Speedway

Australia claim overnight lead at the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Finals

Posted:

Sunday, July 21st, 2019

9:38 AM

Aussie skipper Jason Doyle says his side will delay any dreams of world title glory until Sunday‰Ûªs Grand Final after the Roos claimed the overnight lead at the Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Finals in Togliatti on Saturday.

The men from Down Under topped the score chart on 23 points, pipping defending champions and hosts Russia, who tallied 22. In a tight battle for top spot, the Poles are also in hot pursuit on 21 in third.

Doyle led his country in fine style with 16 points from a possible 18, with Max Fricke adding five and under-21 star Jaimon Lidsey scoring two.

It‰Ûªs 17 years since Australia‰Ûªs last world team title win at the 2002 FIM Speedway World Cup Final in Peterborough. But 2017 FIM Speedway Grand Prix world champion Doyle won‰Ûªt be getting carried away about the prospect of ending that wait with some big rides ahead of his side on Day 2 on Sunday.

‰ÛÏWe don‰Ûªt think about that until tomorrow night going into the Grand Final. Everyone knows what can happen. We need to keep our heads screwed on and know it‰Ûªs a new day," Doyle said.

‰ÛÏWe‰Ûªre all doing our country proud and we hope the Aussies back at home can see how much it means to us to ride for our country.

‰ÛÏIt‰Ûªs halfway and we know what can happen in speedway. We need to work very hard in the coming heats to get back the points we missed out on today. Max got on his second bike and started going very fast. That‰Ûªs a good sign. I‰Ûªm glad we made that move and we know we‰Ûªre ready for tomorrow.

‰ÛÏI am very happy with my performance, but I know speedway can change and you never know what can happen.‰Û

Doyle only made his debut for Australia aged 27 in 2013 and feared his chance to represent his country had passed him by. So he was delighted to underline his pride in racing for the Roos with another big haul of points.

‰ÛÏIt‰Ûªs always an honour to ride for your country and it‰Ûªs a thing I thought would never be possible," Doyle continued.

‰ÛÏIt‰Ûªs always close to my heart when I do ride for Australia because I know there are many young boys who still want to ride for their country.

‰ÛÏI take great pride in it and this was a great night for myself with the points I scored. But I know it‰Ûªs going to be tough tomorrow.‰Û

MONSTER ENERGY SON FINAL DAY 1 SCORES:

AUSTRALIA 23:
1 Jason Doyle 16,
2 Max Fricke 5,
3 Jaimon Lidsey 2.

RUSSIA 22:
1 Emil Sayfutdinov 17,
2 Artem Laguta 4,
3 Gleb Chugunov 1.

POLAND 21:
1 Maciej Janowski 0,
2 Bartosz Zmarzlik 17,
3 Maksym Drabik 4.

DENMARK 19:
1 Leon Madsen 13,
2 Niels-Kristian Iversen 2,
3 Frederik Jakobsen 4.

SWEDEN 16:
1 Fredrik Lindgren 9,
2 Peter Ljung 7,
3 Filip Hjelmland 0.

GERMANY 14:
1 Erik Riss 5,
2 Kai Huckenbeck 9,
3 Lukas Fienhage 0.

GREAT BRITAIN 10:
1 Craig Cook 6,
2 Chris Harris 2,
3 Robert Lambert 2.

MONSTER ENERGY SON FINAL DAY 2 DRAW
A: Germany
B: Australia
C: Sweden
D: Poland
E: Russia
F: Great Britain
G: Denmark