Speedway’s next generation of superstars fought it out at Teterow in Germany today in two Semi Finals to decide the starting line-up for the 2024 FIM Speedway Youth World Championship (SGP3) Final.
With a total of thirty-six riders aged under sixteen on 250cc machines spread across both Semi Finals and just eight riders progressing from each to the SGP3 Final – scheduled for this coming Friday (28 June) at the famous Edward Jancarz Stadium in Gorzow, Poland – competition was fierce with two riders emerging clear of the rest.
As the best-performing riders from the 2023 SGP3 Final in the Swedish city of Malilla in action today, Poland’s Maksymilian Pawełczak and William Cairns from Great Britain were tipped to excel and the pair followed the form guide. Competing in different Semi Finals, both showed their class with unbeaten performances to set up a thrilling showdown in Gorzow in six days’ time.
Racing in the opening Semi Final of the programme, Pawełczak – who won his Semi Final last year before going on to finish as runner-up in Malilla – was unstoppable, demonstrating his mastery over five blocks of Heats on the challenging surface.
Following the opening block of racing Pawełczak shared the lead with home rider Carlos Gennerich, Slovenia’s Sven Cerjak – who was sixth in the 2023 SGP Final – and highly-rated Dane Villads Pedersen who narrowly missed out on a top-ten finish last year in Malilla.
Pawełczak and Pedersen both added another win in the second block of Heat races to pull clear of the field as Polish hopeful Karol Szmyd and Great Britain’s Cooper Rushen also emerged as contenders for a place in the Final with victories, before the turning point came in the third block where the leading pair went head-to-head.
With his third win of the programme, Pawełczak moved into an uncontested lead and two further victories ensured maximum points and a place in Gorzow as he threw down the gauntlet to his rivals. Having dropped a point, Pedersen then signed off with two controlled wins to book his place in the Final with Cerjak claiming the third step of the podium, one point further off the pace.
2024 FIM SGP3 World Championship at Teterow, Germany © Jesper Veldhuizen
Despite failing to finish his first Heat, Szmyd’s three wins were good another for fourth and Australia’s Jordy Loftus also picked up a Heat victory on his way to fifth ahead of the Czech Republic’s Adam Nejezchleba and Leo Klasson from Sweden. The final place in Gorzow was claimed by Rushen who survived a disqualification for a false start in his third Heat to narrowly go through.
Having watched Pawełczak progress with a perfect score, Cairns started the second Semi Final with a point to prove and he did not disappoint. Tying for the lead after the opening block of Heats with Poland’s Maksymilian Kostera, Czech challenger Karel Prusa and Denmark’s Jacob Bolcho Pedersen, Cairns added another win in his second Heat which saw him sharing the top spot with Pedersen.
Australian Beau Bailey, who won his Semi Final last season before racing to ninth in Malilla, was among the pre-event favourites and after dropping a point to Cairns first time out he responded immediately with a victory in his second Heat, but the damage had already been done.
With a victory over Pedersen in their third Heat tying him for second with the Dane, Bailey signed off with two more wins to pull himself clear in second, but there was no catching Cairns whose five-race win-streak was a perfect response to Pawełczak’s clean sweep earlier in the day.
Pedersen was a comfortable third from his compatriot Elias Jamil Jensen with Kostera adding another Heat win on his way to fifth. The remaining three places in the SGP3 Final went to Sweden’s Casper Appelgren, Prusa and French rider Noah Urda who needed a second-placed finish in his final Heat to make the cut.
The focus now shifts to the Edward Jancarz Stadium in Gorzow, Poland, on 28 June where riders from eight different nations will battle it out to become the 2024 FIM Speedway Youth World Champion.