Swedish international Fredrik Lindgren has his sights set on writing FIM Speedway Grand Prix history Down Under after being named as the final 2027 Speedway GP permanent wild card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former world No.2, who spent\u00a0eight straight seasons in the world\u2019s top five\u00a0from 2018 until 2025, joins Great Britain racer\u00a0Dan Bewley, Aussie ace\u00a0Jack Holder and Poland\u2019s Speedway European Championship runner-up\u00a0Maciej Janowski in receiving a nomination from the SGP Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s Speedway GP top seven all earn automatic qualification \u2013 Great Britain\u2019s new world champion\u00a0Robert Lambert, Poland\u2019s six-time world champion\u00a0Bartosz Zmarzlik, Australia\u2019s SGP silver and bronze medal winner\u00a0Brady Kurtz, Denmark\u2019s\u00a0Michael Jepsen Jensen, Poland’s\u00a0Patryk Dudek, Denmark\u2019s triple European champion\u00a0Leon Madsen\u00a0and three-time Aussie champion\u00a0Max Fricke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian international\u00a0Rohan Tungate, Polish action man\u00a0Kacper Woryna, Swedish champion\u00a0Kim Nilsson\u00a0and Latvian ace\u00a0Andzejs Lebedevs\u00a0all qualified via the FIM SGP Challenge in Terenzano, Italy on July 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2027 Speedway GP line-up is completed by\u00a0five substitute riders, led by Czech racer Jan Kvech\u00a0\u2013 promoted from second reserve this year to first stand-in star for 2027. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is joined by\u00a0second substitute Frederik Jakobsen\u00a0\u2013 runner-up in this season\u2019s Danish Championship.\u00a0Kai Huckenbeck\u00a0of Germany, Norway\u2019s\u00a0Mathias Pollestad\u00a0and Ukraine\u2019s former SGP2 champion\u00a0Nazar Parnitskyi\u00a0also make the list. The five substitutes will step into the Speedway GP line-up if any of the permanent riders are sidelined by injury, illness or other reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lindgren, 41, is the oldest member of the 2027 Speedway GP field\u00a0and is working hard to overcome the foot injury suffered at Polish track Leszno on May 17, which kept him out of six SGP rounds this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He ended his campaign by scoring a solid 20 points across the final two SGP rounds in Vojens and Torun and is\u00a0already targeting what would be an historic world-title challenge in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With next year\u2019s series set to climax with the\u00a0FIM Speedway GP of Australia \u2013 Adelaide double-header at Gillman Speedway on October 29 and 30, 2027 \u2013 the first SGP events staged outside Europe since 2017 \u2013 Lindgren can think of no better occasion to claim his first world crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The oldest first-time world champion is currently\u00a0Polish great Tomasz Gollob,\u00a0who sealed his one and only Speedway GP world title aged 39 in 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Lindgren said:\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m looking to be the oldest first-time world champion in Adelaide. That\u2019s the thought I have in my head; that\u2019s what I am picturing, and that\u2019s my goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s over a year until we go there and less until we have the first GP. There is a long journey ahead and everything needs to fall into place. The fitness needs to be there; the mental side needs to be there; the equipment needs to be there, and the team around me needs to be there. I need to stay healthy all the way through and be present at every round. That\u2019s crucial. But this is the image I have in my head and the one I am working towards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make this dream a reality, Lindgren is under no illusions as to the work that will be needed to bring himself back to full fitness, and\u00a0he admits there will be little rest this winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said:\u00a0\u201cI need to get on it straight away. Obviously, when I started racing, it was hard to find some consistency with the training, physio and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really need to start with that ASAP, so that I can get the foot as good as possible as early as possible. Then I can also up the level of my training and do harder cardio work and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt has been one of my toughest seasons for a long time. I think it\u2019s the first time in my career that I got injured so severely so early in the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a long and tough recovery time to get back on the bike. Even though I have been back on the bike, I have been far from 100 percent. I have still been struggling with the foot. I have a lot of pain even today, and I still can\u2019t walk normally, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you know in the back of your head that you are not 100 percent ready, and you still have to go into battle with the best in the world, it\u2019s hard. But I fought hard, and I still did have some decent results, even though the circumstances were not the best. I guess that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have a long journey ahead of me, but I am really putting in the work. Fingers crossed, I can be healthy come the season and throughout the whole year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Janowski was handed a Speedway GP spot just days after falling a point short of winning the 2026 Speedway European Championship, which would have handed him automatic qualification. He can\u2019t wait for his first full Speedway GP season since 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said:\u00a0\u201cThis is a very exciting moment. It was some very good news when I had the call. I am very happy to be back and have another chance in Speedway GP. It\u2019s going to be an exciting preparation for the season. It will definitely push me even harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will definitely try to improve my speedway skills during the winter. I will try to prepare the best I can \u2013 working on everything around the speedway too \u2013 and make it very organised. I have some plans for this winter, and I hope next year will be good for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holder has been sidelined since crashing out of the DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Poland \u2013 Wroclaw\u00a0with multiple injuries on June 20. After undergoing successful surgery last week on an arm injury, he\u2019s looking forward to completing his recovery and getting back on track in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said:\u00a0\u201cGetting the wild card is a massive weight off my shoulders. I don\u2019t really want to be relying on them, but it is always in the back of your mind. I think I deserve it, and it\u2019s the first one I have had, so I will take it with both hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was going well, and everything was going in the right direction this year. I was looking good, but then the season got cut short. It has made me hungrier now that I have that wild card, and it has given me more purpose to set the record straight when I return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously I am super excited to be back. I was stressed about it, but now I have this opportunity. I\u2019m just trying to get back fully fit and come back bigger and better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bewley\u2019s season was also interrupted by injury after he sustained a broken femur and compressed vertebra in his back\u00a0when he crashed out of a Danish Speedwayligaen meeting in Outrup on May 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But after finishing fifth at the series-closing DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Poland \u2013 Torun on September 26, he is also eagerly anticipating his return to the series next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said:\u00a0\u201cI am thankful to have the wild card. I am looking forward to the winter now and to coming back at 100 percent next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was nice to come back in Torun and do the last GP, which was alright. It was nice to go into a winter, knowing I am not 100 percent, but I can still do a not-bad job. It makes me excited to have a good winter and come back next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2027 FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP (in ranking order):<\/strong> SUBSTITUTES<\/strong> Swedish international Fredrik Lindgren has his sights set on writing FIM Speedway Grand Prix history Down Under after<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[311,375],"class_list":["post-16458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-motorsports","tag-speedway"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
505.<\/strong> Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
95.<\/strong> Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
101.<\/strong> Brady Kurtz (Australia)
52.<\/strong> Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark)
692.<\/strong> Patryk Dudek (Poland)
30.<\/strong> Leon Madsen (Denmark)
46.<\/strong> Max Fricke (Australia)
223.<\/strong> Kacper Woryna (Poland)
29.<\/strong> Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
25.<\/strong> Jack Holder (Australia)
66.<\/strong> Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
99.<\/strong> Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
71.<\/strong> Maciej Janowski (Poland)
233.<\/strong> Kim Nilsson (Sweden)
27.<\/strong> Rohan Tungate (Australia)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
201.<\/strong> Jan Kvech (Czech Republic)
41.<\/strong> Frederik Jakobsen (Denmark)
744.<\/strong> Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
999.<\/strong> Mathias Pollestad (Norway)
785.<\/strong> Nazar Parnitskyi (Ukraine)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"