SAYFUTDINOV SEEKS RUSSIAN DOUBLE

Russian racer Emil Sayfutdinov is targeting back-to-back Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations wins as he bids to put speedway in the spotlight in his homeland in July.

The Salavat-born man joined forces with Artem Laguta and Gleb Chugunov to land the country’s first world title of any kind at the 2018 Monster Energy SON Finals in Wroclaw last June.

This summer sees Russia defend their title in the Finals at Togliatti’s impressive Anatoly Stepanov Stadium on July 20 and 21.

These will be the biggest meetings ever staged in a country which is yet to host speedway world final, despite years as an ice speedway hotbed.

Sayfutdinov is confident a huge crowd will turn out to back the defending champs as he seeks a special victory.

The double European champion said: “Hopefully if we have a chance to win again in Russia, it will be good for us and hopefully it will help Russian speedway.

“I like the stadium. It’ll be a good meeting because all the countries will be strong and I think it will be an amazing atmosphere. It will be a full stadium for those two days and it will be a good time there.”

Sayfutdinov is back in the Russian league this year, racing for Balakovo. He can’t wait to make some trips home during the speedway season, and there’s no doubt he’s keen to inspire more riders and teams to get involved in the competition.

He said: “Last year I raced there a few times and a lot of people came to the meeting and supported me. It’s good for the discipline.

“We have four teams there, but we need something to change to make speedway a little bit bigger in Russia – like it is in Poland or Sweden. For sure we need more teams and more talent to build some teams.”