Danish talent Mikkel Andersen secured an SGP2 return after winning a rain-curtailed FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship qualifier in Glasgow on Saturday.
Andersen – fourth in the 2024 SGP2 series – triumphed on an unbeaten nine points, with racing halted due to the weather after 12 heats.
He was joined in qualifying by British star Jake Mulford, with the Belle Vue rider taking second place on seven – a total matched by Poland’s Jan Przanowski in third place.
With four riders tied on six points for the final qualification place and all of them boasting one win, one second place and a third, they could not be separated on their head-to-head record as eight heats went uncompleted.
Therefore, a ballot took place to decide the final qualifier at Ashfield. Poland’s Antoni Mercel was the lucky man who progresses through to the SGP2 series, with Denmark’s Villads Nagel, Australia’s Tate Zischke and Britain’s Joe Thompson all cruelly missing out.
Glasgow rider Ashton Boughen took eighth place on his home track with five points, with Sweden’s Noel Wahlquist scoring four.
Aussie Under-21 champion Michael West, American star Slater Lightcap and Australia’s Alex Adamson all exited on three.
FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy star Patricia Erhart of Germany picked up two points from three races in a creditable display.
Andersen, Mulford, Przanowski and Mencel are joined in the SGP2 line-up so far by Norwegian racer Mathias Pollestad, who won the Pardubice qualifier with a 15-point maximum this afternoon. Reigning champion Wiktor Przyjemski progressed in second, with Denmark’s William Drejer third and Slovenia’s Anze Grmek taking the final spot in fourth.
One final qualifying round takes place in Hungarian city Debrecen on June 7, where four more SGP2 series spots will be up for grabs. The line-up will then be completed by three permanent wild cards.
SGP2 LINE-UP SO FAR: Mathias Pollestad (Norway), Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland), William Drejer (Denmark), Anze Grmek (Slovenia), Mikkel Andersen (Denmark), Jake Mulford (Great Britain), Jan Przanowski (Poland), Antoni Mencel (Poland).
GLASGOW SCORES: 1 Mikkel Andersen (Denmark) 9, 2 Jake Mulford (Great Britain) 7, 3 Jan Przanowski (Poland) 7, 4 Antoni Mencel (Poland) 6, 5 Villads Nagel (Denmark) 6, 6 Tate Zischke (Australia) 6, 7 Joe Thompson (Great Britain) 6, 8 Ashton Boughen (Great Britain) 5, 9 Noel Wahlquist (Sweden) 4, 10 Michael West (Australia) 3, 11 Slater Lightcap (United States) 3, 12 Alex Adamson (Australia) 3, 13 Timmy Dion (United States) 2, 14 Jan Jenicek (Czechia) 2, 15 Patricia Erhart (Germany) 2, 16 Otto Raak (Finland) 1, 17 Luke Harrison (Great Britain) DNR, 18 Jody Scott (Great Britain) DNR.
PARDUBICE SCORES: 1 Mathias Pollestad (Norway) 15, 2 Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland) 14, 3 William Drejer (Denmark) 12+3, 4 Anze Grmek (Slovenia) 12+2, 5 Pawel Sitek (Poland) 10, 6 Sammy van Dyck (Sweden) 10, 7 Sam Hagon (Great Britain) 9, 8 James Pearson (Australia) 9, 9 Sebastian Kossler (Austria) 8, 10 Nikita Kaulins (Latvia) 6, 11 Jaroslav Vanicek (Czechia) 3, 12 Alex Martin (United States) 3, 13 Matous Kamenik (Czechia) 3, 14 Ben Iken (Germany) 3, 15 Mario Hausl (Germany) 2, 16 Jan Hlacina (Czechia) 1, 17 Tino Bouin (France) 0, 18 David Hofman (Czechia) 0.