Danish shooting star William Drejer insists he won’t give up on FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship gold as he lines up in the Deluxe Homeart FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens on Friday.
Drejer heads into the Weekend of Champions at the home of Danish speedway, placed third in the SGP2 standings on 26 points – 10 short of Poland’s series leader Wiktor Przyjemski, who is on 36 and chasing a second straight FIM Speedway Under-21 world title. Ukraine’s Nazar Parnitskyi is second on 32 as he bids to swap 2024 silver for gold.
While Przyjemski can guarantee the title with first or second place, the Lublin rider is racing for the first time since he suffered injuries while racing for Swedish champions Lejonen in Hallstavik on August 19.
Drejer is determined to pile on the pressure for gold on the weekend Vojens Speedway Center celebrates 50 years of racing by crowning three FIM Speedway world champions over two days. The FIM SGP4 World Championship for the sport’s 190cc 11-13-year-old stars takes place on Saturday morning, with the Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on Saturday night – featuring the epic climax of nail-biting title race between Poland’s Bartosz Zmarzlik and Australia’s Brady Kurtz.
While Drejer hopes to launch Vojens’ Weekend of Champions with home success in SGP2, he is still eligible to compete in the under-21 series for one more season.
But asked if he had his sights set on taking a final shot at the title in 2026, Drejer insisted: “If I win it this weekend, I still have another chance next year! Gold is more fun than silver. When you win silver, you are the first loser. In my mind, I am going for the gold, and we will see what happens.
“It is possible I can go for the gold. But I think the most important thing for me is to take it heat by heat and see where everything ends.”
Drejer knows all about reaching the podium at Vojens. He finished third at the 2023 FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens on his series debut.
The result was even more incredible after he started the night as a track reserve, meaning he wasn’t guaranteed a ride. He also had only four heats to score enough points to reach the semi-finals, while his rivals had five.
Despite that unforgettable performance, Drejer admits part of him was disappointed that he didn’t take the win.
He said: “It was crazy that night. After the meeting, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but maybe just a little. I actually made the start in the final, but I went one metre too far before turning and the other guys came up the inside of me. In the end, I was so happy. It gave me the feeling that I could do it and reach the podium in these big meetings.
“I didn’t really know if I was racing or not. It was just a case of going out and seeing what I could do. That’s what I have tried to put into my meetings since.”
Drejer is joined in Vojens by compatriots Mikkel Andersen, wild card Bastian Pedersen and series substitute Villads Nagel, who was called into the starting line-up as a replacement for injured Slovenian star Anze Grmek.
Andersen joined Drejer’s pit crew last time SGP2 visited Vojens two years ago. “I had Mikkel in my pits, helping me with the setup,” Drejer said.
“That’s kind of funny. Now we are opponents. We also race as teammates for Wroclaw Under-24s in Poland. But we won’t be together on Friday.”
While Drejer is only looking up, he still faces competition to retain his spot in the top three, as DeWalt FIM SGP2 of Latvia – Riga winner Adam Bubba Bednar from Czech Republic is just two points behind in fourth place on 24. Norway’s Mathias Pollestad – an SGP2 bronze medallist in 2024 – is also on 24 in fifth, with Poland’s Kevin Malkiewicz sixth on 22 and Andersen chasing in seventh spot on 20.
Drejer is hopeful a partisan home crowd can give him the edge in a close race for the rostrum. He said: “There were so many fans for SGP2 last time. It was great because maybe it’s more fun to see us. Sometimes crazy things can happen in this championship. It gives us a push in the back when we can see everyone is watching.”
Tickets for the Deluxe Homeart FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens are still available online. Be part of the Weekend of Champions and book your tickets HERE now.
DELUXE HOMEART FIM SGP2 OF DENMARK – VOJENS LINE-UP IN FIM RANKING ORDER WITH RIDER NUMBERS:
999. Mathias Pollestad (Norway)
37. Norick Blodorn (Germany)
97. Mikkel Andersen (Denmark)
505. Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland)
785. Nazar Parnitskyi (Ukraine)
72. Jake Mulford (Great Britain)
545. William Drejer (Denmark)
802. Kevin Malkiewicz (Poland)
310. Jan Przanowski (Poland)
108. Villads Nagel (Denmark – substitute for 226. Anze Grmek)
305. Antoni Mencel (Poland)
43. Casper Henriksson (Sweden)
27. Mitchell McDiarmid (Australia)
79. Adam Bubba Bednar (Czechia)
237. Dan Thompson (Great Britain)
16. Bastian Pedersen (Denmark – wild card)
17. Nicolai Heiselberg (Denmark – first track reserve)
18. Niklas Holm Jakobsen (Denmark – second track reserve)
WHERE TO WATCH
Coverage of the Deluxe Homeart FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens can be enjoyed via HBO Max and discovery+ platforms in markets where these are available. Viewers in other countries around the world can find coverage on the Racer Network HERE.