Denmark’s Tino Stjernegaard Olsen took the win at the first-ever FIM Speedway World Championship (SGP4) with a 15-point maximum at Danish venue Vojens on Saturday.
The SGP4 project made its debut in 2023 as part of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ vision to deliver a new generation of champions, with six-time world champion Tony Rickardsson designing a 190cc bike to train the sport’s newest riders, aged between 11 and 13. For the first time since the SGP4 class was launched, the competition has been granted full world-championship status by the FIM. Riders from 11 different countries and four different continents headed to Vojens Speedway Center during its 50th-anniversary Weekend of Champions, battling it out over a hard-fought 20 heats.
Home hero Olsen went unbeaten over all five races to become the first-ever under-13 world champion, whilst fellow countryman Harry Moller finished second with 13 points. Australia’s Cooper Antone rounded out the podium after a third-place run-off, which saw him defeat Sweden’s Ludvig Lundgren after they tied on 11 points.
Olsen, 12, was delighted to take the win in front of an excited home crowd at his second SGP4 event. He said: “I’m feeling good. I was very nervous (going into the last race). When I got up to the start, my heart was pounding so hard. I have a lot of people helping me. Today, I had Jacob Jensen as my coach, and it was him that was calming me down.”
Runner-up Moller made it a Danish one-two on his SGP4 debut to the adoration of the home fans. Meanwhile, Antone, 13, tried to make it third time lucky in his quest for gold after winning silver in the 2023 and 2024 SGP4 events in Malilla, Sweden, but he was forced to settle for bronze this time around after hitting the tapes in his second race.
He said: “I’m a bit disappointed but it’s racing. You have to go with these things. But overall, I’m happy. It was a good race meeting; the boys rode well. I’m happy!”
When asked if he sees SGP3, the FIM Speedway Youth World Championship for 250cc, under-16 riders as the next step, he responded: “Yeah, that’ll be the next goal to get to – we’ve got to qualify for it first!”
History was also made by Danish young gun Viktoria Coopersen, who became the first-ever female heat winner in an FIM Speedway World Championships event.
Swedish legend Tony Rickardsson applauded Saturday’s SGP4 riders and thanked the families for their support.
He said: “I think the whole starting field proved to be very strong, and these guys especially stood out. They were doing fantastic racing, close racing and stayed safe – and that’s most important for me, that everybody can get home in the van in one piece.
“And what a great show they put on. They had a lot of spectators coming and watching the meeting, so for me, it was a super nice success. Congratulations to all three, and of course to the rest of the riders who participated in this first world championship.
“It has been a fantastic journey (to obtain world-championship status for this event), and we couldn’t have done it without both the kids and their families helping us out and making this possible. To sit here with these kids and see how well they’ve been riding … I’ve seen them for some years now, and the progression has been fantastic. I actually feel a little bit emotional. It was fantastic to see these guys doing so well.”
SGP4 RESULT:
1. Tino Stjernegaard Olsen (Denmark) 15 pts
2. Harry Moller (Denmark) 13 pts
3. Cooper Antone (Australia) 11 pts
4. Ludvig Lundgren (Sweden) 11pts
5. Riley Rearick (USA) 8 pts
6. Theo Trofast (Sweden) 8 pts
7. Johannes Ebel (Germany) 7 pts
8. Odd Leo Vigre (Norway) 6 pts
9. Simon Jul Vindum (Denmark) 6 pts
10. Ondrej Trnik (Slovakia) 5 pts
11. Harald Fohlin (Sweden) 5 pts
12. Nico Will (Germany) 4 pts
13. Augusto Camoriano (Argentina) 4 pts
14. Valters Buss (Latvia) 4 pts
15. Fraser Buckle (Great Britain) 4 pts
16. Viktoria Coopersen (Denmark – reserve) 3 pts
17. Ravi Nijenhuis (Netherlands) 1 pt
Words by SGP – Feature Image courtesy of Taylor Lanning
