German racer Norick Blödorn leads teammate Kai Huckenbeck. (PHOTO: Jarek Pabijan/FIM)
Hosts Germany, Czech Republic, Great Britain and Ukraine have confirmed their squads for the FIM Speedway World Cup Semi-Final 1 in Landshut on May 1.
Launching the 2026 FIM Speedway season, the event takes place 24 hours before the FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut the following day – the opening round of the World Championship.
For the first time since 2023, the FIM SWC makes a popular return to the FIM calendar for 2026, with events taking place across three different countries – Germany, Latvia and Poland.
Riga’s Bikernieki track stages the Semi-Final 2 on August 7, featuring Latvia, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The winner of each Semi-Final joins hosts Poland and reigning world champions Australia in the FIM SWC Final at Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy on August 29.
National team managers must list a squad of up to 10 riders three weeks before their Semi-Final, before narrowing this down to a five-rider starting line-up six days before racing.
Germany have named a side featuring a blend of youth and experience, with former Speedway GP star Kai Huckenbeck captaining the squad.
He is joined by three riders who won Germany’s first-ever world team championship of any kind, 2025 FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 winners Norick Blödorn, Mario Häusl and Hannah Grunwald – the 2025 FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy winner.
They are joined by two-time FIM Long Track world champion Erik Riss, Kevin Wölbert, Valentin Grobauer, Ben Iken, Janek Konzack and Lars Skupien.
Great Britain’s squad is led by two Speedway GP riders in captain Robert Lambert and world No.3 Dan Bewley. They team up with their 2021 and 2024 FIM SON world title-winning teammate Tom Brennan.
Former British champion Adam Ellis and 2025 SGP2 star Dan Thompson also join the squad along with Landshut Devils duo Charles Wright and Leon Flint, who call the OneSolar Arena home in Poland’s National Speedway League.
Competing in their first-ever FIM SWC Semi-Final, Ukraine’s challenge is led by SGP2 world champion Nazar Parnitskyi, who makes his debut in 2026 after being promoted into the line-up following triple world champion Tai Woffinden’s withdrawal due to injury.
Parnitskyi joins forces with captain Marko Levishyn, young prospect Roman Kapustin, Andrii Karpov, Andrii Rozaliuk, Stanislav Melnychuk, Vitalii Lysak, Danko Hladkovskyi, Volodymyr Zlaman and Nazar Fedorchuk.
Former Speedway GP racer Jan Kvěch captains the Czech Republic squad, with Václav Milík and SGP2 sensation Adam Bubba Bednář joining him.
Also in the squad are Daniel Klíma, former SGP3 star Adam Nejezchleba, Bruno Belan, Jaroslav Vaníček and Jan Jeníček.
FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP SEMI-FINAL 1 SQUADS:
GREAT BRITAIN: 1. Robert Lambert (captain); 2. Dan Bewley; 3. Tom Brennan; 4. Adam Ellis; 5. Leon Flint; 6. Dan Thompson; 7. Charles Wright
Team Manager: Oliver Allen
CZECH REPUBLIC: 1. Jan Kvěch (captain); 2. Adam Bubba Bednář; 3. Václav Milík; 4. Daniel Klíma; 5. Adam Nejezchleba; 6. Bruno Belan; 7. Jaroslav Vaníček; 8. Jan Jeníček
Team Manager: Zdeněk Schneiderwind
UKRAINE: 1. Marko Levishyn (captain); 2. Roman Kapustin; 3. Nazar Parnitskyi; 4. Andrii Rozaliuk; 5. Stanislav Melnychuk; 6. Vitalii Lysak; 7. Danko Hladkovskyi; 8. Volodymyr Zlaman; 9. Andrii Karpov; 10. Nazar Fedorchuk
Team Manager: Sergii Golovnia
GERMANY: 1. Norick Blödorn; 2. Valentin Grobauer; 3. Hannah Grunwald; 4. Mario Häusl; 5. Kai Huckenbeck (captain); 6. Ben Iken; 7. Janek Konzack; 8. Erik Riss; 9. Lars Skupien; 10. Kevin Wölbert
Team Managers: Sascha Dörner and Mathias Bartz
