Idag gick Discovery Sports ut med nyheten att vinnaren av 2023 års SM Final som avgörs i Målilla den 27 juni får ett Wild Card till FIM Speedway GP of Sweden den 15 juli.
Den 27 juni avgörs det vem som tar hem titeln svensk mästare 2023 men det är inte bara guldmedaljen som blir belöningen till vinnaren. Plats nummer 16 i FIM Speedway GP of Sweden ligger nämligen i prispotten som det ska köras om på Skrotfrag Arena om tre månader.
Sverige har ju som bekant redan två förare i startlistan för hela Grand Prix-serien och skulle Fredrik Lindgren eller Kim Nilsson stå som vinnare i SM Finalen så går Wild Cardet till den bäst placerade föraren som inte redan har en plats i SGP.
Här följer hela pressmeddelandet med kommentarer som skickade ut under eftermiddagen.
SWEDISH CHAMPION CERTAIN OF MALILLA SPEEDWAY GP SPOT
The 2023 Swedish Championship winner will be guaranteed a place in the FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on July 15.
The Swedish Championship Final also takes place at Malilla’s famous Skrotfrag Arena on Tuesday, June 27, when the nation’s top 16 riders will battle it out for the national title won by Oliver Berntzon in 2022.
The winner will then line up in Sweden’s biggest speedway event, the FIM Swedish Speedway GP, joining world No.4 Fredrik Lindgren and 2022 FIM GP Challenge winner Kim Nilsson.
If Lindgren or Nilsson win the Swedish Championship, the Malilla wild card will be handed to the highest-placed non-Speedway GP rider.
Sweden’s biggest speedway weekend also features the sport’s brightest under-16 stars as the FIM SGP3 Final takes place at the Skrotfrag Arena on Friday, July 14, when the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship winner will be crowned.
There will also be an SGP4 event ahead of the FIM Swedish Speedway GP on the Malilla training track, featuring youngsters racing on the brand-new 190cc bike designed by Sweden’s six-time world champion Tony Rickardsson to train the sport’s newest stars.
Before the sport’s biggest names and future heroes head to the Skrotfrag Arena in July, Peter Samuelsson from the Malilla Motorklubb looks forward to seeing who will earn the right to race in the FIM Swedish Speedway GP as wild card.
He said: “We have a very special summer of racing ahead in Malilla, starting with the Swedish Championship Final. Of course the goal that night will be to become Swedish champion, but the chance to race as the FIM Swedish Speedway GP wild card only raises the stakes.
“Competition for the No.16 race jacket will be fierce and it will be fascinating to see who joins Fredrik and Kim in Malilla on July 15.
“With the SGP3 and SGP4 events also being staged in Malilla, this is one of the most action-packed FIM Speedway weekends we have hosted since Speedway GP first came to the Skrotfrag Arena in 2005.
“With our campsite located close to the stadium, allowing fans to stay close to the track and meet up with visitors and friends from all over Europe, this truly will be a weekend of racing and entertainment not to be missed.”
Mikael Karlsson, track racing sports manager for Swedish governing body SVEMO, commented: “We are pleased that the SGP Commission accepted this year’s Swedish Championship winner as our Malilla wild card.
“This is a golden opportunity for a rider to write their name in the history books as Swedish champion and then show what they can do against the best speedway riders in the world.
“We saw Oliver Berntzon finish as the highest-scoring rider of all 15 countries in the FIM Speedway of Nations last summer and now Kim Nilsson is making his Speedway GP debut. We look forward to seeing who takes their chance to shine this season.”
Tickets for the FIM Swedish Speedway GP weekend in Malilla, including access to the FIM SGP3 Final and SGP4 event, are already on sale. Secure your spot at the Skrotfrag Arena here now: https://secure.tickster.com/sv/27pj8wpgxzj1va9/selectproductgroup