Great Britain racer Cooper Rushen hopes to make up for a tough Semi-Final by starring in the ISS FIM SGP3 Final – Gorzow on Friday evening.
Speedway’s brightest 250cc under-16 stars compete in the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship at the iconic Edward Jancarz Stadium, having secured qualification at last Saturday’s Semi-Finals in Teterow, Germany.
Rushen made it through by the narrowest of margins, taking the eighth and final qualification spot in Semi-Final 1 on countback with six points, having tied with three other riders at the Bergring Arena.
He now takes on a stellar line-up in Gorzow, featuring 18 riders from eight different countries, including Poland, Sweden, Denmark, GB, Czech Republic, Australia, Slovenia and France, in what is always one of the most exciting events on the FIM Speedway calendar.
Rushen was second at 2023 FIM SGP3 Semi-Final 1 in Vastervik and has proved he can mix it with the best in his class. He hopes the Final will go more smoothly than his semi in Germany.
He said: “A couple of decisions didn’t go my way. It was a tough day of racing. The boys are on it this year for sure.
“I did my best and it paid off with a Final place, so that’s good. We are going to change a couple of things on the bikes because we had a few problems from the starts. Hopefully I can just enjoy Gorzow, take in the experience and we will just see what happens.”
Polish favourite Maksymilian Pawelczak from Bydgoszcz and GB star William Cairns from Buckinghamshire, who both blazed to 15-point maximums to win their Semi-Finals, are among the frontrunners, along with podium finishers Beau Bailey of Australia, Sven Cerjak of Slovenia and Danish duo Villads Pedersen and Jacob Bolcho Pedersen.
The Danes are joined by their fellow countryman Elias Jamil Jensen, who makes the step up to SGP3 this year after winning the first-ever FIM Speedway Youth World Cup (SGP4) in Malilla in July 2023.
Alongside Bailey, Australia is also represented by Jordy Loftus – brother of Anika Loftus, who took third place at the first-ever FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy in Teterow following the SGP3 Semi-Finals.
Pawelczak can’t wait to take on his SGP3 rivals on home soil as he bids to better the silver medal that he won in the 2023 FIM SGP3 Final – Malilla.
He said: “I am looking forward to Gorzow very much and I am very happy that I can race there. Everyone who has qualified wants to win on Friday. Let’s see what happens.”
GB racer Cairns, 15, makes his last SGP3 appearance on Friday, before graduating up to 500cc competition next month. While he knows Pawelczak will take some beating, he would love to end his 250cc career in style.
He said: “I will give it my best shot and hopefully get on the podium. I’ll be up against Maks, and he is a really good racer. He’s definitely going to put on a show for the whole of Poland.”
Friday’s SGP3 action will be followed by the weekend’s main event – the ISS FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow on Saturday night.
Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik bids for his 25th Speedway GP victory and his fourth on the Edward Jancarz Stadium circuit where he started as a raw rookie and became one of the sport’s all-time greats.
ISS FIM SGP3 FINAL – GORZOW LINE-UP
1. Casper Appelgren (Sweden)
2. Villads Pedersen (Denmark)
3. Karel Prusa (Czech Republic)
4. Karol Szmyd (Poland)
5. Maksymilian Pawelczak (Poland)
6. Cooper Rushen (Great Britain)
7. Noah Urda (France)
8. Elias Jamil Jensen (Denmark)
9. Sven Cerjak (Slovenia)
10. Leo Klasson (Sweden)
11. Beau Bailey (Australia)
12. Jacob Bolcho Pedersen (Denmark)
13. Adam Nejezchleba (Czech Republic)
14. Maksymilian Kostera (Poland)
15. William Cairns (Great Britain)
16. Jordy Loftus (Australia)
17. Filip Beczkowski (Poland – first track reserve)
18. Kewin Nycz (Poland – second track reserve)
Words by Speedway GP – Feature Image – Great Britain racer Cooper Rushen lines up in Gorzow. PHOTO: Marcin Karczewski
