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Australia’s Jason Doyle and Fricke 13th & 16th After #WarsawSGP | SPORT

If you haven’t already, head to Fox Sports now to catch up on what was unparalleled Speedway racing at the Boll Warsaw FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland over the weekend. Featuring in the 15-rider line-up was our own 2017 FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) Champion, Jason Doyle and 2019 Australian Senior Solo Speedway Champion, Max Fricke.

In front of a sold-out audience in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday 18th May (GMT+2), Round 1 of the 2019 SGP delivered everything you would hope for, with superb wheel to wheel action all night long as reigning Champions went up against emerging young stars. 2016 U21 Speedway World Champion, Fricke, stepped into the permanent rider list after Poland’s Maciej Janowski bowed out from the Boll Warsaw SGP of Poland due to injury. Recovering from broken ribs and a punctured lung, Doyle landed in Warsaw ready to follow on from Team Australia’s success at Race Off 2 of the 2019 FIM Speedway of Nations.

Over the course of 20 heats, four riders per heat, Doyle kicked off in fine form, marking a strong return from injury not even two weeks prior. As the evening progressed, Doyle’s injuries weighed heavy, but the Australian star remained steadfast as he focussed on racking up as many points as possible. Doyle finished Round 1 of the 2019 SGP with five points, landing in 13th place in the World Championship standings.

“The bike is good and the crowd is awesome! We’re just trying to get the right set up at the moment because the conditions are different from practice, as we expected,” explained Doyle.

“Tonight we’re just trying to get points and stay consistent.”

Newcomer to the SGP line-up, Fricke tackled what was undeniably an intense environment, finishing Saturday night with three points. Now sitting on 16th place in the World Championship standings, Fricke suffered a blow when he crashed out during one of his heats, however the young Australian remained the image of positivity as he reflected on the turn of events.

“I’m really grateful for this call up! It’s not something I ever expected to happen this year so I’m really grateful for this experience and to be able and come out in front of a huge stadium. I picked up a few points, learnt a lot, and lead a few laps in the end, but I threw it away, which is on me,” stated Fricke.

“Hopefully we can come back sometime during the year and do some more rounds of the SGP.”

Round 1 was clinched by Danish star Leon Madsen, who couldn’t hustle in time to win any of his regular heats but managed to ramp up his speed to secure his position in the semi-finals and then his maiden SGP final. Rounding out the podium was Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren and Poland’s Patryk Dudek.

Leading the 2019 SGP after Warsaw is Dudek with 16 points, followed by Lindgren and Denmark’s Niels-Kristian Iversen. Riders now head to the Matija Gubec Stadium for the 2019 Slovenian SGP on Saturday 1st June. Further information on Round 2 of the 2019 SGP can be found here.

By MA