BATCHELOR REPLACES SAYFUTDINOV IN FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) has confirmed today that due to injury the Russian rider Emil Sayfutdinov has officially withdrawn from the 2014 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series (SGP).

The 24-year-old’s management confirmed the Salavat-born star has not recovered from serious injuries sustained in a Polish Ekstraliga meeting at Torun in August last year, and they feel he is not fit enough to compete at the highest level of the sport this season.

The injuries disrupted Sayfutdinov’s 2013 season and, without racing for over two months and payment disputes with his 2013 Polish club Czestochowa, put him in a difficult financial position for the forthcoming 2014 season.

Australia’s Troy Batchelor, as first qualified substitute, will take ranking position 15 and wear his selected rider number 75.

The 26-year-old from Brisbane has had previous World Championship experience, scoring six points in the final round of the 2013 SGP series in Torun last October.

The first round of the 2014 FIM Speedway Grand Prix season, the New Zealand SGP, takes place at Auckland’s Western Springs on April 5.

REVISED 2014 FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP (in ranking order)

1 Tai Woffinden (Great Britain)33 Jaroslaw Hampel (Poland)88 Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark)45 Greg Hancock (USA)5 Nicki Pedersen (Denmark)55 Matej Zagar (Slovenia)43 Darcy Ward (Australia)507 Krzysztof Kasprzak (Poland)66 Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)23 Chris Holder (Australia)100 Andreas Jonsson (Sweden)91 Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark)84 Martin Smolinski (Germany)37 Chris Harris (Great Britain)75 Troy Batchelor (Australia)16 WILD CARD17 FIRST TRACK RESERVE18 SECOND TRACK RESERVE

QUALIFIED SUBSTITUTE19 Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark)Should any more riders be required as substitutes during the 2014 season, the SGP Commission will nominate the rider