Danish champion Michael Jepsen Jensen admitted “I don’t think many sports people come back from where I have been” as he makes his FIM Speedway Grand Prix comeback for 2026.
Jepsen Jensen raced to third place at last Saturday’s Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens. His spot in the 2026 SGP series was also confirmed. With MJJ finishing fifth at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted on August 9, he was promoted into next year’s Speedway GP line-up – taking fourth-placed Andzejs Lebedevs’ qualification spot from the Danish event after the Latvian finished sixth in this year’s top-seven automatic qualification places.
Saturday’s event was Jepsen Jensen’s first Speedway GP appearance since 2018, and next season will be his first full campaign in the series since 2015.
Despite largely vanishing from the world stage, the 33-year-old has enjoyed an incredible resurgence in form in the colours of Polish club Grudziadz – joining as an injury replacement for Jason Doyle midway through 2024.
He has established himself as one of the best riders in the world once again, and Jepsen Jensen is proud of his progress. He said: “I don’t think many sports people – not just speedway riders – come back from where I have been.
“I am super proud of this process we have been through. Of course, I am super proud to now be back in the series for next year. I think I belong in this mix. I am sitting next to a few guys who have done an awesome job, and I think I am one of the guys who can mix it with them and battle for this trophy that Bartek (world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik) is holding.
“No matter what happens, even for next year, I have been trying to put myself in a position where I can look myself in the mirror, no matter whether it’s today, tomorrow or in 30 years, and say, ‘I gave it a last go.’
“I had many people destroying things for me, which led me in the wrong direction. Things are going in the right direction now. I am super proud of the team. We have been playing around with a few things for this year and, over the last couple of months, we have been preparing for this to happen – to be part of the series for next year.”
Jepsen Jensen admits a combination of having the right people around him and making the right decisions made all the difference.
He added: “We have been trying very hard to take the right decisions, and I have a few people in the background helping like (my tuner) Peter Johns.
“I went to him a couple of years ago and asked if he wanted to be part of this journey. I won the Danish Championship, which gave me the chance last Saturday. I called him straight after the meeting and said, ‘You’ve got to be there in Vojens to celebrate what we have done for the past one and a half years.’ I am super proud he was there.
“I am super proud of the boys in the pits and the things we have done that have led to this. My biggest support financially has been from E. Trasborg, and without them and that family, I wouldn’t have had any chance to be back here – I would have quit.”
MJJ feared he had blown any chance of success at Vojens after two last places in his opening heats.
He said: “It looked a little bit dark after the first two heats, but we took the right decisions and luckily, I had time to prove better things.
“We swapped bikes, but to be honest, I just think I was in the wrong place at the wrong time for these races going into the first bend. I made some quite okay starts, but I just couldn’t manage to get through. If I wasn’t there on the first lap, it was hard to do much.
“I think it’s cool to have still been able to go into the final. It’s tough in the World Championships. The guys in the final were the top three in the championship this year, and I was the one joining them. Even with a bad start, I still managed to get there, so I am happy and proud.”