Jason Doyle tied in Championship lead with Dudek after earning 15 points
An elated Maciej Janowski took home the win at the Kjærgaard Danish FIM Speedway Grand Prix for the second year running, with the podium filled by Emil Sayfutdinov and Patryk Dudek, respectively.
Aussie icon Jason Doyle rode through the pain barrier to an extraordinary fourth place to edge ahead of Dudek at the top of the World Championship – just five days after he underwent surgery on a broken foot.
But it was Janowski who got the victory and the Wroclaw-born racer was delighted to push his way into the podium positions, as he went third in the standings on 58 points. Janowski also admitted his years of racing in the British leagues, where he won three Elite League titles in a row with Poole between 2013 and 2015, paid dividends as he mastered Horsens once again.
Maciej Janowski
“It was an amazing night. It doesn’t matter where you are, but this is the second time it has happened in Denmark. I’m so happy. This was a really tough night. It’s a very small track and there’s not enough room for everyone. You need to be smart and lucky also. Everything worked well for me today – my team, everything. I am happy. Points are the most important thing. That was a good kick going into the next half of the season. I have some experience on the small tracks from racing in Britain. Sometimes I have two crashes and two points on them! But Britain was a good school for me. That’s the way for a lot of young riders to learn. It’s hard to get the experience you get there anywhere else.”
Maciej Janowski topped the Speedway GP podium, flanked by Emil Sayfutdinov and Patryk Dudek
Janowski’s next SGP date comes in Cardiff, when he heads to the Principality Stadium for the Adrian Flux British SGP on July 22. But first, he’s hoping to be part of Poland’s team for the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final at Leszno on July 8.
The Poles are rated as red-and-white-hot favourites to win gold and the weight of expectation on home shale could be a burden for some, but not for Magic.
Maciej Janowski
“There’s no pressure. We’ll just have fun like today and that’s the best way. If you start thinking too much about things, it’s not good for you. I’m really happy to ride speedway, I’m really enjoying it and that’s the most important thing. Everything around it … I don’t care!”
Sayfutdinov worked wonders to get to Horsens in time for action after a hold-up on the motorway in Germany saw him and his team stranded for two and a half hours. So he was more than happy with his first SGP podium since he finished third at the 2013 Italian SGP.
Emil Sayfutdinov
“After my third race, it went really well. I won my last two heats and I was last in the semi, but I passed Lindback and Zagar. I got into the final and I am really happy to be on the podium. I’d just like to say thanks to my team. We have really worked hard. With that hard work, we got to the final. We scored some important points today. I’m going up in the standings and I am really happy.”
Dudek is still level on 65 points with Doyle at the top of the World Championship, with only the Aussie star’s 2016 ranking keeping the Pole out of first place. But he’s not too concerned about the standings at this stage as he bids to keep piling up the points. Dudek admits he had to get to grips with the tight, 272-metre Horsens track fast, having rarely raced on such small circuits.
Patryk Dudek
“It doesn’t matter for me now. For me, I just want to score points through the whole series. When I have the podiums, it’s great. Sometimes I won’t. What’s most important is my score. The track here had tight corners and for me, that’s not normal. Tracks in Poland are so big. But that doesn’t matter. I had third place.”
The SGP series now takes a break for the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup, which launches with Event 1 at King’s Lynn next Saturday, featuring hosts Great Britain, Australia, Czech Republic and the USA.
The action then switches to Vastervik as Sweden stages Event 2, with the home side facing Denmark, Russia and the winner of tomorrow’s qualifying round between Latvia, Germany, France and Italy in Riga.
The winners of each event join Poland in the Monster Energy SWC Final at Leszno on July 8, with the second and third-placed sides contesting the Race Off at the Alfred Smoczyk Stadium on July 7 for the last spot in the Final.
Riding and reviewing motorcycles for some time now, Kris writes for MCNews from time to time while also being an awesome all-rounder helping to keep the site content flowing.
