Swedish hero Fredrik Lindgren pledged to "give everything" as he bids to close the gap on top two Bartosz Zmarzlik and Artem Laguta at the Swedish FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Malilla on Saturday.
The reigning Swedish champion topped the podium when the Skrotfrag Arena last staged World Championship action in August 2019 and he would love a repeat performance, with Oliver Berntzon and wild card Pontus Aspgren also bidding to impress in their homeland.
Lindgren reached both finals at the Orlen Lublin SGP of Poland double-header last weekend to move up to third place in the World Championship on 80 points. World champion Zmarzlik leads the standings on 101, with Laguta in hot pursuit on 100.
With a maximum 100 points still up for grabs over the final five rounds this season, Lindgren has time to close on the leaders. While he knows it will be no easy task, the world No.3 is up for the challenge of chasing them down.
He said: "I will give everything I have. I can't do anything about the opposition. They have raced very well "“ both Bartosz and Artem "“ the whole year so far.
"I can only focus on myself and do my best. At the moment, it's not quite enough to be up there challenging for the title, but I will keep working hard, keep fighting and we will see where we are at the last round in Torun."
With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of last season's Swedish SGP in Malilla, Lindgren can't wait to race in a home event again. He said: "I look forward to racing in front of the Swedish fans. I am back racing in the Swedish domestic league as well and that has been a big boost for me. I look forward to Malilla definitely."
Lindgren recently ended his absence from Sweden's Bauhaus Elitserien, signing a contract with Vastervik.
He scored an 18-point maximum for the club away to reigning champions Masarna on Tuesday night and it appears his decision to race in his home league for the first time since 2019 is paying dividends as he teams up with a very familiar face.
He said: "I think I needed some more racing and also a change of scenery. I am at Vastervik, working together with Morgan Andersson, the Swedish team manager. I have worked with him before. He was in my GP pit crew for a couple of years. I know him very well. It has worked out well for me.
"I feel very familiar with him and the way he works. I know I will always get 100 percent from him and I feel comfortable racing with him by my side."
Title challenger Laguta stepped up his bid for the sport's biggest prize with his second victory of the season at Orlen Lublin SGP of Poland round six last Saturday. He passed Zmarzlik in spectacular style to win the final and he is firmly in the running to deny the Pole a third straight world title.
His manager Rafal Lewicki insists a rider who has never finished higher than sixth in the SGP World Championship has every reason to dream of gold.
He said: "In the Grand Prix, you are there to achieve your dreams and we believe that it is possible. Of course we know there is a lot of hard work in front of us. It's not going to be easy "“ it will get even harder. But we are ready for it.
"We are not looking at how many points we are behind or who is behind us. We are just focusing on every single race and we will count the points at the end in Torun in October."
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 101, 2 Artem Laguta 100, 3 Fredrik Lindgren 80, 4 Emil Sayfutdinov 79, 5 Maciej Janowski 72, 6 Tai Woffinden 65, 7 Leon Madsen 59, 8 Max Fricke 52, 9 Jason Doyle 47, 10 Martin Vaculik 45, 11 Robert Lambert 41, 12 Anders Thomsen 35, 13 Dominik Kubera 34, 14 Matej Zagar 27, 15 Krzysztof Kasprzak 14, 16 Oliver Berntzon 10, 17 Gleb Chugunov 8, 18 Jan Kvech 7.
SWEDISH SGP LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers): 95 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland), 108 Tai Woffinden (Great Britain), 66 Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden), 71 Maciej Janowski (Poland), 30 Leon Madsen (Denmark), 69 Jason Doyle (Australia), 222 Artem Laguta, 89 Emil Sayfutdinov, 415 Dominik Kubera (Poland "“ substitute for 54 Martin Vaculik), 46 Max Fricke (Australia), 55 Matej Zagar (Slovenia), 105 Anders Thomsen (Denmark), 93 Oliver Berntzon (Sweden), 187 Krzysztof Kasprzak (Poland), 505 Robert Lambert (Great Britain), 16 Pontus Aspgren (wild card "“ Sweden), 17 Kim Nilsson (first track reserve "“ Sweden), 18 Joel Andersson (second track reserve "“ Sweden).
