Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren admits this weekend’s ATPI FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Manchester will be “crucial for the championship”.
The sport’s top stars head for the National Speedway Stadium for rounds four and five of the Speedway GP series on Friday and Saturday night, with up to 44 championship points up for grabs across both SGPs.
Lindgren is no stranger to racing in the UK and won FIM Speedway of Nations bronze with Sweden in Manchester last summer.
He will hope to climb two steps higher on the podium this weekend and, with so many points up for grabs, the world No.3 knows the stakes are high.
Lindgren said: “The next rounds could be crucial for the championship, I believe. Manchester is coming up and it’s a back-to-back as well. It’s really crucial.
“I love racing in Britain. Obviously, I did 14 years at Wolverhampton and then I spent last year at Birmingham. I have a really good fanbase in the UK. Manchester is a really cool track and can serve up some great racing.
“We just need to make sure the bikes are working and that can be a challenge sometimes. But I am looking forward to it.”
Lindgren is fifth in the Speedway GP standings on 40 points – putting him 13 behind leader Bartosz Zmarzlik. He was pleased to leave the FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague with second place and 18 championship points on May 31.
“It was a good night for me,” he said. “Going straight to the final was nice. I battled hard all night as usual. I think the gate positions were very important at the beginning – I think gate one won 10 of the first 11 heats.
“It was tough and challenging out there. I am happy with a podium – that’s my first of the season.
“It’s very important for me to be back in the championship hunt. Obviously, I lost points to Bartosz, and he is leading, but I am in the hunt again.”