2023 Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final
Polish hero Maciej Janowski admits he “exploded” with emotion after sealing victory in an historic Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final thriller in Wroclaw on Saturday.
In one of the greatest world team finals in the sport’s 100-year history, Poland, Great Britain and Denmark went into a last-heat decider all in contention for gold in the first Monster Energy FIM SWC since 2017.
After an epic wheel-to-wheel battle with GB hero Robert Lambert, Janowski dived under his Speedway GP rival to snatch the all-important second place behind Australia’s Max Fricke in heat 20 which earned Poland a record-breaking ninth gold medal – 18 years after they first lifted the iconic Ove Fundin Trophy in Wroclaw in 2005.
Janowski’s heroic pass sent the Polish team and fans wild as the legendary Olympic Stadium was shaken to its foundations as Poland triumphed on 33 points, with GB finishing second on 31, Denmark third on 29 and Australia fourth on 27 after the closest Final in living memory.
After watching Poland win their first FIM SWC as a child from the Wroclaw terraces, Janowski could not contain his delight as he crossed the finish line for his fourth Monster Energy FIM SWC gold medal.
Maciej Janowski
“It feels fantastic – in front of my home crowd. I was screaming. I couldn’t hear my brain when I crossed the finish line. I just looked at the fans and they were going crazy. I exploded also, so that was amazing. I am proud of my team, proud of the fans and proud of everybody who was around us.
“To be honest, I was pretty chilled going into the last race. I knew the changes we had made for the last heat gave me not-so-bad speed. It was maybe not working the best on the outside, but when I moved to the inside, I felt I could be in that fight for second position.
“The boys were fighting each other, and I thought I could maybe use the gap. I saw the gap at the end of the third lap. I used a good line, and it was actually working.
“Big thanks to the rest of the teams because I think we showed great racing. It was very emotional. I think for the fans, it was amazing. That’s why they come to the stadium – to get those emotions and get that feeling. For us, it was also good. A win is a win, and it doesn’t matter how you get it.
“We found enough to fight for the gold and get it. We were calm; no stress about anything. Everyone did their job, and I am glad.”
Having gone from cheering on the sport’s biggest stars at the Olympic Stadium to writing his name in speedway history, Janowski admits his epic journey over the past 18 years is proof that dreams can come true.
Joint GB team manager Oliver Allen is delighted with how much his Lions have progressed since the Brits struggled to fourth place at the last Monster Energy FIM SWC Final staged in Leszno in 2017.
Having won 2021 FIM Speedway of Nations gold in Manchester, followed by the FIM SON silver medals in Vojens last year, the Lions have now extended their run in the world’s top two to three straight seasons as Lambert, Dan Bewley, Tai Woffinden, Tom Brennan and Adam Ellis starred for GB.
But Allen admits missing out on what would have been their first gold medal over the four-team format since 1989 was tough to take.
Oliver Allen
“Simon and I are really lucky to have the job at the time we do, when we have three top riders. It was a good result. If you had asked me six years ago whether a silver medal would be good in Poland, I would have said yes. But after tonight, it feels not so good. It was a fantastic advert for speedway and anyone who watched that meeting would have been fascinated by the sport. It was a really good event – it went down to the last race between three teams. We thought it was going to be tight and it never looked like anyone was pulling away. I know we started the meeting well, but we knew we had this block of gates where we had gate three three times. We dropped points there. It was really tight, really good racing and congratulations to Poland and Denmark for a good meeting.”
Danish star Leon Madsen admits a sluggish start cost the Danes as they bagged the bronze medal in triple world champion Nicki Pedersen’s first tournament as rider-manager.
Leon Madsen
“We got the start we didn’t want to get. It was a terrible start for Team Denmark. In the first four races, we only scored three points. It couldn’t have been a more catastrophic start to the meeting, but we kept being positive and kept working together. We fought our way through and finally we managed to find better setups and get back into the meeting. We battled all the way, and it was very tight all the way to the end. I predicted that before the meeting that it could go down to the wire, and it did. It was a fantastic meeting for everyone – the sport as well. It was an incredible meeting in a great atmosphere. Hats off to the Poles. They did very well, and they deserved the win on the night.”
Despite winning two of the last five heats, the Aussie quintet of Jason Doyle, Max Fricke, Jack Holder, Jaimon Lidsey and Chris Holder just fell short of dislodging Denmark from the final spot on the podium.
The Aussies finished on 27-points, two behind Denmark, while Poland’s ninth win in the SWC format came with a 33-point haul. Great Britain completed proceedings on 31-points as the powerhouses of world speedway battled it out for SWC supremacy for the first time since 2017.
After keeping its powder dry in the first block of heats, Australia came out swinging in the middle stages of the SWC final, with Jack Holder doing most of the heavy lifting after stirring victories in heats 10 and 11 – the second as a tactical substitute for Lidsey.
Doyle’s second place in heat 12 was also invaluable as the Aussies moved into third, 4pts behind Poland –which had just moved into the overall lead for the first time over the fast-starting Great Britain. But there was more high drama to come.
Doyle won again in heat 14, but the next outing was a hammer blow for Australia – which had booked the final spot in the SWC final after powering through the race-off the day before – when Jack Holder high-sided after contact with Dane Rasmus Jensen. A battered Jack was unable to make the restart, and was replaced by his older brother, Chris, who finished third.
Jason Doyle
“It’s not looking good for Jack (Holder). He’s complaining of a wrist injury. All the best for him. He flew through the air and landed on his wrist, so it’s not looking good. It was so close all night and Jack was a massive key. We knew that it was going to be difficult to get back into the game. But that’s speedway! What a great night of racing, very close. Over the last couple of days, I have really enjoyed riding for Team Australia. It is a great week for our sport and our country. Not the result we wanted, but fair play to Poland. What a great night!”
The CBS Bins-sponsored Australia rallied at the death knell, but victories for Doyle (heat 17) and Fricke (heat 20) weren’t enough to dislodge Denmark from third place.
Poland is now five wins ahead of Denmark (four) on the SWC honour board, followed by Sweden (three) and Australia (two) – those victories coming in 2001 and 2002.
With the Monster Energy FIM SWC coming to a thrilling finale, the action switches back to Speedway GP, with the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga coming to Bikernieki for the first time on Saturday, August 12, with the Latvian capital also staging FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 for the sport’s top under-21 teams on Friday, August 11.
Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup
- POLAND 33
Bartosz Zmarzlik 11
Patryk Dudek 6
Maciej Janowski 7
Dominik Kubera 9
Janusz Kolodziej 0 - GREAT BRITAIN 31
Tom Brennan 0
Robert Lambert 12
Tai Woffinden 7
Adam Ellis 3
Dan Bewley 9 - DENMARK 29
Leon Madsen 9
Rasmus Jensen 13
Mikkel Michelsen 2
Nicki Pedersen 0
Anders Thomsen 5 - AUSTRALIA 27
Max Fricke 7
Jack Holder 8
Jason Doyle 10
Jaimon Lidsey 1
Chris Holder 1
