Speedway Grand Prix

THE AJ FACTOR

Swedish international Freddie Lindgren admits having “maybe the best rider in Sweden” back for the Speedway World Cup Race-Off has given his nation’s hopes of reaching the Final a massive boost.

Grand Prix star Andreas Jonsson takes the struggling Daniel Nermark’s place in the team at Vojens tonight after recovering from muscle inflammation in his shoulder blade.

There is no doubt the Swedes missed their national champion as they finished third in Event Two at King’s Lynn behind Team Great Britain and Australia on Monday.

Despite a nightmare start for the Scandinavians, they turned their night around towards the end and finished just 11 points behind Team GB.

And Lindgren admits their chances of reaching the SWC Final on Saturday will be even greater with Jonsson in their ranks as they push for a top two finish in the Race-Off.

He said: “He’s a top class performer; he’s one of the best, maybe the best rider in Sweden at the moment. He always puts in 100 percent and it will be good to have him back.”

While Denmark go into tonight’s meeting with home advantage on their side, Lindgren says the Vojens circuit holds no fears for the Swedes.

He said: “We’ve done well at Vojens in the past and the track doesn’t scare us. We’re pretty positive about it being there, but it will be tough with Denmark in the meeting as well as ourselves, Australia and Russia.

“Two teams have to finish the World Cup for this year, but we will fight until the end and hopefully we will get to the Final.”

The Swedes could have progressed directly into the SWC Final as Event Two winners. But their chances vanished following an horrific start to their evening, which saw them bag just five points from their opening eight races.

Lindgren was leading heat one until it was stopped after Finnish racer Timo Lahti fell at the back. He was harshly excluded from the re-run following a first-turn collision with Britain’s Scott Nicholls.

Skipper Magnus Zetterstrom then suffered terrible misfortune in race four, when he threw a primary chain on the final turn and plummeted from first to last.

But Lindgren says the Swedes are determined to put this nightmare behind them as they prepare for battle in Vojens.

He said: “It was very tough, especially with the start we got with me getting excluded in the first heat and Magnus suffering an engine failure on his way to the finish line. That was a very tough start for us and we didn’t really get back into it.

“We fought all we could, but it wasn’t happening. That’s the way it works. We would have liked to go straight through, but the Brits were up for it. They rode fantastic all evening and didn’t throw any points away.

“We have to drain our minds now, leave this behind us and focus on the Race-Off.”

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