Mikkel Michelsen says he ‘wants to be world champion’ ahead of FIM Speedway GP of Poland

ByWill Magee

Published 10/05/2022 at 10:18 GMT

Having reached his first Speedway Grand Prix final in Croatia last month, finishing third behind winner Bartosz Zmarzlik and runner-up Maciej Janowski, Mikkel Michelsen feels ready to take his results to the next level. While Zmarzlik and Janowski remain the hot favourites, the Danish racer has forced his way into the reckoning for the world title.

Mikkel Michelsen has said that he “wants to be world champion” ahead of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on Saturday.

The Danish racer reached his first Speedway GP final in Croatia last month, finishing third behind winner Bartosz Zmarzlik and runner-up Maciej Janowski. His impressive showing in Gorican comes on the back of a strong start to the season with Polish club Lublin and Danish outfit Slangerup, all of which has seen him tipped as an outsider for the Speedway GP world title.

While Zmarzlik and Janowski remain the hot favourites, Michelsen is not one to shy away from a challenge. With the Speedway GP of Poland set to take place in Warsaw next weekend, the 27-year-old was asked about his ambitions for the rest of the season.

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“If you don’t have confidence in yourself and you don’t believe you can do it, there’s no point in being here,” he said.

“Obviously the realistic goal for this season is the top six. Everyone wants to finish in the top six. But we want to be world champion as well. That’s why we are here. Everyone wants to win and that’s my mindset as well.

“I come into every round to win the round and I go out on the track to win every race. I am going to do everything I can and we will see where we end up at the end of the series.

“I am going to put in the work that’s necessary and my boys are going to do that too. As long as we can continue doing that, they give 100 per cent in the pits and I give 100 per cent on the track, we stand where we do and we will see where it takes us.

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“Like I said before the season, I know what I am capable of and I know what I can do when my head is in the right place and the team around me is in the right place too. We set up the bike properly and then it’s only me that decides where we need to be going.

“I feel like me and the team worked really well together in Croatia. We got the set-up pretty spot on. Maybe towards the end of the meeting we were struggling a little bit, but everyone was because it was so slick. At the end of the day, I have to be pretty happy with third place.”

Speaking after the Speedway GP of Croatia, former British Speedway champion Kelvin Tatum, who was on commentary for discovery+, reserved high praise for Mickelson. “Super effort,” he said. “First final, made third place, good effort.”

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The 2022 Speedway Grand Prix will be available live and ad-free on discovery+ with live race action also on Eurosport 2.

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