Workington’s young UK newcomer Antti Vuolas has been called up for Finland to take part in the FIM Speedway of Nations squad when the competition returns to Manchester.
The exciting Vuolas, who has created an excellent impression riding in the Championship for the first time, is included in the Finnish five-strong team along with former Comets rider Tero Aarnio at the event from July 9 to July 13.
Another former Workington rider Rasmus Jensen, a member of the Comets’ treble-winning team in 2018, is in the Danish squad.
Workington interest is increased with their former rider Dan Bewley again named in the Great Britain team.
The hosts have named all four of their 2021 world title-winning heroes in their five-rider squad.
The competition last visited the National Speedway Stadium in October 2021, when GB stars Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley and Tom Brennan defied the loss of three-time Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden to injury to end the nation’s 32-year wait for a world team championship.
Featuring 15 countries, the Speedway of Nations joins the calendar in place of the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup, which was staged in Polish city Wroclaw last summer, culminating in a final for the ages, won by Poland ahead of Great Britain, Denmark and Australia.
Speedway of Nations is speedway’s ultimate test of team riding – a pairs-style event that brings the sport’s biggest stars together to compete for their countries in a bid to be crowned world team champions for 2024.
As host nation, Great Britain is seeded straight through to the final on Saturday, July 13, and FIM Speedway Grand Prix stars Lambert, Bewley and triple SGP world champion Woffinden are among the riders bidding to fly the Union flag in Manchester.
They are joined in the squad by 2021 FIM SON gold medallist Tom Brennan and 2021 British champion Adam Ellis.
Squads
Semi-final 1, Tuesday July 9
- Team A – FRANCE: 1. David Bellego; 2. Steven Goret; 3. Mathias Trésarrieu; 4. Tino Bouin; 5. Jordan Dubernard. Team manager: Laurent Sambarrey.
- Team B – POLAND: 1. Patryk Dudek; 2. Maciej Janowski; 3. Dominik Kubera; 4. Piotr Pawlicki; 5. Bartosz Zmarzlik ©. Team manager: Rafal Dobrucki.
- Team C – ITALY: 1. Paco Castagna; 2. Nicolas Covatti; 3. Nicolas Vicentin; 4. Matteo Boncinelli. Team manager: Alessandro Dalla Valle.
- Team D – UKRAINE: 1. Andryi Karpov; 2. Marko Levishyn; 3. Stanislav Melnychuk; 4. Nazar Parnitskyi; 5. Stanislav Ohorodnik. Team manager: TBA.
- Team E – GERMANY: 1. Kai Huckenbeck ; 2. Erik Riss; 3. Kevin Wölbert; 4. Norick Blödorn; 5. Valentin Grobauer. Team manager: Mathias Bartz.
- Team F – SWEDEN: 1. Fredrik Lindgren; 2. Jacob Thorssell; 3. Oliver Berntzon; 4. Kim Nilsson; 5. Timo Lahti. Team manager: Morgan Andersson.
- Team G – FINLAND: 1. Jesse Mustonen; 2. Antti Vuolas; 3. Tero Aarnio; 4. Niclas Säyriö; 5. Otto Raak. Team manager: Aki-Pekka Mustonen.
Semi-final 2, Wednesday July 10
- Team A – CZECH REPUBLIC: 1. Jan Kvech; 2. Vaclav Milik; 3. Adam Bednar; 4. Daniel Klima; 5. Eduard Krcmar. Team manager: Ezven Erban.
- Team B – AUSTRALIA: 1. Ryan Douglas; 2. Max Fricke; 3. Jack Holder; 4. Brady Kurtz; 5. Jaimon Lidsey. Team manager: Mark Lemon.
- Team C – NORWAY: 1. Mathias Pollestad; 2. Glenn Moi; 3. Truls Kamhaug; 4. Lasse Madland Fredriksen; 5. Magnus Klipper. Team manager: Kenneth Klipper Smith.
- Team D – SLOVENIA: 1. Anze Grmek; 2. Matic Ivacic; 3. Denis Stojs; Team manager: Gregor Arnsek.
- Team E – USA: 1. Alex Martin; 2. Broc Nicol; 3. Gino Manzares; 4. Luke Becker; 5. Slater Lightcap. Team manager: Steve Evans.
- Team F – DENMARK: 1. Mikkel Michelsen; 2. Anders Thomsen; 3. Rasmus Jensen; 4. Mads Hansen; 5. Andreas Lyager. Team manager: Nicki Pedersen.
- Team G – LATVIA: 1. Andzejs Lebedevs; 2. Daniils Kolodinskis; 3. Francis Gusts; 4. Jevgenijs Kostigovs; 5. Olegs Mihailovs. Team manager: Vladimir Ribnikovs.
Final, Saturday July 13
- GREAT BRITAIN: 1. Dan Bewley; 2. Tom Brennan; 3. Adam Ellis; 4. Robert Lambert; 5. Tai Woffinden. Team managers: Simon Stead and Oliver Allen.
