Swedish champion Kim Nilsson insists he returns to Speedway GP a better rider for 2027 after securing his spot at the FIM SGP Challenge in Terenzano last Saturday.
Nilsson last raced in Speedway GP in 2023 after winning the 2022 FIM SGP Challenge in Glasgow.
He finished 13th in 2023, reaching the FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Teterow final along the way, as well as scoring 11 points for making the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff semi-finals.
Nilsson has been restricted to substitute and wild card appearances since then but secured his re-entry for next year after taking fourth place in Terenzano.
Having recently won his first Swedish Championship and raced to nine championship points at the BST FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla – his best-ever result in the event – Nilsson is on something of a roll this summer.
He believes returns to the SGP stage in much stronger shape for 2027. He said: “It was a big, big learning curve for me in 2023. I know wasn’t ready then, but I did okay from where I started. Today I feel I am in another place as a rider and with my organisation, and I need to build on that – starting now. It’s a big step to ride in the GPs. I don’t think I will take on so much beside the GPs. I will probably do two leagues, and that will be enough. Before I did three leagues, and that was a bit too much. I will step down a bit from league racing, and work on being fit and focused for the GPs.”
Nilsson plans to expand his team – not least to give his father, former Swedish champion Tommy Nilsson, a rest from the tools.
He said: “Since just a month back, I have a new mechanic. I think we are working well together. Maybe it’s not enough because I am working a lot with the bikes and in the workshop to make it work for both of us.
“I think I need to take on someone more to help us out and also get my 72-year-old dad a bit more rest. He still helps me with engines and services them. He’s still working well.”
The Nilssons celebrated together in Italy, with Kim passing local wild card Paco Castagna in a dramatic heat 20 to secure qualification. He exploded into celebration as he returned to the pits, before getting ready for the final, which saw him finish fourth.
Nilsson registered seven points from his first four rides. He said: “I was a bit disappointed after four races. I felt I was still in the game, but there were also some mistakes from me. There was a rerun in my first ride when me and Frederik Jakobsen collided when I was leading. I ended up third after a mistake in the last corner.
“When I was starting from gate four, I collided with Rohan Tungate going into the first bend. I managed to stay on. It would have been a rerun if I had just laid it down, but I am not that kind of person. I made a couple of mistakes, but I was still in the game. Then I thought, I must be good enough, so I can make it through. It was just full focus and full gas in the last one.
“I had a look on the leaderboard before my last race, and I thought that if I win this one, I will go through. I also knew I had the white gate, and I didn’t really know how bad it was.
“But I actually made it stick. I made a pretty good start from gate three, held Dominik Kubera out from gate four and continued building speed. Paco knows this track so well and I just thought I’d send it on the outside. I saw Robert Lambert build the speed on the outside in a couple of heats before. I didn’t even know if my bike would take me there, but it did. There was so much will in that last race. I can’t even explain it.”
As it stands, Nilsson is Sweden’s sole representative in Speedway GP for 2027. It’s a role he thrived in when he competed in Malilla in the absence of injured world No.4 Fredrik Lindgren.
“I have never had so much support before in Malilla,” he said. “Of course, Freddie has been the big star, and I have been the wild card. But when I was the only, lonely Swede there, I had massive support. That’s huge.
“I didn’t even go around and make a lap of honour and thank the fans after Malilla, so I need to thank them now. I was really happy. I thought they would be disappointed that I didn’t make it to the final, so I that’s why I went straight into the pits. But I need to say thanks for the support.
“I am so happy to be in the GPs next year, and I would like to thank everyone who believes in me, especially the ones who know how much work I put in and how much I live for this sport.
“When I am sitting at the dinner table, just quiet, and my missus asks me, ‘What are you thinking about?’ What do you think I am thinking about?! Bike setups, of course. That’s me. I live and breathe this, and I am so happy that I could succeed in Terenzano.”