JANOWSKI STILL DREAMS OF SPEEDWAY GP COMEBACK AFTER EUROPEAN TITLE HEARTBREAK
Polish star Maciej Janowski says he would still love the chance to make a Speedway GP comeback for 2027 after falling just a point short of a return at the Speedway European Championship finale in Pardubice on Friday, October 2.
Janowski won the last round of the series, but third place for Danish racer Leon Madsen was enough to hand him a record-equalling third SEC title on 47 points, with the Pole finishing on 46.
With Madsen already certain of a spot in next year’s SGP series after finishing sixth in the 2026 Speedway GP World Championship, the SGP Commission will now select four permanent wild cards for next season, instead of their usual three nominations.
Janowski said: “I have been so close to qualifying twice. In the Challenge, I had a defect in my last heat when I was second. In Pardubice, I lost the SEC by one point.
“I will leave it in the SGP Commission’s hands. If they want to see me in the GP, I would be very happy. If not, I will find a different way.
“I think this has been a very good season. I am ready for a tough challenge in the GP. I am working hard every day to get back there. I spent many years in the GP, but if you compete, you want to compete at the top level, which is the GP. I would be very pleased to get back. The GP has been very exciting for the last two years. I have been watching with a smile on my face. It would be nice to get back and challenge myself again.”
Janowski admits his six-point score at the opening SEC round in Zielona Gora and some slow starts midway through the Pardubice round did not help his cause, despite fighting back for his second victory of the series – adding to his win at round two in Gustrow.
He said: “It was a very good night. To be honest, in the middle part of the meeting, I lost my starts completely, and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have bad speed, so I was able to get some points, but it was really hard for me.
“On the re-run of the LCQ, we changed something and that worked really well. Then the start was better. In the final, I found some very good speed on the outside.
“I am very happy. I have had a good time in the SEC series. But I lost too many points at round one in Zielona Gora. On Friday, I was not fast enough to take that title from Leon, so congrats to him.
“It was very tight. You could see on the scoreboard after four rounds of heats that no-one was winning everything. The starting gate was very difficult and there was a big difference between the gates. Everybody was losing some points, but in the end, I am very happy and satisfied.”
