Women’s Speedway takes centre stage in Croatia this weekend

The world’s leading female Speedway racers are preparing for their busiest – and most important – period of the season when this year’s FIM Women’s Speedway Academy (WSA), the FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy (WSGT) and the new FIM Women’s Speedway World Cup (WSWC) will all take place over an intense three days of action running from this coming Thursday until Saturday (2-4 July) at Donji Kraljevec in Croatia.

FIM Women’s Speedway Academy gets the action under way in Croatia
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International newcomers line up for FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy

Following a format revision after last year’s successful second edition of the WSGT, there is a huge amount of excitement surrounding the new WSWC for fast females aged sixteen and over on 500cc machines that has attracted a strong international entry from eight nations and two continents and will take place on 4 July.

However, before the tapes go up on this new competition, virtually the entire entry for the WSWC and WSGT – that will also be held on 4 July – will take part in the fifth edition of the WSA staged on 2-3 July.

Organised by the FIM Women’s Commission (CFM), the FIM Track Racing Commission (CCP) and the team behind FIM Speedway Grand Prix fixtures at the venue, the WSA is a ground-breaking initiative to promote gender inclusivity in the discipline that was first held in 2022.

A major feature of the WSA is expert tuition from some of the sport’s biggest names that since the first edition have included multi-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Champions Greg Hancock and Jason Crump. This year’s coaching duties will be undertaken by FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) Director Phil Morris, FIM Long Track Race Director Glen Phillips, CCP Director and multi-time Italian national champion Armando Castagna plus former SGP racer and two-time European champion Matej Zagar.

A comprehensive programme will take riders through aspects of the sport including riding technique, race craft, machine set-up and nutrition as well as physical and mental preparation and guidance on dealing with sponsors and the media. A content creation session will also be held to keep riders up to speed with social media skills.

With the WSA wrapped up for another year, riders will be given the opportunity to put their newly-polished skills into action in the WSWC and WSGT competitions.

Heading the WSWC entry is last year’s WSGT champion Hannah Grunwald. Just seventeen at the time of her victory, the fast-rising German talent remained unbeaten throughout the Heat stages before inflicting a rare defeat on her compatriot and women’s Speedway legend Celina Liebmann in the Final and with another twelve months of experience under her belt she could be hard to beat.

Liebmann, who won the inaugural event before competing with an injury last season, is hotly-tipped to be a front runner this time around in the WSWC, but the twenty-four-year-old is far too experienced to rest on her laurels and will undoubtedly bring her best riding to the Stadion Milenium. However, with a healthy number from the entry also having competed in last year’s WSGT, it is an experienced field and every point will be hard-fought.

A fighting fourth in the WSGT in 2025, Denmark’s Louise Funch-Larsen will have her sights fixed firmly on a WSWC podium finish and expect strong performances too from riders including Anna Hajkova from Slovakia and Australian Tayla Street who ended last season ranked fifth and sixth.

Also looking to improve in their finishes from 2025 are Poland’s Martyna Mroz, Katja Stoffer Jorgensen from Denmark, Nynke Sijbesma from the Netherlands and Germany’s Alina Zimmermann, while for Dutch racer Sanne Meijerink this will be her debut at this level.

Now intended for 250cc riders aged between thirteen and sixteen, the WSGT will be contested by riders new to the international stage, including Australian Ruby Chapman, Lenja Tebbe from Germany, Swede Indra Holmsten-Bister, Poland’s Maja Joma, Demi Blu Harris from Great Britain and Slovenia’s Tia Zorko.

The action from Donji Kraljevec gets under way on Saturday at 13:30 (local time) and will be followed by round four of the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship