Swedish international Fredrik Lindgren has his sights set on writing FIM Speedway Grand Prix history Down Under after being named as the final 2027 Speedway GP permanent wild card.
Words by FIM Speedway – Feature Image courtesy of Wojciech Tarchalski
The former world No.2, who spent eight straight seasons in the world’s top five from 2018 until 2025, joins Great Britain racer Dan Bewley, Aussie ace Jack Holder and Poland’s Speedway European Championship runner-up Maciej Janowski in receiving a nomination from the SGP Commission.
This year’s Speedway GP top seven all earn automatic qualification – Great Britain’s new world champion Robert Lambert, Poland’s six-time world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik, Australia’s SGP silver and bronze medal winner Brady Kurtz, Denmark’s Michael Jepsen Jensen, Poland’s Patryk Dudek, Denmark’s triple European champion Leon Madsen and three-time Aussie champion Max Fricke.
Australian international Rohan Tungate, Polish action man Kacper Woryna, Swedish champion Kim Nilsson and Latvian ace Andzejs Lebedevs all qualified via the FIM SGP Challenge in Terenzano, Italy on July 25.
The 2027 Speedway GP line-up is completed by five substitute riders, led by Czech racer Jan Kvech – promoted from second reserve this year to first stand-in star for 2027. He is joined by second substitute Frederik Jakobsen – runner-up in this season’s Danish Championship. Kai Huckenbeck of Germany, Norway’s Mathias Pollestad and Ukraine’s former SGP2 champion Nazar Parnitskyi also make the list. The five substitutes will step into the Speedway GP line-up if any of the permanent riders are sidelined by injury, illness or other reasons.
Lindgren, 41, is the oldest member of the 2027 Speedway GP field and is working hard to overcome the foot injury suffered at Polish track Leszno on May 17, which kept him out of six SGP rounds this season.
He ended his campaign by scoring a solid 20 points across the final two SGP rounds in Vojens and Torun and is already targeting what would be an historic world-title challenge in 2027.
With next year’s series set to climax with the FIM Speedway GP of Australia – Adelaide double-header at Gillman Speedway on October 29 and 30, 2027 – the first SGP events staged outside Europe since 2017 – Lindgren can think of no better occasion to claim his first world crown.
The oldest first-time world champion is currently Polish great Tomasz Gollob, who sealed his one and only Speedway GP world title aged 39 in 2010. But Lindgren said: “I’m looking to be the oldest first-time world champion in Adelaide. That’s the thought I have in my head; that’s what I am picturing, and that’s my goal.
“It’s over a year until we go there and less until we have the first GP. There is a long journey ahead and everything needs to fall into place. The fitness needs to be there; the mental side needs to be there; the equipment needs to be there, and the team around me needs to be there. I need to stay healthy all the way through and be present at every round. That’s crucial. But this is the image I have in my head and the one I am working towards.”
To make this dream a reality, Lindgren is under no illusions as to the work that will be needed to bring himself back to full fitness, and he admits there will be little rest this winter.
He said: “I need to get on it straight away. Obviously, when I started racing, it was hard to find some consistency with the training, physio and treatment.
“I really need to start with that ASAP, so that I can get the foot as good as possible as early as possible. Then I can also up the level of my training and do harder cardio work and so on.
“It has been one of my toughest seasons for a long time. I think it’s the first time in my career that I got injured so severely so early in the season.
“It was a long and tough recovery time to get back on the bike. Even though I have been back on the bike, I have been far from 100 percent. I have still been struggling with the foot. I have a lot of pain even today, and I still can’t walk normally, for example.
“When you know in the back of your head that you are not 100 percent ready, and you still have to go into battle with the best in the world, it’s hard. But I fought hard, and I still did have some decent results, even though the circumstances were not the best. I guess that’s a good thing.
“I have a long journey ahead of me, but I am really putting in the work. Fingers crossed, I can be healthy come the season and throughout the whole year.”
Janowski was handed a Speedway GP spot just days after falling a point short of winning the 2026 Speedway European Championship, which would have handed him automatic qualification. He can’t wait for his first full Speedway GP season since 2023.
He said: “This is a very exciting moment. It was some very good news when I had the call. I am very happy to be back and have another chance in Speedway GP. It’s going to be an exciting preparation for the season. It will definitely push me even harder.
“I will definitely try to improve my speedway skills during the winter. I will try to prepare the best I can – working on everything around the speedway too – and make it very organised. I have some plans for this winter, and I hope next year will be good for me.”
Holder has been sidelined since crashing out of the DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw with multiple injuries on June 20. After undergoing successful surgery last week on an arm injury, he’s looking forward to completing his recovery and getting back on track in 2027.
He said: “Getting the wild card is a massive weight off my shoulders. I don’t really want to be relying on them, but it is always in the back of your mind. I think I deserve it, and it’s the first one I have had, so I will take it with both hands.
“It was going well, and everything was going in the right direction this year. I was looking good, but then the season got cut short. It has made me hungrier now that I have that wild card, and it has given me more purpose to set the record straight when I return.
“Obviously I am super excited to be back. I was stressed about it, but now I have this opportunity. I’m just trying to get back fully fit and come back bigger and better.”
Bewley’s season was also interrupted by injury after he sustained a broken femur and compressed vertebra in his back when he crashed out of a Danish Speedwayligaen meeting in Outrup on May 20.
But after finishing fifth at the series-closing DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on September 26, he is also eagerly anticipating his return to the series next year.
He said: “I am thankful to have the wild card. I am looking forward to the winter now and to coming back at 100 percent next year.
“It was nice to come back in Torun and do the last GP, which was alright. It was nice to go into a winter, knowing I am not 100 percent, but I can still do a not-bad job. It makes me excited to have a good winter and come back next year.”
2027 FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP (in ranking order):
505. Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
101. Brady Kurtz (Australia)
52. Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark)
692. Patryk Dudek (Poland)
30. Leon Madsen (Denmark)
46. Max Fricke (Australia)
223. Kacper Woryna (Poland)
29. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
25. Jack Holder (Australia)
66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
99. Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
71. Maciej Janowski (Poland)
233. Kim Nilsson (Sweden)
27. Rohan Tungate (Australia)
SUBSTITUTES
201. Jan Kvech (Czech Republic)
41. Frederik Jakobsen (Denmark)
744. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
999. Mathias Pollestad (Norway)
785. Nazar Parnitskyi (Ukraine)
