On Saturday afternoon, five seats will be run for this year's European Championship Series. Denmark has four riders in Hungarian Nagyhalasz, and as a special motivation, it is important to secure a place when Vojens Speedway Center celebrates the start of a new era - with the European Championship's 3rd division - on Saturday, August 10.
By Ib Søby
Peter Kildemand, Michael Jepsen Jensen, Anders Thomsen, and the reserve Bjarne Pedersen, look for the opportunity to start in August, when a large audience witness the revival of Vojens Speedway Center. Drivers, officials, the press, and especially the public, will feel the special thing that together they write a piece of Danish speedway history.
European champion Leon Madsen, and last year's number four, Mikkel Michelsen, are already qualified for the European Championships, which before the historic event in Vojens, has run two divisions in German Güstrow and Polish Torun. Thus, the race in Vojens can also give a strong indication of where this year's European medals should be placed. After Saturday, August 10, only the last branch in Chrozow near Katowice in Poland is missing.
Since the Polish organizer One Sport took over the running of the European Championships in 2012 - in collaboration with FIM Europe - both the series and even the European Championship title have been given a huge boost and a far more significant importance in the international speedway environment. Although the Grand Prix World Cup series is the ultimate, but thanks to One Sports TV agreement with Eurosport, and thus transmission in over 70 countries, the European Championship Series has become extremely important.
In 2016 Nicki Pedersen saved his season with the European Championship title, and last year Leon Madsen achieved his international breakthrough by securing the title, thanks to a magnificent victory in the last division.
Speedway historically you can talk about three stages in the European Championship. Already in 1955, Norwegian Henry Andersen became the first European champion of the sport, because in the years from 1955 to 1975 the European Championship title was part of the then qualification system, ahead of the annual World Cup final. That is why, for example, on the old European Championship list you can find New Zealand legend Ivan Mauger.
In 2001, FIM Europe - then the UEM series - resumed as an independent tournament with Czech Bohumil Brhel as champion. It was also under the auspices that Danish Jesper B. Monberg won in 2005. When One sport took over in 2012, it was oddly another check that won, namely Ales Dryml. In recent times, Emil Saytfudinov, Martin Vaclulik and Andrs Lebedevs have also been able to adorn themselves with the European Championship title.
Seen on the starting list below, there will be no light heats on Saturday in Hungary. It is a strong field in which the Danes may well be masturbated to gold ash, by hard nails such as Jurica Pavlic, Smolinski, Lebedevs, Miedzinski, or Grigori Laguta.
The 300-meter course is 250 kilometers east of Budapest, near the Debrecen, and it is a bit of a drive for the Danes, but this is where they have to go through the needle eye to find the way to Vojens.
The field in Hungary:
1. Martin Smolinski, Germany
2. Sergey Logatchev, Russia
3. Roland Kovacs, Hungary
4. David Bellego, France
5. Peter Kildemand, Denmark
6. Anders Thomsen, Denmark
7. Andzejs Lebedevs, Latvia
8. Adrian Miedziński, Poland
9. Michael Jepsen Jensen, Denmark
10. Andrei Kudriashov, Russia
11. Paweł Przedpełski, Poland
12. Vaclav Milik, Czech Republic
13. Kacper Woryna, Poland
14. Bartosz Smektała, Poland
15. Grigory Laguta, Russia
16. Jurica Pavlic, Croatia
R1. Bjarne Pedersen, Denmark
R2. Tobiasz Musielak, Poland
The top five qualify for the European Championships, where Leon Madsen and Mikkel Michelsen, Denmark, Robert Lambert, England, Jaroslaw Hampel, Poland and Antonio Lindbäck, Sweden, are already qualified by last year's placement.
Next week, five permanent wildcards will be awarded, just as each of the four European races has one wildcard.
European Championship Series 2019:
July 13, Güstrow, Germany
July 27, Torun, Poland
Aug 10 Vojens, Denmark
28 sep. Chorzow, Poland
read more on www.speedwayeuro.com