2013 FIM Speedway Grand Prix wild cards revealed

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October 17, 2012 in Motorsport

2013 FIM Speedway Grand Prix wild cards revealed

The 2013 FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) nominated rider berths have been handed to Martin Vaculik, Jaroslaw Hampel, Tai Woffinden and Darcy Ward.

The quartet complete a stellar field for next seasons World Championship after being granted spots by the SGP commission.

They are joined in the competition by automatic qualifiers Chris Holder, Nicki Pedersen, Greg Hancock, Tomasz Gollob, Emil Sayfutdinov, Antonio Lindback, Fredrik Lindgren and Andreas Jonsson.

Krzysztof Kasprzak, Matej Zagar and Niels-Kristian Iversen complete the field after clinching the top three places in the Grand Prix Challenge at Gorican on September 29.

BSI Speedway managing director Paul Bellamy is delighted with next years field and expects an even more competitive fight for the World Championship.

He said: This seasons title race has been one of the best in the competitions history. We had 12 rounds and nine different winners. With an even stronger field for 2013, the battle for SGP wins and the world title will be fiercer than ever.

Were delighted to give Jarek (Hampel) another shot at the title and Im sure he will bounce back after a 2012 season blighted by the broken ankle he suffered in Copenhagen. He won silver in 2010, bronze in 2011 and I believe he will be targeting gold in 2013.

It is also great to see three of the sports most promising young talents, Martin, Darcy and Tai, take their places in the line-up. They will be hungry to make an impact and upset the more established guys at the top.

Commenting on the selection, Roy Otto, CCP director, said: Competition for places is very intense and this can only be good news for the SGP series. I believe we have selected four talented riders who have what it takes to compete with the very best speedway riders in the world. Chris Holder will have to be at his very best to hang on to the trophy next season.

Vaculik gets the nod for a nominated rider place after serving as this seasons SGP series first reserve. The 22-year-old made an explosive impact on the competition, winning on his Grand Prix debut in Gorzow on June 23.

The first Slovak rider in the series history also finished fourth in the FIM Fogo Italian SGP and earned 11th place in the World Championship, despite racing in just six of the 12 rounds.

Hampel returns to the competition after sitting out four of this terms events through injury. The Polish star is desperate to regain his fitness and his place on the rostrum.

Tai Woffinden is back in the series after a two-year absence. Great Britains sole representative is keen to build on a strong FIM Monster Energy Speedway World Cup performance for the Lions in July and a string of solid league scores in the UK, Sweden and Poland.

And two-time FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion Darcy Ward makes his much-anticipated, full-time World Championship debut after taking the sport by storm. The Australian international finished third as a wild card in last years Torun SGP and is being hotly tipped to add to that bronze medal next season.

The calendar for the 2013 SGP series will be announced in due course.

2013 FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP:

1. Chris Holder (Australia)

2. Nicki Pedersen (Denmark)

3. Greg Hancock (USA)

4. Tomasz Gollob (Poland)

5. Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia)

6. Antonio Lindback (Sweden)

7. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)

8. Andreas Jonsson (Sweden)

9. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia)

10. Jaroslaw Hampel (Poland)