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NEWSDESK CALLS TO END RUSSIAN BAN T HE growing clamour for the FIM to lift their controversial ban on Russian stars Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov and welcome them back into the Speedway Grand Prix series is gathering momentum. ‘Any support will be appreciated. The more, the better. Thank you for your understanding and help.’ Laguta’s manager Rafal Lewicki responded directly to Majaranta, saying: “Hello, Rolf. Thanks for your message. Great idea. We hope At least one former World Champion, a national team manager, ex-world finalists and other key figures in the sport have voiced strong opinions calling upon the sport’s international governing body to allow two of the world’s current top riders to compete again at the highest level. Why should they continue to be expelled as a consequence of the barbaric actions of a dictator over whom they obviously have no influence? Why punish them for where they happened to be born? they will be back for 2025.” Sayfutdinov’s long-time manager Tomasz Suskiewicz said: “Just make sure you send many letters to the FIM and not to info mail. I think you should send (them) personally to the board people.” Michael Lee, who won the FIM speedway and longtrack World Championship in 1980 and 1981 respectively, has never been afraid to challenge officialdom. An incredulous Lee added: “Amazing SGP can't rise above political crap for these two world class riders.” Polish passport-holders Sayfutdinov and Laguta, who was thrown out of the SGP series he had automatically qualified for without even being given the chance to defend the world title he won in 2021 after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine early in 2022, have continued to race freely in the Polish and British leagues. Laguta stars for Wroclaw, while Sayfutdinov is hugely popular with fans of Torun and of course Ipswich. If it’s good enough for the Poles – who, let’s face it, more or less run world speedway anyway – and the BSPL, why should the FIM deny them another taste of the big-time in their prime racing years? The crazy thing is, the FIM’s ban is not only diluting the quality of its elite speedway championship (Zmarzlik would certainly have faced much tougher opposition in the past three seasons), the lack of genuine title rivals to the five-time World No. 1 must also be costing them in lost ticket sales revenue. Now, after three years in the international wilderness, many are urging the FIM to put politics aside and end this travesty. Fans and frustrated onlookers have long complained in isolation, via social media platforms, but now they have been galvanised by an online Facebook petition group launched last week by 69-year-old Swiss tracksport enthusiast and photographer Rolf MajarantaFlückiger. In the space of five days, the group had attracted more than 1,400 members – and rising by the hour – by the time Speedway Star went to press on Tuesday. Marek Cieślak, who led Poland to an array of World Cup victories at different levels in his 13 years as national boss, said: “I support it as much as possible. You cannot combine politics with the spirit of sport. They did not contribute to the war and I also cannot understand where such absurd decisions come from. It is not right. The Grand Prix has been boring for a few years and brings nothing without these two gentlemen, who deserve to fight for World Championship medals with their results. Respected Swedish TV broadcaster and producer Tommy Rander said: “The competition is called the individual World Championship. It is NOT about national sides. Both riders should be given wild cards and ride under the FIM banner. It would be very rude to ask them to ride under the Polish flag – they would very likely feel extremely bad vis-à-vis other Polish riders. The FIM should not hide behind the Olympic Committee, a body that can't even separate men from women.” Hundreds of supporters from all over the globe have also weighed in with their views. Here is just a flavour of their overwhelming support of the Russians: Lynda Donston: “It is disgusting that the FIM are still banning Emil and Artem from competing in the SGP. What Putin is doing has nothing to do with them, they just want to ride their bikes. Get them back in the GPs.” Based in Solothurn, Majaranta-Flückiger is a long-time friend and former manager of his fellow countryman, 1992 World Longtrack Champion Marcel Gerhard. Rolf’s initial post read: ‘Dear Speedway friends all over the world. Many supporters are disappointed that two of the best riders of the last years are not allowed to compete in the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship. Both are barred from participating in any FIMsanctioned events since 2022, due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In the meantime they can compete again in the team championships of Poland and England with great success. On the other hand, they are missed very much in the World Championship. ‘Many think the competition would be more spectacular, more entertaining and more interesting if they were allowed to participate for 2025. Let's not forget, both have been living in Poland for many years, are fully integrated and are riding with Polish licences. In my opinion the FIM should re-consider their case and let them ride again in the SGP 2025 as wild cards. ‘For which country? I am positive there would be a reasonable solution. Speedway GP is an individual sport. There could be a solution that they would compete as "neutral" competitors. We know that in some other sports, such as tennis, Russians were allowed to compete at the 2024 Olympics. Meredith Sterry: “In other sports worldwide, Russian athletes are permitted to participate, so why is the FIM continuing with their draconian decision to ban both Artem and Emil from competing in the SGP? These riders are not representing Russia but competing as individual athletes, so the decision of the FIM is even more perplexing. “Politics should never dictate any competitors’ participation in any sport.” Andy Hawthorne: “Simply put, the BEST athletes in the world should compete at the highest level and the strangest thing is (I checked earlier), the FIM are the only sporting body I can find still blocking Russians and Belarusians from competing (under a neutral flag). Even other motorsports bodies allow them to compete. Why?” Kenneth Crichton: “World class riders being punished through no fault of their own. Public being cheated as usual.” Eddie Knight: “Russians were in some Olympic events but under a neutral flag. Why can’t they do the same for Emil and Artem?” Malcolm Uzzell pointed out to fellow supporters that Armando Castagna, the current FIM Track Racing Commission director, has no say in the FIM’s decision to bar the Russians. Malcolm wrote: “Armando has no influence over this decision. He helped Emil a lot before and probably still does. Emil always practiced in Lonigo at the beginning of the season and stayed with AC. He is not stopping him from riding in the GP. “The FIM has a worldwide ban on all Russian motorcycle riders riding in FIM events. AC is in charge of track racing, which is just one department of the FIM. The world commission pass the rules down to the various departments. This includes track racing (speedway, ice racing, longtrack, flat-track and motoball). Other departments include, motocross, MotoGP and World Superbikes, as well as many others.” But Malcolm admits he is not optimistic that the FIM will listen to 4 speedway star June 1, 2024
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JUST SAYING... By PETER OAKES WITHIN a couple of weeks, the mighty and good on the FIM Track Racing Bureau will decide on the four permanent wild cards for the 2025 Speedway Grand Prix series. What a difficult task that is going to be… Bartosz Zmarzlik, Robert Lambert, Freddie Lindgren, Martin Vaculik and Dan Bewley have already booked their places by virtue of their performance this season. The sixth automatic returnee will be decided at the final round of this year’s world championship series at Torun, Poland, on Saturday night and it’s a straight fight between three contestants, Mikkel Michelsen, Jack Holder and Dominik Kubera. Michelsen is currently filling the sixth spot with 101 points but is ruled out of the final round by injury and could be overhauled by either Holder (97 points) or, mathematically, by Kubera who is eighth with 88 points. The newly-crowned European (SEC) Champion Andzejs Lebedevs is also automatically seeded through to 2025 and, at the moment, there are only nine places up for grabs, four of which will be wild cards and another four come from the GP Challenge at Pardubice, Czech Republic on Friday, October 4. That line-up includes (as I write) eight of the current SGP field of whom five have yet to book their ticket for next year, namely Holder, Kubera, Max Fricke, Kai Huckenbeck and Jan Kvech. Depending on what happens in Pardubice, the task of picking those four wild cards will become easier, or so much harder. Should all miss out, then they join a growing list of current SGP riders who will be looking to get one of those valuable seeded berths for next year, among them 2017 world no. 1 Jason Doyle, Leon Madsen and Maciej Janowski, as well as almost certainly Michelsen and one of either Holder or Kubera. Doyle has to be a shoo-in based on his pre-injury form which saw him lead the series; Michelsen, likewise, given he would also certainly have made the top six had he remained fit. That would leave just the two seeds to be picked. From Holder the fans who pay to watch world speedway’s biggest occasions. He added: “If they open the door to Emil and Artem, then that opens the door to all Russian motorcycling riders returning to FIM events. Whilst I believe they should do that, the FIM and others seem to believe that whilst the war is ongoing the Russian motorcyclists can’t participate. Until the IOC allow Russians to participate under a Russian flag, the FIM will not allow Russian athletes to race in FIM events. “Although I understand that both Emil and Artem both have Polish passports, and have done for a while, they are still Russians and have competed multiple times for Russia. “Look at ice racing, for example. The sport has been decimated due to Russians not participating in the world championships. “I wish you all good luck in what you are trying to do but, unfortunately, I wouldn’t hold my breath about anything happening anytime soon.” What might persuade the FIM to change its rules and reopen the doors to the two Polish citizens? Stephen Skip Fulcher has a drastic solution that would hit the powers that be where it hurts most. He said: “Just boycott the SGP series. If they won’t listen to what the fans want, then they will soon listen if we don’t go (though it will hurt me not watching).” Report: TONY McDONALD TONY SWALES T HE death of former Middlesbrough rider and track curator Tony Swales, 76, was announced shortly before Speedway Star went to press. Yarm-born Tony began racing in the same Teesside Tigers team as his twin brother Tim, in 1970, and had three more seasons at Cleveland Park, where he was appointed track manager while still riding. Later, he earned much respect for also preparing tracks at Workington, where he was also clerk of the course, Newcastle, Hull, Belle Vue and Redcar. Tony and his wife Catherine have three sons, Jonathan, Jamie and Matthew, who all rode at various times. Jonathan followed him into track maintenance, while Jamie is a co-promoter at Redcar. We would like to send our deepest condolences to Tony’s family and friends at this time. A full tribute will appear in our October 26 issue. or Kubera, Madsen, Janowski and anyone else who takes the FIM’s fancy. Madsen, despite a poor series, is second in the Polish PGE Ekstraliga averages; Janowski, coming in as an injury replacement for five of the last six GPs, finished fifth and fourth in Latvia and Denmark. There are others, outside this season’s regulars who deserve consideration, like Anders Thomson, fifth best Ekstraliga points scorer and Danish Champion again. There are loud voices crying ‘what about the two Polish passport-holding Russians Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov?’ On form alone they should be guaranteed their chance of joining the SGP line-up again – but will it happen? Laguta is still, theoretically, an unbeaten World Champion, having won the title in 2021 before he, like Emil, was banned from the FIM from competing in World Championship meetings because of where they were born and no other reason. They would be, without argument, in anyone’s list of the world’s top 15 riders and there is now a Facebook Group petitioning for them to be awarded a 2025 wild card. The group – SGP 2025 Petition: Wildcards for Emil Sayfutdinov & Artem Laguta – was only created last Thursday and by Tuesday morning (as Speedway Star went to press) membership had grown to more than 1,300 members lobbying for their ban to be lifted. There is little sign that will happen but the pressure on the FIM will only grow as the days, months and new members come and go. And, most specifically, as more sports follow the lead of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that allowed Russian athletes to compete in this year’s Paris Games as long as they took part as individual neutral athletes (AINs). According to the IOC, entries were accepted for athletes to take part in a variety of sports, including canoeing, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, road cycling, rowing, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, tennis and weightlifting. World Athletics, like the FIM, refused to lift their ban on Russians taking part following their country’s invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022. But how long will that ban last and could the FIM go along that road, finally offering 2021 world champ Laguta and bronze medallist Sayfutdinov an opportunity to race at the highest level again? The Facebook campaigners certainly hope so and there is an increasing groundswell of support from fans in most speedway nations. But isn’t 2025 too early? Wouldn’t it be harsh on those competing for one of the four wild cards? Wouldn’t those who miss out be hard done by if, all of a sudden, that number was halved by the stroke of a pen? Could riders who were actually barred from racing in major FIM events be offered an immediate way back in, a decision that would be taken when they were still banned? But maybe there is a way of pleasing everyone without upsetting too many: what about allowing the two Russians to ease their way back into the series via the 2026 GP Challenge? That might not be the best of all worlds – but it certainly wouldn’t be the worst of all worlds for Laguta and Sayfutdinov. BKurtz at the double? ELLE VUE star Brady Kurtz hopes to celebrate a play-off winning double when ATPI Aces visit Leicester tonight (Thursday) for the second leg of their ROWE Motor Oil Premiership Grand Final. By TONY McDONALD Australian star Kurtz again starred for the Manchester club by scoring ?? points in Monday night’s stirring 18-point first leg victory in which his enthralling latemeeting race partnership with Dan Bewley swung the tie very much in Aces’ favour. It was a whirlwind 24 hours for Kurtz, who the previous night had played a prominent role in ROW Rybnik’s promotion to Poland’s top flight with paid 10 points in their narrow aggregate final win against Polonia Bydgoszcz. Kurtz had thrilled Rybnik fans with daring passing moves that earned him a paid 15-point maximum and his team a 10-point first leg lead in last Friday’s home first leg against Polonia. Having topped the Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga (second division) averages this season, no wonder Kurtz is being tipped for future Speedway Grand Prix stardom. Now Rybnik boss Krzysztof Mrozek must try and convince Kurtz to stay with the Sharks, despite efforts by rivals to lure him away. One Belle Vue rider who definitely won’t be continuing with newly-promoted Rybnik in PGE Ekstraliga next season is Kurtz’s team-mate Norick Blodorn. It was confirmed on Monday that the young German has chosen to spend at least another season in Poland’s second tier and will join PSZ Poznan next season. His new team-mates in Poznan will include Leicester’s Ryan Douglas, Bartosz Smektała, Szymon Szlauderbach and Matias Nielsen. n FULL POLISH COVERAGE FROM PAGE 38 September 28, 2024 speedway star 5

NEWSDESK

CALLS TO END RUSSIAN BAN T

HE growing clamour for the FIM to lift their controversial ban on Russian stars Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov and welcome them back into the Speedway Grand Prix series is gathering momentum.

‘Any support will be appreciated. The more, the better. Thank you for your understanding and help.’

Laguta’s manager Rafal Lewicki responded directly to Majaranta, saying: “Hello, Rolf. Thanks for your message. Great idea. We hope

At least one former World Champion, a national team manager, ex-world finalists and other key figures in the sport have voiced strong opinions calling upon the sport’s international governing body to allow two of the world’s current top riders to compete again at the highest level.

Why should they continue to be expelled as a consequence of the barbaric actions of a dictator over whom they obviously have no influence? Why punish them for where they happened to be born?

they will be back for 2025.”

Sayfutdinov’s long-time manager Tomasz Suskiewicz said: “Just make sure you send many letters to the FIM and not to info mail. I think you should send (them) personally to the board people.”

Michael Lee, who won the FIM speedway and longtrack World Championship in 1980 and 1981 respectively, has never been afraid to challenge officialdom. An incredulous Lee added: “Amazing SGP can't rise above political crap for these two world class riders.”

Polish passport-holders Sayfutdinov and Laguta, who was thrown out of the SGP series he had automatically qualified for without even being given the chance to defend the world title he won in 2021 after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine early in 2022, have continued to race freely in the Polish and British leagues. Laguta stars for Wroclaw, while Sayfutdinov is hugely popular with fans of Torun and of course Ipswich.

If it’s good enough for the Poles – who, let’s face it, more or less run world speedway anyway – and the BSPL, why should the FIM deny them another taste of the big-time in their prime racing years?

The crazy thing is, the FIM’s ban is not only diluting the quality of its elite speedway championship (Zmarzlik would certainly have faced much tougher opposition in the past three seasons), the lack of genuine title rivals to the five-time World No. 1 must also be costing them in lost ticket sales revenue.

Now, after three years in the international wilderness, many are urging the FIM to put politics aside and end this travesty.

Fans and frustrated onlookers have long complained in isolation, via social media platforms, but now they have been galvanised by an online Facebook petition group launched last week by 69-year-old Swiss tracksport enthusiast and photographer Rolf MajarantaFlückiger. In the space of five days, the group had attracted more than 1,400 members – and rising by the hour – by the time Speedway Star went to press on Tuesday.

Marek Cieślak, who led Poland to an array of World Cup victories at different levels in his 13 years as national boss, said: “I support it as much as possible. You cannot combine politics with the spirit of sport. They did not contribute to the war and I also cannot understand where such absurd decisions come from. It is not right. The Grand Prix has been boring for a few years and brings nothing without these two gentlemen, who deserve to fight for World Championship medals with their results.

Respected Swedish TV broadcaster and producer Tommy Rander said: “The competition is called the individual World Championship. It is NOT about national sides. Both riders should be given wild cards and ride under the FIM banner. It would be very rude to ask them to ride under the Polish flag – they would very likely feel extremely bad vis-à-vis other Polish riders. The FIM should not hide behind the Olympic Committee, a body that can't even separate men from women.”

Hundreds of supporters from all over the globe have also weighed in with their views. Here is just a flavour of their overwhelming support of the Russians:

Lynda Donston: “It is disgusting that the FIM are still banning Emil and Artem from competing in the SGP. What Putin is doing has nothing to do with them, they just want to ride their bikes. Get them back in the GPs.”

Based in Solothurn, Majaranta-Flückiger is a long-time friend and former manager of his fellow countryman, 1992 World Longtrack Champion Marcel Gerhard. Rolf’s initial post read:

‘Dear Speedway friends all over the world. Many supporters are disappointed that two of the best riders of the last years are not allowed to compete in the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship. Both are barred from participating in any FIMsanctioned events since 2022, due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In the meantime they can compete again in the team championships of Poland and England with great success. On the other hand, they are missed very much in the World Championship.

‘Many think the competition would be more spectacular, more entertaining and more interesting if they were allowed to participate for 2025. Let's not forget, both have been living in Poland for many years, are fully integrated and are riding with Polish licences. In my opinion the

FIM should re-consider their case and let them ride again in the SGP 2025 as wild cards.

‘For which country? I am positive there would be a reasonable solution. Speedway GP is an individual sport. There could be a solution that they would compete as "neutral" competitors. We know that in some other sports, such as tennis, Russians were allowed to compete at the 2024 Olympics.

Meredith Sterry: “In other sports worldwide, Russian athletes are permitted to participate, so why is the FIM continuing with their draconian decision to ban both Artem and Emil from competing in the SGP? These riders are not representing Russia but competing as individual athletes, so the decision of the FIM is even more perplexing.

“Politics should never dictate any competitors’ participation in any sport.”

Andy Hawthorne: “Simply put, the BEST athletes in the world should compete at the highest level and the strangest thing is (I checked earlier), the FIM are the only sporting body I can find still blocking Russians and Belarusians from competing (under a neutral flag). Even other motorsports bodies allow them to compete. Why?”

Kenneth Crichton: “World class riders being punished through no fault of their own. Public being cheated as usual.”

Eddie Knight: “Russians were in some Olympic events but under a neutral flag. Why can’t they do the same for Emil and Artem?”

Malcolm Uzzell pointed out to fellow supporters that Armando Castagna, the current FIM Track Racing Commission director, has no say in the FIM’s decision to bar the Russians. Malcolm wrote: “Armando has no influence over this decision. He helped Emil a lot before and probably still does. Emil always practiced in Lonigo at the beginning of the season and stayed with AC. He is not stopping him from riding in the GP.

“The FIM has a worldwide ban on all Russian motorcycle riders riding in FIM events. AC is in charge of track racing, which is just one department of the FIM. The world commission pass the rules down to the various departments. This includes track racing (speedway, ice racing, longtrack, flat-track and motoball). Other departments include, motocross, MotoGP and World Superbikes, as well as many others.”

But Malcolm admits he is not optimistic that the FIM will listen to

4 speedway star June 1, 2024

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