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VOLUME 73 NUMBER 34 8 COPPERGATE MEWS, BRIGHTON ROAD, SURBITON, SURREY, KT6 5NE EDITORIAL Telephone: (020) 8335 1113 E-mail: star@pinegen.co.uk Editor: Andrew Skeels Assistant editor: Tony McDonald News and feature writers: Paul Burbidge, Peter Oakes and Phil Lanning Art editor: Mick Smith Production editor: Mark Frankham Front cover design: Jeff Davies CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions manager: Dave Fairbrother Telephone: (020) 8335 1113 (9 am-2.30 pm) E-mail: subs@pinegen.co.uk Or visit www.speedwaystar.net and click on the subscriptions link. SUBSCRIPTION RATES UK (52 issues): ......................................£128 UK (26 issues): ........................................£65 UK (13 issues): ........................................£33 EUROPE (52 issues): ............................£144 EUROPE (26 issues): ..............................£74 USA (52 issues):....................................£164 USA (26 issues):......................................£84 REST OF WORLD (52 issues) ................£174 REST OF WORLD (26 issues): ..................£89 DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS www.exacteditions.com/speedwaystar ADVERTISING Advertising manager: Mick Hooker Office: 01279 771125 Mobile: 07957 814639 E-mail: coveadv@gmail.com ACCOUNTS Accounts manager: Marina Abbott Telephone: (020) 8335 1104 E-mail: accounts@pinegen.co.uk Speedway Star is published by the proprietors Pinegen Limited. Printed by: Warners Midlands PLC Printers Distributed by: Seymour Distribution Ltd., 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper © copyright 2024 Pinegen Limited NEWSDESK C Emil Sayfutdinov ROATIAN promoter Darija Pavlic says the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series can ill afford to be without Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov after offering both riders Croatian licences in a bid to revive their world title dreams. Former World Champion Laguta and three-time SGP bronze medallist Sayfutdinov were suspended from the series on the eve of the 2022 season following their native country Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Polish citizens returned to the sport in 2023, racing on PZM licences, but this was on the condition that they would not be selected for the national team or compete in the SGP series or its qualifiers. With the Poles unwilling to change this stance, it appears their only hope of a SGP comeback is to seek an alternative licence and fight their way through the qualification rounds. Pavlic would love to see both men back on the world stage and she is willing to facilitate a Croatian (Hrvatski Motociklisticki Savez) licence for the pair, should they wish to push for a place in the GP Challenge. She fears failing to act would deprive the series of two of its biggest stars for longer – something the sport cannot afford. Pavlic said: “In speedway as a sport, we do not have hundreds of riders like you would find in MotoGP or motocross. We really need to work on the quality of riders. The fact is these two riders belong in Speedway GP. “It’s not only me; thousands CROATIA GP OFFER TO RUSSIAN of fans want to see them race. People who love speedway deserve that. “There’s nothing political here. I just really, really love this sport and I would do anything to find a way to get them in. It’s not that easy and I understand all the other parties’ views. I can understand that the Polish federation has riders who were born in Poland and they want to protect them. “But I am here for the sake of speedway – no other interests. Artem was champion and Emil was third in the championship in 2021. Artem is at the top of the PGE Ekstraliga averages in the strongest league in the world this year. “This option is something we need to talk about if we ever want to see them back in Speedway GP. If not, everybody will give up, the riders will give up and probably retire in five, seven, eight years.” Both riders are aware of Pavlic’s proposal and it’s nothing unusual for a rider from one country to take the licence of another, with numerous Aussies who live in the UK opting for British ACU licences over the years on cost grounds. “It’s an option that’s out there,” Pavlic said. “We talked about it before – even two years ago. The Croatian federation is open for them and we don’t have other riders, although we are a speedway country. “You have Italian riders who start on a San Marino licence in flat-track. San Marino sends the guy to any individual World Championship event. We can do Ford moving on P OOLE owner Matt Ford says he is already making plans for Pirates’ Cab Direct Championship title defence in 2025 after confirming he recruited a new heat leader last week. Ford jetted in from his French chateau last Wednesday to watch Pirates overturn a 51-39 first-leg loss at Oxford to win their third Championship crown in four seasons, 95-85 on aggregate, following a Grand Final thriller at Wimborne Road last Wednesday. Pirates never stand still and Ford confirmed he made a 2025 signing on the eve of the Grand Final decider. Ford famously recruited Rory Schlein just before the 2021 campaign following the departure of Adam Ellis. He saw Richard Lawson make an unexpected move to the club for 2022 when he backed out of a move to Plymouth. Pirates then snared Great Britain international Tom Brennan for this year after he decided against dropping the Championship from his schedule. Speaking after the latest title triumph, Ford revealed that another big gun offered himself to Poole for 2025. While the 11time league-winning boss is keeping the rider’s identity quiet for now, he confirmed he is a current Championship rider and one he could not pass up the chance to sign as he pledges to build another title-challenging side. He said: “For next year, we have another rider, another heat leader, who phoned me and said: ‘I want to be at Poole’. The deal was done. Sometimes when you get riders contact you like this, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. You take it and make the most of it. “We will be there or thereabouts next year. I am not saying we will win it but we will be there or thereabouts, as will Oxford and one or two other clubs. “I can’t say any more. The deal was only done on Tuesday night last week. The points limit was effectively set and then changed by five clubs. It then meant another option came up. While they were still in a meeting, I’d done a contract with another rider.” With Poole planning for life in the Championship, it appears there are no plans to take a club that still ranks as one of Britain’s biggest – if not the biggest – back into the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership. Asked if he would entertain the idea of stepping back into 2 speedway star October 19, 2024
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N ACES the same because we have allocations – places in the Speedway GP qualification rounds. If the federation nominates them, they can start. “This is nothing illegal and everything is being done according to the regulations and rules. If we all want to find a way to bring them back into the GPs, maybe we can.” It’s unclear whether both Laguta and Sayfutdinov would get a place in the SGP qualifiers in the same season if they opted to race on Croatian licences. But Pavlic is certain she could accommodate at least one. “Croatia can get at least one place without a problem,” she said. “The number of places is always decided by how many riders you have in total. But every country and national the league Pirates departed at the end of 2019, Ford insisted: “I have made it abundantly clear that until the Premiership will allow our club to ride on a Wednesday, we will not be going back up. We are quite happy where we are. This is working perfectly. “You saw the crowd for the Grand Final. There isn’t a Premiership crowd like that. None of them get crowds like that. “We rode on a Thursday for one year and our crowds dropped by 22 per cent – and we were champions at the time. It’s not happening again. Only fools want to give their money away and I don’t class myself as a fool.” Ford may not give his money away, but he nearly saw a second straight Championship crown slip from Pirates’ grasp as Oxford put up a huge fight, leading the tie by 14 points after the opening race in Dorset. federation has the right to at least one spot in every qualification. The FIM would never say zero if you ask for one.” Even if the triple Speedway of Nations world champions were licensed by the HMS, Pavlic says they may have to race with the Polish flag on their chest, with the Russian one banned and competing with no flag or as stateless athletes not an option under FIM rules. She said: “Everybody confuses your flag and your federation. They cannot start under the Croatian flag – they need a passport for that, so that’s not an option. “You can change your federation every year if you want to – it could be whichever federation is closest to the rider or the one from the country they live in. If the federation is willing to nominate the rider for the different championships, then that’s okay. “I am not sure if they want to race with the Polish flag. Everybody talks about them racing with a neutral flag but I don’t see any legal option for them to get a neutral flag.” One huge stumbling block to Laguta and Sayfutdinov switching to HMS is the fact that they race in Poland’s PGE Ekstraliga as Polish-licensed riders. With each club forced to pick two Polish seniors in their starting line-up, the pair are far more valuable to teams as Poles. As two of the best in a relatively small group of riders, the laws of supply and demand dictate that both men would potentially command more lucrative contracts as Poles than if they raced as “It was honestly one of the hardest finals,” Ford said. “I know it sounds strange because you would think riding in the Elite League, or Premiership as it now is, would be tougher. But it isn’t. It doesn’t matter what level of the sport it is; if you find yourself in any final, it’s incredibly tough. “Oxford were really in the ascendancy after the first leg. To be honest, I almost thought about not coming over. I thought it was a done deal. But then I saw the weather was changing and I only booked a flight on the Tuesday morning. I’m so happy I came across and witnessed this spectacle – an absolutely incredible meeting by two great teams. “That’s trophy No. 30 for Neil Middleditch and I and No. 7 for Dan since he has been here. One incredible stat is that since we’ve been in this league, in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 there have been 10 finals and we have been WHAT’S ON FIXTURES: OCTOBER international riders. Pavlic knows this is a consideration for the riders and their clubs, who are limited to just two international seniors. Wroclaw already boast Dan Bewley and are rumoured to be signing Brady Kurtz, while Torun have Robert Lambert and Mikkel Michelsen lined up for 2025. “We always said everybody would think of their clubs first to protect their position and contract,” Pavlic said. “For them, the Polish league is No. 1 and I can understand that. It’s never an option to make problems there. “We need to respect the PZM and the PGE Ekstraliga because they have built something that nobody else has. We cannot disrespect any of the people involved. “If you make them choose between the league and the GP, which may happen in 2026, the league is somewhere you make your living and earn money for your family and that’s tough. I understand that. “But does that mean we should lose quality and prestige in Speedway GP and have riders choosing something else over the World Championship? I don’t think we can allow that either.” Pavlic’s very public offer of a solution to the SGP outcasts is a brave one in a hostile political climate, which has seen the Polish in all 10. “What a legacy Dan is bringing to this club. I am proud of him and everyone connected with Poole Speedway – the people who help us financially and make it all possible. I’m very happy.” When Pirates made a lastminute swoop for Brennan, forcing them to drop Anders Rowe and Kyle Newman from their plans, they had to look for a 4.00 rider to fill the gap in the side. Ford took advantage of a little-known rule to bring in Danish star Tobias Thomsen – the fact he only raced in Denmark’s second tier gave him a 4.00 assessed figure rather than the usual 5.00 for Super League riders. “Occasionally people can miss a trick,” Ford said. “There was a rule and it was open to us all, allowing us to take any of the guys from the Danish second division on a four- THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17 Oxford v Poole (Championship KO Cup Final) 7.30 pm federation take a hardline stance on keeping the two riders off the world stage. Despite her role as a jury president at FIM events and a key member of the FIM Track Racing Commission, Pavlic admirably refuses to remain silent when it comes to supporting two stars of the sport. “I’m not thinking about positions, titles or money,” she said. “For me, it’s just about speedway. I will always stand by their side, even when it is controversial or nobody else would speak up. “We need to take care of our riders – otherwise we will lose them. It’s really easy to lose them. I watch my brother (Jurica Pavlic) practice and Matej Zagar comes here too. He hasn’t raced anything other than our GP this year. “It’s easy for them to say they’ve had enough. But we need to fight for each of these speedway riders. They are a rare species.” Artem Laguta point average. “Tobi hadn’t really achieved anything here before. He was really not very good at Birmingham in 2019. But people hadn’t noticed his improvement, so we picked him up on a 4.00 average. When it came to it, that aggression was there – he’s like a Viking. He was just awesome.” While Ford enjoyed another night of celebration, he did spare a thought for Oxford reserve Luke Killeen and admits his withdrawal from the second leg due to concussion cost Cheetahs dearly. He said: “One reason we won this final was the injury to Luke. I think he’s an exceptionally good young rider and he was awesome at their place. He was great here last time too. “If he had ridden the whole match fit, it could well have been a different result. I am a realist about these things. Luke’s absence for them played a part.” Report: PAUL BURBIDGE October 19, 2024 speedway star 3

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VOLUME 73 NUMBER 34

8 COPPERGATE MEWS, BRIGHTON ROAD, SURBITON,

SURREY, KT6 5NE

EDITORIAL

Telephone: (020) 8335 1113 E-mail: star@pinegen.co.uk Editor: Andrew Skeels Assistant editor: Tony McDonald News and feature writers: Paul Burbidge, Peter Oakes and Phil Lanning Art editor: Mick Smith Production editor: Mark Frankham Front cover design: Jeff Davies

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions manager: Dave Fairbrother Telephone: (020) 8335 1113 (9 am-2.30 pm) E-mail: subs@pinegen.co.uk Or visit www.speedwaystar.net and click on the subscriptions link.

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Accounts manager: Marina Abbott Telephone: (020) 8335 1104 E-mail: accounts@pinegen.co.uk Speedway Star is published by the proprietors Pinegen Limited. Printed by: Warners Midlands PLC Printers Distributed by: Seymour Distribution Ltd., 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper

© copyright 2024 Pinegen Limited

NEWSDESK C

Emil Sayfutdinov

ROATIAN promoter Darija Pavlic says the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series can ill afford to be without Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov after offering both riders Croatian licences in a bid to revive their world title dreams.

Former World Champion Laguta and three-time SGP bronze medallist Sayfutdinov were suspended from the series on the eve of the 2022 season following their native country Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Polish citizens returned to the sport in 2023, racing on PZM licences, but this was on the condition that they would not be selected for the national team or compete in the SGP series or its qualifiers.

With the Poles unwilling to change this stance, it appears their only hope of a SGP comeback is to seek an alternative licence and fight their way through the qualification rounds.

Pavlic would love to see both men back on the world stage and she is willing to facilitate a Croatian (Hrvatski Motociklisticki Savez) licence for the pair, should they wish to push for a place in the GP Challenge.

She fears failing to act would deprive the series of two of its biggest stars for longer – something the sport cannot afford.

Pavlic said: “In speedway as a sport, we do not have hundreds of riders like you would find in MotoGP or motocross. We really need to work on the quality of riders. The fact is these two riders belong in Speedway GP.

“It’s not only me; thousands

CROATIA GP OFFER TO RUSSIAN

of fans want to see them race. People who love speedway deserve that.

“There’s nothing political here. I just really, really love this sport and I would do anything to find a way to get them in. It’s not that easy and I understand all the other parties’ views. I can understand that the Polish federation has riders who were born in Poland and they want to protect them.

“But I am here for the sake of speedway – no other interests. Artem was champion and Emil was third in the championship in 2021. Artem is at the top of the PGE Ekstraliga averages in the strongest league in the world this year.

“This option is something we need to talk about if we ever want to see them back in

Speedway GP. If not, everybody will give up, the riders will give up and probably retire in five, seven, eight years.”

Both riders are aware of Pavlic’s proposal and it’s nothing unusual for a rider from one country to take the licence of another, with numerous Aussies who live in the UK opting for British ACU licences over the years on cost grounds.

“It’s an option that’s out there,” Pavlic said. “We talked about it before – even two years ago. The Croatian federation is open for them and we don’t have other riders, although we are a speedway country.

“You have Italian riders who start on a San Marino licence in flat-track. San Marino sends the guy to any individual World Championship event. We can do

Ford moving on P

OOLE owner Matt Ford says he is already making plans for Pirates’ Cab Direct Championship title defence in 2025 after confirming he recruited a new heat leader last week.

Ford jetted in from his French chateau last Wednesday to watch Pirates overturn a 51-39 first-leg loss at Oxford to win their third Championship crown in four seasons, 95-85 on aggregate, following a Grand Final thriller at Wimborne Road last Wednesday.

Pirates never stand still and Ford confirmed he made a 2025 signing on the eve of the Grand Final decider.

Ford famously recruited Rory Schlein just before the 2021 campaign following the departure of Adam Ellis. He saw Richard Lawson make an unexpected move to the club for 2022 when he backed out of a move to Plymouth. Pirates then snared Great Britain international

Tom Brennan for this year after he decided against dropping the Championship from his schedule.

Speaking after the latest title triumph, Ford revealed that another big gun offered himself to Poole for 2025. While the 11time league-winning boss is keeping the rider’s identity quiet for now, he confirmed he is a current Championship rider and one he could not pass up the chance to sign as he pledges to build another title-challenging side.

He said: “For next year, we have another rider, another heat leader, who phoned me and said: ‘I want to be at Poole’. The deal was done. Sometimes when you get riders contact you like this, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. You take it and make the most of it.

“We will be there or thereabouts next year. I am not saying we will win it but we will be there or thereabouts, as will Oxford and one or two other clubs.

“I can’t say any more. The deal was only done on Tuesday night last week. The points limit was effectively set and then changed by five clubs. It then meant another option came up. While they were still in a meeting, I’d done a contract with another rider.”

With Poole planning for life in the Championship, it appears there are no plans to take a club that still ranks as one of Britain’s biggest – if not the biggest – back into the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.

Asked if he would entertain the idea of stepping back into

2 speedway star October 19, 2024

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