We come to the end of 2022 so a good time to look back at a few things that went on in the speedway world in the last 12 months... From the Grand Prix to the National Development League.
JANUARY
JACK Holder kicked off 2022 in fine style, lifting the New South Wales State Championship. Holder topped the podium at Kurri Kurri, defeating Sam Masters, Josh Pickering and Ben Cook in the A Final.
BELLE Vue captured the services of German prospect Norick Blodorn to make his Premiership debut in 2022. Team boss Mark Lemon said: “I have kept an eye on Norick’s progress over the last 12 months and we were very impressed with what we saw."
OXFORD named Jordan Jenkins as captain for their new National Development League side – to be known as the Chargers. Jenkins led Mildenhall to the 2021 NDL title.
DOUBLE world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik stormed to third place in Przeglad Sportowy’s prestigious Polish Athlete of 2021 vote, which was a public vote. Football legend Robert Lewandowski was first, with Tokyo 2020 women’s hammer throw champion Anita Włodarczyk, second.
FEBRUARY
SHEFFIELD reserve Connor Mountain was delighted to be returning to Owlerton for a second spell in 2022. "I think the team has a great bunch of guys in and I’m looking forward to being a part of it and working with Steady (boss Simon Stead) too," he said.
DANISH star Ulrich Ostergaard declared himself fit and ready to go for the new season. Ostergaard missed out on Peterborough’s Premiership title win after suffering injuries in a crash at Edinburgh. But he will be back with both the Panthers and Glasgow in 2022.
PETERBOROUGH added talented youngster Dan Gilkes to their roster as No.8 for the new Premiership campaign. Gilkes finished third in last year’s British Under-21 Final and could now get top-flight experience with the Panthers.
ROBERT Lambert was set to make a rare UK appearance when he headed to Manchester for the Peter Craven Memorial meeting in March. The GB hero returns to the scene of his FIM Speedway of Nations triumph last October as he warms up for the Speedway GP series.
MARCH
WOLVERHAMPTON named popular Aussie Sam Masters as their new team captain. The 30-year-old takes over from Rory Schlein who retired from the sport at the end of last season. Promoter Chris Van Straaten said: “Sam’s been with us for quite some time now so it just made sense really."
SHEFFIELD'S Adam Ellis and Jack Holder combined for a match-winning Heat 15 at Belle Vue as the new season got underway. The home side went into the last race two points up. But Holder (13+1) and Ellis (13) got the better of home duo Charles Wright and Brady Kurtz.
IPSWICH skipper Danny King said he believed Jason Doyle could help Ipswich storm to SGB Premiership glory in 2022. He said: “The beauty of Jason is he is very down to earth. He’s a team man and that’s what you need when you have someone of his calibre."
LEICESTER had four unbeaten riders in an emphatic 64-26 KO Cup first leg win over local rivals Birmingham. Richie Worrall (15), Kyle Howarth (14+1) and Nick Morris (11+1) all scored maximums for the Lions, whilst reserve Joe Thompson also went through the card with 10+2.
MORE: Who's riding where in 2023 in Britain
APRIL
BERWICK put four National Development League points on the board with an impressive 52-38 win in their opener at Armadale. The Bullets’ top two of Kyle Bickley (12+1) and Greg Blair (11+1) were both in fine form, while debut-making Ace Pijper clocked up 9+1.
PETERBOROUGH made a solid start to their League Cup campaign by defeating Ipswich 53-37 at the East of England Arena. Chris Harris dropped just one point for the Panthers and there was also an impressive debut for Benjamin Basso, who racked up 12+2 at reserve.
WOLVERHAMPTON enjoyed a perfect Easter Monday with home and away wins over Belle Vue to keep their League Cup hopes alive. Wolves won 48-42 in a last-heat decider at the NSS and then triumphed 50-40 at Monmore to set up a group decider at Sheffield.
JASON Doyle admitted there’s no place like home as he returns to his UK base for 2022. The Aussie lives near Norwich with wife Emily and Britain is very much the Ipswich rider’s home. “I feel like a different person again – I was really angry and not happy before. It’s no disrespect to Poland, but I felt like I couldn’t do another year living in Poland away from my wife and home," he said.
MAY
IPSWICH moved to sign Ben Barker as a replacement for Cameron Heeps. The Witches have reacted to a disappointing League Cup campaign, where they lost all four of their group fixtures. promoter Chris Louis said: “When we looked at what was available, Ben was the obvious choice really."
WORLD champion Bartosz Zmarzlik triumphed in the opening GP of the seson in Croatia. Zmarzlik zoomed to victory ahead of fellow Polish star Maciej Janowski, who was second, and Danish racer Mikkel Michelsen, who was third in his first-ever GP final.
TOBIASZ Musielak struck a stunning 15-point maximum as Sheffield beat Peterborough in their Premiership opener. The Tigers defeated the reigning champions 51-39 at Owlerton.
PLYMOUTH moved up to third in the Championship after a 55-35 win over Oxford. The Gladiators continue to impress at the Coliseum and were led by double-figure returns from Ben Barker (12+2), Hans Andersen (11), and Michael Palm Toft (10+2).
JUNE
TRIPLE world champion Nicki Pedersen was set for surgery after being airlifted to Denmark. Grudziadz star Pedersen suffered a broken hip and pelvis in a crash with visiting Leszno racer Piotr Pawlicki in a PGE Ekstraliga match.
IPSWICH took over at the top of the Premiership after beating King’s Lynn 46-44 in a ding-dong derby at Foxhall. The lead changed hands six times during the meeting with the Witches making a crucial move in Heat 14 with Ben Barker and Erik Riss securing a 5-1.
JACK Thomas faced a period on the sidelines after crashing out of King’s Lynn’s home defeat to Ipswich.The news also impacts on Thomas’s Championship club Oxford. He said: “Thanks to everyone for the messages, I’m back home with two broken wrists."
SHEFFIELD moved to sign Jake Allen in a team change which saw Stefan Nielsen leave the Premiership club. Allen had a brief spell with Belle Vue during this year’s League Cup campaign.
JULY
DAN Bewley admitted he was “feeling pretty beat up all over”, but he’s grateful for a lucky escape following a Wroclaw horror crash. Bewley was catapulted over the second-bend air fence after being caught by Czestochowa rider Jonas Jeppesen in heat 14 of Lions’ 49-41 win at Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium.
WOLVERHAMPTON struck a major blow in the Premiership play-off race with a 48-42 away win at Peterborough. The victory moves the Monmore side up to third place and it means the Panthers in fifth are now ten points adrift of the top four.
KING’S LYNN moved off the bottom of the Premiership with an impressive performance to beat Wolverhampton 55-35. It was the Stars’ biggest victory for nearly three years as they made a flying start to put the meeting beyond Wolves in the first seven races.
BELLE VUE'S Tom Brennan is to return to the world stage at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium after being named as wild card for the FIM SGP2 of Great Britain. The 2021 British Under-21 champion lines up in the No.16 race jacket in round two of the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship series – rebranded as SGP2.
AUGUST
KENT and Mildenhall fought out a 45-45 draw in the National Development League at Iwade. New Royals signing Max Clegg completed a 15-point maximum in a Heat 15 5-1 for the home side to level the scores, with Ben Morley also unbeaten on 13+2.
GLASGOW became the first club to book their place in the Championship Jubilee League Final. The Tigers defeated Edinburgh 53-37 at Ashfield to complete the job of ensuring the Monarchs took no points from the meeting.
DAN Bewley ended Britain's 15-year wait for a GP of Great Britain winner after victory at Cardiff. Bewley blew the roof off the Principality Stadium when he stormed to his first-ever SGP win ahead of World Championship leader Bartosz Zmarzlik and his fellow Polish star Patryk Dudek.
KING’S Lynn announced the signing of Danish star Frederik Jakobsen as they look to launch a winning run in their last eight Premiership matches. Jakobsen replaces Lewis Kerr, who has been released by the Stars.
SEPTEMBER
PETERBOROUGH’S future for 2023 was secured despite proposed redevelopment at the East of England Arena. The venue is scheduled to close to regular shows in July 2023, but the agreement means the Panthers will be able to see out the full season.
POOLE steamed into the KO Cup Final with a massive 60-30 win at home to Leicester – despite the scores being close at the halfway stage. However, the Pirates embarked on a remarkable run of seven 5-1s in the last eight races.
SWEDISH star Kim Nilsson, Great Britain's Dan Bewley and Australian ace Jack Holder are the first riders to guarantee their place in the 2023 Grand Prix series. Nilsson stormed to a shock victory at the GP Challenge in Glasgow beating Bewley in a run-off. Holder then beat fellow Aussie, Max Fricke for third and the final qualifying place.
SHEFFIELD moved top of the Premiership with a 57-33 home win over Belle Vue to set up a play-off showdown with Wolverhampton. The Tigers will visit Monmore Green in the first leg of the semi-final, leaving the Aces to tackle Ipswich in the other semi.
OCTOBER
ARMADALE threw a huge late curveball into the National Development League play-off race by beating Belle Vue 51-36 – to rule the Colts out of a top four finish. The Devils moved off the bottom of the table with their victory.
BARTOSZ Zmarzlik was crowned World Champion again after finishing second in Torun behind Martin Vaculik. However, overall Zmarzlik was victor, ahead of series runner-up Leon Madsen of Denmark, while Polish ace Maciej Janowski rose from seventh to third in one night to bag bronze.
BELLE Vue ended a 29-year wait for a top-fight title as they were crowned Premiership champions with a gripping Grand Final victory over Sheffield. The Aces were beaten 50-40 at Owlerton but successfully defended their 12-point advantage gained in Manchester.
POOLE retained the Championship KO Cup with a 52-38 home win over Redcar for a 21-point aggregate success. The Pirates had done much of their hard work by winning at the Ecco Arena and finished the job at Wimborne Road.
NOVEMBER
SHEFFIELD sealed their first ever top-flight silverware as they were crowned 2022 Premiership League Cup winners. The Tigers rounded off the season with a 50-34 home win over King’s Lynn and a 101-73 aggregate triumph following victory on the road in Norfolk.
POOLE completed the double at Championship level for the second successive season by retaining the league title with a Grand Final victory over Leicester. The Pirates led by eight points heading into the second leg on the neutral territory of King’s Lynn.
LEICESTER wrapped up the National Development League title with a 62-28 win over Mildenhall to complete a third-tier double for the second time in three seasons. The Lion Cubs had already beaten the Fen Tigers to lift the KO Cup, and they secured their league success in the Grand Final at King’s Lynn.
ARTEM Laguta’s return to the sport has been confirmed after he was officially named in Wroclaw’s squad for 2023. The Bydgoszcz-based racer was unable to defend his GP crown in 2022 after the FIM suspended all riders racing on Russian licences until further notice due to the war in Ukraine.
DECEMBER
BRITISH Champion Dan Bewley is back in UK racing to spearhead Belle Vue’s Premiership title defence in 2023. The World No.6, who won two GPs this year at Cardiff and Wroclaw, returns to his only previous top-flight club after missing out on the domestic campaign in 2022.
RORY Schlein completed a shock return to Wolverhampton for 2023. Schlein retired from the sport at the end of the 2021 season, moving from the UK to Adelaide with his family. But the Darwin-born racer stunned the sport when he was unveiled as a 2023 signing by SGB Championship club Berwick, and Wolves have now confirmed he will return to Monmore Green.
CHRIS Harris is heading back to Glasgow in 2023 – with unfinished business from his previous spell at Ashfield. Harris rode for the Tigers four years ago and is now determined to help them take the final step to Championship success.
KING’S Lynn have brought former World No.2 Krzysztof Kasprzak back to British Speedway for the 2023 season. The Pole last rode in the UK for Rye House in 2018 and comes into a Stars side which will also feature Danish racer Michael Palm Toft after two years with rivals Peterborough.
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