JAKOBSEN: POLES FACE OUTRUP TEST

Danish racer Frederik Jakobsen hopes home-track advantage will give his side the initiative in tonight’s FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship Final in Outrup.

The Poole, Poznan and Fjelsted man skippers his country into action alongside new national under-21 champion Andreas Lyager, Patrick Hansen, Christian Thaysen and Jonas Seifert-Sark.

They face an extremely tough test with Poland tracking World Under-21 top two Maksym Drabik and Bartosz Smektala, plus Daniel Kaczmarek, Rafal Karczmarz and Wiktor Lampart.

Sweden line up with Joel Kling, Emil Millberg, William Bjorling, Anton Karlsson and Henrik Bergstrom, while GB are without under-21 talisman Robert Lambert, who rides in the Speedway European Championship round at Daugavpils. They track Dan Bewley, Zach Wajtknecht, Ellis Perks, Nathan Greaves and Connor Mountain.

Although the Poles are tipped as red-hot favourites, despite missing the injured Dominik Kubera, Jakobsen hopes a tight and grippy Outrup track will play into the Danes’ hands.

“Being on our home track gives us a bit of an advantage,” he said. “It’s a bit of a tricky track – it’s not as wide as the Poles are used to, which makes it a bit special. It’s only 290 metres.

“We hope we can take some advantage of that and if we can match them in most of the races, it might make a difference as to who wins.”

Despite none of the Danish team calling Outrup their home track, Jakobsen hopes the most competitive of practice sessions there will boost their chances.

“A couple of weeks ago we raced the Danish Under-21 Championship Final there,” Jakobsen smiled. “So everyone knows the track quite well.

“We are on our home track and everyone is expecting us to push Poland a bit, so that’s what we’re going for.”

There’s no doubt Lambert’s absence is a blow to the Brits’ hopes. But Jakobsen isn’t taking the Lions lightly.

He said: “For sure, Robert would have been very good around there, but GB still have Bewley and a few other riders too. It’s a technical track – similar to some British tracks, so we should fear them as well – and Poland.”