Team Speedway Under 21: Rampant Poles exact revenge

Four weeks ago at the Speedway World Cup in Bydgoszcz, the Polish senior team were sensationally beaten into second place with a last bend victory by the Danish team. This weekend in Slangerup, Denmark the young Polish riders exacted sweet revenge with a resounding win over the Danish and Swedish teams to secure the Speedway Team Under 21 World Championship for the seventh time since the competition was inaugurated in 2005.  

Once again the weather had threatened to spoil the meeting with heavy rain showers over the preceding 24 hours and practice was postponed three times before finally being abandoned without a wheel having been turned. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of the organisers, a good race track was ready for the scheduled start of the meeting and provided the riders with a suitable stage on which to perform. The result was good racing throughout the meeting and an emphatic 16 point victory for the Polish youngsters.

Poland were never headed and were superbly led by captain Piotr Pawlicki and Pawel Przedpelski, both scoring 14 points. The team dropped only nine points during the meeting, failing to score only once and fully justified their status as pre-meeting favourites.

The Danish team defending the title they won in Pardubice last year were a disappointment both to their own supporters and to those who had expected them to provide a stiffer challenge to the rampant Poles. Two disqualifications in the first round of races did nothing to improve their prospects and only Mikkel Michelsen was able to produce consistent results on a track which should have suited the home team.

Sweden, rocked by the sudden resignation of coach Stefan Anderssen, made a brave effort and were engaged in a tight battle with the Czech Republic team throughout the meeting. Their third place was only assured after Fredrik Engman’s second place in Heat 19.

Final Result:
1.Poland 51 (Piotr Pawlicki 14, Pawel Przedpełski 14, Bartosz Zmarzlik 13, Kacper Gomolski 10)
2.Denmark 35 (Mikkel Michelsen 12, Lasse Bjerre 8, Anders Thomsen 8, Mikkel Bech 7)
3.Sweden 23 (Oliver Berntzon 10, Fredrik Engman 6, Jacob Thorsell 5, Victor Palovaara 2)
4.Czech Republic 16 (Vaclav Milik 7, Eduard Krcmar 4, Zdenek Holub 4, Michal Skurla 1)