MONSTER ENERGY SON SEMI-FINALS | HOW IT WORKS

The Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations is back! Ahead of this weekend’s Semi-Finals in Daugavpils, here’s a SpeedwayOfNations.com guide to how it all works.

Seven teams will battle it out in each Semi-Final. Poland take on Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovenia and the USA in Semi-Final 1 on Friday, with hosts Latvia facing MFR, Australia, Germany, France, Italy and the Ukraine in Semi-Final 2 on Saturday.

On each night, all seven countries meet each other over 21 heats, with four points on offer to a race winner, three for second, two for third and zero points for finishing last, failing to finish or being disqualified. British fans will recognise the format from the SGB Championship Best Pairs event.

The scoring system is designed to reward team riding. For example if German star Kai Huckenbeck won a heat, but Aussie duo Jason Doyle and Max Fricke finished second and third, the Roos would take a 5-4 heat advantage.

Avoiding last places is crucial to success in the Monster Energy SON. Stay out of fourth spot, and your team will always score a heat advantage!

The two countries with the most points at the end of 21 heats in each Semi-Final will qualify automatically for the Monster Energy SON Final in Manchester, where they will join hosts Great Britain on October 16 and 17.

The third and fourth-placed teams at the end of each Semi-Final then battle it out in the Final Qualifier, with the team scoring a heat advantage also making it to Manchester.

If two countries are tied on points after 21 heats, the nation that scored a heat advantage in their head-to-head race will be placed higher.

In the event three or more teams finish level on points, the countries are awarded a bonus point for each heat where they finished first and second or second and third. The team with the most bonus points is placed higher.

Should that fail to resolve the tie, the countback system is used, with the team that achieved the most race wins placed highest. If they are still level, seconds, thirds and then fourth places are taken into account, with finishing fourth considered better than being disqualified or failing to finish.

In the very unlikely event the teams are still deadlocked, the country with the highest FIM ranking will be placed highest.

Each team has an under-21 rider in their line-up, who must feature in at least one of their country's six races.

If they have not been nominated for a ride by the time of the country's final heat, they automatically replace the rider in red or white.

Get ready for an epic weekend of racing in the ultimate test of team riding. The 2021 Monster Energy SON is nearly here!