Czech talent Adam Bubba Bednar admits he was determined to take his chance to shine as an FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship wild card after winning the DeWalt FIM SGP2 of Latvia – Riga on Friday.
Bednar became the first-ever Czech winner of an SGP2 round after triumphing in a final thriller ahead of Ukrainian racer Nazar Parnitskyi in second place and Poland’s reigning SGP2 champion Wiktor Przyjemski in third.
Przyjemski leaves Bikernieki with a four-point lead at the top of the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship standings on 36, with Parnitskyi chasing hard on 32 in second spot ahead of the title-deciding Deluxe Homeart FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens on September 12.
But this night belonged to 17-year-old sensation Bednar – the next rising star of Czech speedway. The Prague racer scored just one race point from his first two heats, scraping into the last-chance qualifiers by a point on eight in total.
He then won LCQ1 to take his place in a final thriller. The race was stopped twice, and Bednar took charge at the third time of asking, sending his fans in Czechia wild with an historic win.
Having taken his place in the championship as a permanent wild card, the Stal Gorzow rider was pleased to prove he belongs on junior speedway’s biggest stage.
“It’s amazing!” he enthused. “I am very tired after this. It was very hard because I had a very bad start to this meeting. After the second race, we changed the setup. I changed everything on the bike – the sprocket, the jetting, the ignition – everything.
“It’s my first year in SGP2. I want to show everyone what I can do because they gave me the wild card. I was very happy with that and now I am even happier.”
Speedway is surging in Czechia as national champion Jan Kvech continues to establish himself as a full-time Speedway GP rider.
Bednar dreams of rivalling his Prague club teammate one day. He said: “Jan and I are really good friends, but one day I want to be the better guy. We are rivals in Czechia and of course Jan is still a little better. But in the future, I want to be better than Jan.”
Bednar’s Riga win leaves him fourth in the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship on 24 points – 12 behind leader Przyjemski, but just two short of third-placed Danish star William Drejer, who has 26. A place on the podium is very much up for grabs when Bednar contests the final round in Vojens. But he insisted: “I just want to enjoy the meeting and if I can get a good position, we will see. Time will tell what happens in Vojens. There is still a lot of time to go until the last round. I would love to win again, but I need to enjoy my racing first and then hopefully the performance will follow.”
Parnitskyi won SGP2 silver in 2024 and took second place in Riga on Friday – following up his victory at Bikernieki last year.
That was the biggest win by a Ukrainian rider since the country parted from the Soviet Union, but there’s no doubt an FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship win would be huge.
“We will see how it goes in the last round,” he said. “We will do everything we can to make progress and make my racing good. I will put a lot of effort into that and the final round.
“Last year it was a 10-point gap between me and Wiktor. This year it is four. Obviously, I will do my best to catch him, but we will need to wait until the final round in Vojens and time will tell who is going to be the best.
“I feel good after this. My start in the final was not good. But I am very happy about the final and the way we fought on this track. I think it was very good for the fans that they could watch some good racing and overtaking.”
Riga was hit by heavy rain on Thursday night and Friday morning, with local organisers working wonders to deliver safe racing, which hotted up nicely as the night progressed.
Przyjemski was pleased with track conditions as he maintained his SGP2 lead. He said: “It was a good afternoon. I am very happy that we showed the fans some good racing on this track. The most important thing is third place, and I am happy with this. I know it rained a lot in Riga, but the track was prepared perfectly. It offered a few lines for racing and that’s why I struggled a little bit with the bike adjustments. Sometimes you cannot find the right setup, but I am happy with third place.
“Nazar closed the gap to four points in the championship, but as he said, it will all be decided in Vojens. We hope the racing will be interesting there.”
Saturday night sees the sport’s senior stars take centre stage for the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga – round eight of the Speedway GP World Championship series.