much more relaxed here in Sweden - that suits me,” he says keeping his words few and to the point.

But is that pressure from you or the club?

“Yeah, from me, of course, but from the club too. Last year there was no pressure, but with winning the Worlds then more is expected,” he explains, “and this year it has been a bit up and down in Leszno,” he says with a hint of frustration. The Australian currently has a heat average of 1.458 for the three times League winners and whilst this is respectable, he is probably hard on himself as he scored 1.787 last year when he was a Junior.

He continues, “but there’s only a few matches left now so I’ll be racing with Rawicz as much as possible”.

Currently, Lidsey has clocked up a 2.100 average in eWinner 2, although this is not an official heat average after just two matches. But he in not just a heat leader for the development team, he also is looking out for young Australian, Keynan Rew, “He’s only 18 yrs and broke his femur when he was just 16 yrs so he’s had a tough time. He’s doing alright,” he says about his compatriot’s performance, “he just needs more racing now, maybe go abroad to get more experience,” the 22-year-old says in his “older brother” role (Rew has raced all season in eWinner 2 and has a 1.200 heat average).

One disadvantage for Australian riders is that they do not have an individual competition like the SEC to aim for outside the highly competitive SGP series. But having been part of the Australian Speedway of Nations team as the country’s U21 rider from 2018-2020, Lidsey is keen to emulate that at senior level.

But the Leszno rider is currently the fifth best Australian rider in the Ekstraliga when you look at the individual rankings. He has two former World Champions and two current SGP riders ahead of him so there is tough competition to be part of the only southern hemisphere team in the team World Championships. But Lidsey is keen to strike the positive tone, “the 2021 team’s not decided yet, so I just need to keep working hard and earn my place,” he says with a determined voice.

That determination has got him racing with week-in-week-out with the most successful club in the best league in the world – all that and he’s only 22 yrs. Plus that he also the U21 World Championship trophy on his mantlepiece. The other Australians who have won that competition since the 1990s are Leigh Adams, Jason Crump, Darcy Ward and Max Fricke. So, chances are it is a question of “when” rather than “how” that he will be following after Leszno teammate, Jason Doyle onto the highest podium in the senior’s competition.

________

(Please note, that photo is not Jaimon Lidsey but Peter Ljung in Västervik colours in 2019).

#PIRWMSK

New riders come to Motala

It was 27 degrees and barely a cloud in the sky when Motala took on Västervik at home tonight in the Bauhaus Elitserien. It was the first time since the regulations changed in Sweden on 1 July that up to 3000 fans, although only 827 people made it to RMV Skog Arena tonight.

It was also the first time that Piraterna’s Peter Kildemand had raced in Sweden this year. Another new rider at this track was Västervik’s Jaimon Lidsey, the U21 World Champion from Australia. Not only that but it was also the first match back at Motala for Pawel Przedpelski who raced for the club in 2018 and 2019.

He was one of the players who did not receive full pay from the club when they nearly went bankrupt at the end of the season and was the only rider signed by Stefan Andersson before he left when the financial problems were revealed. The Polish rider only managed to break his contract for 2020 when new regulations came in because of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Perfect Weather

It was not just the perfect weather, but the perfect track with overtaking possible right from the first heat. That meant, for example, that Kildemand was able to overtake none other than Artem Laguta (pictured) in Heat 2 as he came out of turn 2 as the home side took their only 5:1 for the evening.

After last Thursday collapse in Målilla, even the most faithful Piraterna’s fan was expecting an away win. But the riders’ themselves were having none of it, surprising everyone with advantages in Heats 2, 4, 9 and 11. Meanwhile, the visitors could only manage one heat advantage before the nomination heats were called. That was when Bartosz Smektala (9) and Lidsey (9+1) won a 2:4 for the guests. So, it looked like Piraterna were about to take their first win of the season with the scores at 40:32 before the nominations.

Nomination Heats Drama

However, as Västervik were eight points behind, they were able to do a double replacement with Laguta and Przedpelski (10+1) coming in for the young Swedish riders, Anton Karlsson (1+1) and Noel Wahlqvist (0) for Heat 13. Their 5:1 was the start of a comeback for the visitors as they scored two 5:1s to give us a last heat decider with the scores tied at 42:42.

Przedpelski falls in final heat

The final heat pitchedLaguta and Przedpelski (again) against the Gneizno duo of Kildemand and Oskar Fajfer. And it looked like an easy 5:1 again for the Västervik duo until Kildemand and Przedpelski started to tussle for second place. The Danish rider looked like he was going to pass the Pole on the inside on turn 2, but the former Motala rider went down into the shale. The heat was stopped and there was a nervous wait for the fans to see whether Kildemand or Przedpelski would be excluded. But the crowd breathed a sigh of relief and cheers went up as the white light went on and the Västervik rider was not allowed to return to the track.

That led to the re-run of the final heat and with Laguta taking the checkuered flag first it led to a 45:45 draw. For the home side it felt like a loss as Piraterna’s captain, Tomas H Jonasson (7+1), said afterwards, “I am disappointed that we did not win but we’ve got to be pleased with our first point this season.”

Piraterna Motala: 45p
1. Adam Ellis (1*,1,1*,1*,1) 5+3p
2. Jakub Jamróg (2,3,2,1,1) 9p
3. Tomas H Jonasson (3,1*,1,2,0) 7+1p
4. Peter Kildemand (2*,2,3,2,1*) 10+2p
5. Oskar Fajfer (3,2,2,3,2) 12p
6. Rasmus Broberg (0,1*,0,1,0) 2+1p

Västervik Speedway: 45p
1. Bartosz Smektała (0,3,3,0,3) 9p
2. Jaimon Lidsey (3,0,1,3,2*) 9+1p
3. Philip Olofsson (0,0) 0p
4. Artem Laguta (1,3,3,3,3,3) 16p
5. Paweł Przedpełski (2,2,2,2,2*,0) 10+1p
6. Anton Karlsson (1*,0,0,0) 1+1p
7. Noel Wahlqvist (0,0) 0p

Scores from Speedwaynews.se