Swedish racer Fredrik Lindgren was pleased to defy an early crash to roar back into form at the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga last Saturday.
Lindgren finished second at Bikernieki for the third straight season, but his night was threatening to go off-track after he scored just a point in his opening ride and then crashed out of heat seven, picking up some unwanted drive and running into Czech rival Jan Kvech.
Heavy rain then delayed the action for over an hour, and it give Lindgren the time he needed to pick himself up, dust himself down and fight back in fine style as he racked up 18 championship points.
The current world No.3 tightened his grip on the 2025 Speedway GP bronze medal, increasing his lead over Britain’s Dan Bewley, who occupies fourth place, from two points to nine with two rounds left.
Reflecting on his Riga result, Lindgren said: “I am really happy with the result considering that I have had a couple of tough weeks lately in my racing. It didn’t start very well on Saturday either, with one point after two races. I hit the deck in my second one.
“I was a bit battered and bruised and a bit beaten mentally. I had to dig really deep to turn things around and I am really proud that I managed to do that.”
Lindgren admits the rain delay may have played in his favour, even if an hour’s break is never ideal. He said: “It obviously worked for me, but it is always tough for the riders to wait around, wondering about the track conditions.
“It might have worked in my favour here. I’m not sure if it was the weather or the gate positions that I had after the first two heats. I started off with gates two and three, which were pretty poor early on. I had four and one after that and that helped a bit.”
Lindgren heads into the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw, the penultimate round of the series on August 30, determined to strengthen his position on the podium as he aims for what would be a fifth Speedway GP medal this year.
The 2023 silver medallist and three-time bronze winner said: “I’m going to do the best I can in every round, and we will see where we end up. If we can get a medal again, I will take it.”