Opening Round in NZ
FIM Speedway World Cup2014
www.fullnoise.com.au Speedway News
Next year’s World Championship calendar has been revealed and
Bydgoszcz stages both FIM Speedway Grand Prix series (SGP) and Monster Energy
FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) events in 2014.
The ZKS Polonia Stadium hosts the European SGP
on April 26, as well as the Monster Energy SWC Race Off and Final on July 31
and August 2 respectively. This means defending champions Poland will qualify
automatically for the Final as host nation.
The SGP series opens in the southern hemisphere
for the third season running as Auckland’s Western Springs stadium stages the
New Zealand FIM Speedway Grand Prix on April 5.
After the competition returns to Europe and
Bydgoszcz, the first ever Finnish SGP takes place at the Ratina Stadium in
Tampere on May 17, before Prague’s Marketa Stadium hosts the Czech SGP for a
record 18th consecutive season on May 31.
World Championship racing returns to Malilla’s
G&B Arena after a one-year absence for the Swedish SGP on June 14, before
the Danish SGP takes place under the roof at PARKEN in Copenhagen on June 28.
The SGP series’ flagship event, the British FIM
Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, is on July 12 and
Britain’s world champion Tai Woffinden is set for a warm reception when he dons
the No.1 race jacket in his home country for the first time.
The individual World Championship takes a
month’s break for the team competition, the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World
Cup, which kicks off with Event 1 at brilliant British track King’s Lynn on
July 26.
Event 2 comes to Sweden this year, as coastal
club Vastervik hosts the action on July 29, before the competition moves to
Bydgoszcz for the Race Off and Final on July 30 and August 2 respectively.
The FIM Speedway Grand Prix series resumes with
the Latvian SGP, which takes place in European Capital of Culture Riga for the
first time at the Bikernieku Sport Complex on August 16.
The action heads to Poland for the Gorzow SGP on
August 30, before legendary Danish track Vojens makes a welcome return to the
calendar with the Nordic SGP on September 13.
The stunning Friends Arena in Stockholm stages
the penultimate round of the series, the Scandinavian FIM Speedway Grand Prix
on September 27.
And the final round, the Torun FIM Speedway
Grand Prix of Poland, takes place at the superb Marian Rose Motoarena for the
third season running on October 11.
BSI Speedway managing director Paul Bellamy is
confident the mix of world-class indoor stadiums and some of the sport’s great
race tracks will make for a fine series in 2014. He said: “We have a terrific
12 venues for 2014. Bringing the series to Tampere and Riga will be exciting
for the sport.
“We can be sure the more established venues will
continue to produce some great racing and we’re glad to see Vojens and Malilla
– two old favourites – come back on board for next year." Bellamy stated.
“The big city stadiums in Cardiff, Copenhagen
and Stockholm continue to be real highlights of the SGP calendar and we can’t
wait for what should be an unpredictable and thrilling season," he
concluded.
2014 FIM
SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX CALENDAR:
April 5: New Zealand FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Auckland)
April 26: European FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Bydgoszcz, Poland)
May 17: Finnish FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Tampere)
May 31: Czech Republic FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Prague)
June 14: Swedish FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Malilla)
June 28: Danish FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Copenhagen)
July 12: British FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Cardiff)
August 16: Latvian FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Riga)
August 30: Gorzow FIM Speedway Grand Prix of
Poland (Gorzow)
September 13: Nordic FIM Speedway Grand Prix
(Vojens, Denmark)
September 27: Scandinavian FIM Speedway Grand
Prix (Stockholm, Sweden)
October 11: Torun FIM Speedway Grand Prix of
Poland (Torun)
2014
MONSTER ENERGY FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP:
July 26: Event 1 (King’s Lynn, Great Britain)
July 29: Event 2 (Vastervik, Sweden)
July 31: Race Off (Bydgoszcz, Poland)
August 2: Final (Bydgoszcz, Poland)
Top Image: The
World Best Speedway rider will be heading to New Zealand to kick off the 2014
World Speedway GP Championship
