A thrilling final at the Speedway GP2 in Łódź: only one rider saw the chequered flag

Ahead of the final SGP2 race in Vojens, Denmark, in mid-September, Denmark’s Mikkel Andersen is the clear favourite for the U21 World Championship title and, following his victory in Łódź, holds a ten-point lead over Maksymilian Pawelczak. The Pole was the standout rider in the heats at his home race and qualified for the final undefeated. Andersen, on the other hand, did not get off to a good start on race day and scored just two points in his first two heats. Changing his motorbike before the third heat paid off, and Brian Andersen’s son improved significantly.

Nevertheless, Andersen had to fight for his place in the final via the Last Chance Heat, as he had dropped too many points early on in the race. However, Andersen and his compatriot Nicolai Heiselberg then comfortably made it through to the final, in which only Andersen remained. First, the Australian Beau Bailey – who had already featured in one of the heats – crashed, with only one rider seeing the chequered flag. Bailey had collided with Pawelczak in the starting bend, fell, and as a result of the crash, Heiselberg also fell, meaning he was unable to compete in the re-run. Consequently, only Andersen and Pawelczak were left on the starting grid for the re-run. As Andersen overtook the Pole at the entrance to the final bend, the latter crashed through his own fault, meaning that Mikkel, as the sole remaining rider, claimed victory.

Maksymilian Pawelczak (li.) und Mikkel Andersen

Foto: jarek pabijan

Mikkel Andersen can follow in his father Brian’s footsteps

“That was a hard-fought victory,” said Andersen. “After the first two heats, I hadn’t expected to make it through to the final, and I still can’t believe it. In the first race, I chose the wrong motorbike and finished third; in the second, I tried that bike again. That was a mistake, and I finished third once more. Then I had to fall back on the spare motorbike, and it worked straight away.”

At the season finale in Vojens, a sixth-place finish will be enough for Mikkel Andersen to become the new U21 World Champion – a feat his father Brian achieved in the 1991 final at Coventry. “I’m looking forward to racing in Vojens in front of my home crowd and want to put in a good performance – that’s the most important thing for now,” says the Dane, looking ahead. “We’ve got 16 fast riders on the starting grid, so anything is possible, and in Vojens it’s back to square one, which is why we’re taking it step by step. If it all comes together in the end, I’d obviously be over the moon.”

Janek Konzack (re.) gegen Mitch McDiarmid

Foto: jarek pabijan

Janek Konzack makes a decent SGP2 debut

In his first race, Janek Konzack found himself well behind the field after an unfavourable first corner, but managed to close the gap on his rivals, though he was unable to finish in the points. In his second race, the German got off to a better start and moved into second place after the first lap, a position he held securely ahead of Antoni Mencel and Nicolai Heiselberg to the finish. In the following two heats, the World Championship replacement rider had to start from the yellow grid position in each case and managed to overtake Sven Cerjak in the third heat. In the fourth heat, Janek failed to score any points. The 16-year-old secured his fourth point in the final heat, when he managed to hold off the Australian Mitch McDiarmid.

Results SGP2 Łódź/PL:

Standings after 2 of 3 races: