GERMAN UNDER-21S STORM TO HISTORIC FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS – SON2 WORLD TITLE IN TORUN
German Under-21 skipper Norick Blodorn was elated to see his side enjoy the last laugh after they defied their doubters to land the country’s first-ever speedway world team title in FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2.
Blodorn joined forces with SON2 debutant Mario Hausl to top the podium in the FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship event at Torun’s iconic Marian Rose Motoarena in Poland on Friday.
Germany claimed an epic victory on 39 points, defying the sport’s traditional superpowers, beating Denmark (38) to gold by one point, with Australia claiming the bronze medals on 37.
It was a result which saw Poland’s 11-year grip on the FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship end as they finished fourth, missing out on a medal for only the second time in the competition’s 20-year history.
An elated German side tore up the history books, winning their first world team titles at senior or junior level, while the team’s number three Hannah Grunwald – the 2025 FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy winner – officially became the sport’s first-ever female world champion.
Despite powering to 24 points from a possible 28, Blodorn admits his side’s famous win came as a shock as the German Under-21s made up for the senior side’s SON exit in Semi-Final One on Tuesday.
He said: “I am pretty surprised by this, to be honest. Most of the teams were laughing about our line-up, but we did something special.
“For me, it was a goal to get a medal at the end of the season in the under-21 category. It didn’t quite work out in SGP2, but I didn’t expect that it would happen here. I will definitely take it, and I am pretty stoked.
“Everyone was saying how bad we were in the SON Semi-Final, but we have turned it around. It’s pretty unreal because nobody expected us to win. I was even sceptical about us getting close to a medal, so pulling out this performance is pretty insane.”
Blodorn also hailed the heroics of 18-year-old Hausl, who scored 15 points in Torun just two weeks after winning the prestigious Golden Ribbon under-21 event at Czech track Pardubice on September 20 – sending him into SON2 with considerable momentum.
The skipper added: “Over the second half of the season, Mario had some of the meetings of the year. He won the Golden Ribbon in Pardubice. He must have been pretty stoked with that and just continued with that performance.
“It’s his debut at this level. We worked well together, and we’ll definitely take this medal. It’s pretty insane for Germany to get up here. We can definitely be proud of that.”
Delighted German team manager Sascha Dorner hopes the victory inspires a generation of young riders in his homeland. He said: “It’s a big surprise! It was a thriller for us. We are happy we are here, and we hope this offers a lot of motivation to the young riders in Germany.
“Gold looks very good on them. Norick was great, and Mario did a really good job. He fought for every point. His points were very important for our win. We will keep working together as a team and we hope it is not the last medal for us.”
Hausl was pleased to fight his way to gold on his SON2 debut. He said: “I don’t know what to say. I am happy. I am speechless. It’s nice.
“There was no pressure for me; well, a little bit maybe. It was a hard day, but as Sascha always says, ‘Fight for every point”. That’s how we do it.”
Grunwald hailed her German teammates after watching them power the side to victory. She said: “I am very happy that we have won the SON2 World Championship. Norick and Mario rode very fast. I was very happy to be here.”
Danish Under 21 team manager Hans Andersen was proud of his side as Mikkel Andersen raced to 21 points, with Villads Nagel scoring 13 and Bastian Pedersen picking up four as they fell just short of gold. He said: “It was a very great battle. My boys did us proud. We came fifth last season at SON2 in Manchester and these are still young boys.
“This is only my second year working with them and the progress they have made has just been really good. I would have taken a medal at the start of the evening, and I have to be a little bit disappointed to come so close to winning. But fair play to the Germans; they deserved it, and they rode better than us. You don’t get gold without being the best. A silver medal is still a proud achievement for these young boys and something we can build on.”
Australian team manager Mark Lemon admits some tips from the nation’s Speedway GP and SON stars Brady Kurtz and Jason Doyle helped his side as Mitchell McDiarmid raced to 19 points, while Tate Zischke scored 18.
He said: “It was a great performance by the boys. We came here probably not expecting too much. You always have the focus of trying to medal, which is the ambition for every country.
“We had a little bit of luck along the way. But I think Mitch and Tate rode really well. As a collective behind the scenes, it was all hands on deck – from the mechanics, and also our senior riders were with us to make sure the boys had the best chance to perform on the track.
“That’s all you can do – give them the tools to deliver. Coming so close to gold and silver is a little disappointing, but we were super impressed by the Germans, and it was really special to see Norick leading them from the front. It’s great to see Germany get a gold medal.
“With Poland racing in Poland, we always knew it was going to be tough. What they have done in years gone by, winning so many titles in a row, is an incredible feat. Sometimes it makes you feel a little defeated before you get here. But I think this night proves what a great sport speedway is.”
The FIM Speedway of Nations action concludes with the FIM SON Final on Saturday night, which sees hosts Poland take on Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Great Britain, Latvia and Sweden for the 2025 FIM Speedway world team championship.
