JJ Explains : The SGP Series

I’ve given a guide to the UK club tracks and I’ve explained the bikes briefly. So I’ll take this chance to explain the highest point for a rider. The Speedway Grand Prix Series (SGP).

The SGP’s are part of the World Championship umbrella run by the FIM and promoted by Discover Sports. The Grand Prix’s are a series of individual events, run across the world (predominantly in Europe at the moment as the world recovers from covid). Each grand prix consists of 23 heats with 18 riders in the event. 16 will compete in the main field with 2 riders on standby for injuries or starting offences. 15 of these riders are permanent to the series (bar injury) and 1 is a wildcard usually from the host nation when possible.

The SGP series is used to determine the Individual world champion. The SGP winner is the rider who wins the final (Heat 23). To qualify for this heat, the rider must compete in 5 of the first 20 heats and be in the top 8 scorers following heat 20. They will then be drawn into a semi-final. Avoiding a 3rd or 4th will see them make the final.

The winner gets 20 points, then 18, then 16 and so on.?Track sizes and surfaces are varied meaning different skill sets are required. You can go from the wide open spaces of Wroclaw to the rough and technical indoor tracks like Cardiff.

I love the SGPs. They were introduced in 1995 replacing one of world finals. It requires a rider to be consistent across the year. You must be fit and able to avoid/recover quickly from injury and able to grind out results even when having a bad night. It’s demanding physically, mentally and even finically as riders can invest loads into their bikes just for it to go wrong. It’s the height of the speedway pyramid.

What would I do to improve it? I’d change the structure to a 24 heat meeting with an A/B/C/D final to make the qualifying heats more cutthroat. Top 4 make the final. Plus more indoor/tighter tracks to really test the riders. They are definitely worth going to when possible.?

Article by guest rider and speedway racer James Jessop