Speedway Grand Prix

MEDALLING BRITS?

Team Great Britain racer Lee Richardson admits it would be a “major, major achievement” if the Lions win their first Speedway World Cup medals for four years in Vojens on Saturday.

After two seasons of disappointment in the Race-Off, Rob Lyon’s side stormed straight into the Final at Vojens after winning Event Two at King’s Lynn on Monday.

The Lions will meet Event One winners Poland in Denmark, while the Danes, Sweden, Australia and Russia will fight for the two remaining spots when they collide in the Race-Off on Thursday.

Despite going to the Norfolk Arena as favourites, Richardson admits defending champions Poland will be highly fancied to retain the Ove Fundin Trophy. But he believes a rostrum finish would be a fantastic result for Team GB.

The former World Under-21 champion said: “You’ve got to be realistic. The Poles are nigh on gold medallists. They blitzed the opposition on Sunday and the team they’ve got is phenomenal.

“We’re not going to beat them. But if we can pick up a medal, that will be a major, major achievement for Team Great Britain.

“At the end of the day, you can’t buy FIM medals. It’s a true fact. I’m fortunate enough I’ve got gold, silver and bronze ones from various different competitions. They’re hard to come by, so if we can get a medal out of it, it would be fantastic.

“I think we’re pretty even with the other teams that will be in that final. If we can go on and get a medal, that will be a major achievement for us. It would be a massive step.”

Richardson bagged 10 points on Monday night and picked up a vital race win in heat 21 to give Team GB the edge going into the closing stages of the meeting.

This was his only victory of the night, but the Vetlanda and Rzeszow rider was delighted to get it when it mattered most.

He said: “I missed out a little bit with the set-up for the bike. It got better and better as the night went on and when I had to, I came up with the goods, so I was happy.

“I had to win that last one. There was a lot of pressure on me to win it because I hadn’t won a race all night.

“Winning races is what I’m here to do and I was chuffed to bits I got the win and helped Team GB go through.”

Richardson also paid tribute to the 4,810-strong crowd which packed into the Norfolk Arena to create a cauldron of noise and cheer the home team into the Final.

He said: “The support we had from the fans was fantastic. I’ve never seen so many people swinging so many Union Jacks. I think it’s great they were supporting the British team like that. I just hope we can do them proud again on Saturday.”

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