Danish racer Leon Madsen is determined to ease the pressure in his quest for 2027 Speedway GP qualification at the DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on Saturday.
Madsen heads to the Kujawy Pomorze Motoarena Torun placed fifth in the World Championship standings on 90 points. But only the top seven riders qualify for next season, and Max Fricke, Kacper Woryna and Patryk Dudek in sixth, seventh and eighth respectively are just a point behind, all tied on 89, as the title race reaches an epic climax this weekend.
Should Madsen drop out of the top seven, he could still qualify for the 2027 SGP series by winning the Speedway European Championship. He jointly leads the SEC standings on 34 points, tied with Woryna, with Michael Jepsen Jensen and Maciej Janowski chasing on 33, and Dudek close behind on 30. The SEC series concludes with the final round in Pardubice on October 2, and Madsen is keen to avoid a high-pressure SGP qualification shoot-out there – by securing his spot in Torun.
He said: “The SEC standings are crazy. It’s going to be an exciting meeting in Pardubice, but I hope I can go there a little bit calmer after finishing Speedway GP in Torun and staying in the top seven. That’s my main focus.
“Then I can go to Pardubice with no pressure regarding the GP. Obviously, I would still like to win the European Championship, but the highest goal is to stay in the GP. If I can tick that box in Torun and make Pardubice a bit calmer and more relaxed, that would be nice.”
Madsen could have left SEC round three in Rzeszow last Saturday as clear championship leader, but he was disqualified from the final after clashing with Janowski and bringing the Pole down.
He said: “I misjudged the gap going into the corner. I was looking at Maciej, and he was looking over his shoulder all the time. He could see me behind on the right side, so he was trying to close the door on the straight at the fence.
“I felt like he opened a gap for me up the inside, and I took the chance. But unfortunately, I needed maybe half a metre more. I just clipped his leg, and it is what it is. Sometimes you have to take a chance. He tried to close the door on me and fair play to him. It is what it is.
“I was struggling a lot. I think we needed some speed in the bikes to get away and still be leading, so fourth place is alright, I think.”