Monster Energy Interview | FIM Speedway GP’s Fredrik “Freddie” Lindgren

With the rich blue and yellow colors of the Swedish national flag flying overhead, race gas coursing through his veins, and tens of thousands of raucous FIM Speedway GP fans poised to go bonkers when the season gets underway April 27th in Croatia, Monster Energy’s Fredrik “Freddie” Lindgren, 38, sits right smack dab in the middle of speedway superstardom.

At a point where you might consider questioning things like “competitiveness” and “injuries,” Lindgren has, interestingly enough, gotten better with age. A (roughly) top ten competitor for much of his career, it wasn’t until 2018 that Lindgren cracked Speedway GP’s top five. And since then he’s continued to do just that, including a couple overall podium results (2018-’20) before winning the Silver Medal as last year’s Speedway GP runner up.

Monster Energy caught up with Lindgren to find out what his secret is – becoming more competitive and successful with age – in a sport where athletes tend to hit their prime far before they’re looking 40 years old right in the eye. 

Here’s Freddie!

Monster Energy: Freddie! Before we look back on your awesome 2023 season and FIM Speedway GP Silver medal, get the Monster Army caught up a bit on what you did during the off-season.

Fredrik Lindgren: I actually really do enjoy my off season. We went on a family vacation to Mauritius in November. When we got back from there we pretty much stayed most winter in one place at our holiday house in South of Spain. For me it's nice not having to travel around all the time. Get some time with my family, get into routines and do my daily training program. Weather is great in Spain for training outside like running, cycling, motocross riding, enduro riding, what else yeah, I have played some tennis, too. That's been good fun.

ME: This might seem like an odd question, but we’re asking it anyway (laughs)… Since you’re so used to going left and sideways on a motorcycle, does it feel ‘strange’ at all to get on a dirt bike and ride an MX track, turning left AND right, along with jumping, cornering in off-camber turns, whoops, hills, etc.? Or ripping turns on a street bike on a curvy road?

FL: It is very nice for me to jump on a motocross bike for example, change things up a bit. Obviously, I am not as fast on this kind of bike, but it gives me a real buzz when I clear a difficult jump. When I race on speedway the margins to get better where I'm at are so small, after a day on a motocross track I can make such a big development sometimes and that gives a kind of satisfaction for me.

ME: Interesting! Alright, enough with the silly stuff. Let’s get down to business here… what’s it going to take to top Bartosz for the Gold medal this year?

FL: It is simple really, I have to score the most points, to do that I need to win more GPs - and be consistent at the very top level at every round.

ME: Talk a bit more about Bartosz and what makes him such a strong racer?

FL: Well, I try not to focus too much on other riders, but if I am going to say something about Bartosz it is this; he's an inspiration for me to get better. Sometimes I can watch him ride, he takes a line or makes a move and I think to myself I would struggle to execute what he just did. Then he is an inspiration for me to go out on the track get out of my comfort zone and develop my skills and I thank him for that.

ME: And along those same lines, what aspects of your racing game do you feel allow you to keep pace with Bartosz, as well as the other top racers on the Speedway GP tour?

FL: I think the key for me to be competitive is that I still believe I can get better. I have a lot of motivation and dedication to make progress and I have faith in what I do. I also enjoy the journey together with the people I work with. For me, a satisfying day can be a day on the test track together with my crew.

ME: Looking back at your highly successful 2023 season, would you say that your Orlen FIM Speedway GP Poland – Warsaw was your No. 1 highlight?

FL: Definitely, winning this GP was my highlight in 2023. This round is the pinnacle of our sport at the moment, our biggest GP on the calendar with a sell-out National Stadium in Warsaw. 

ME: That’s huge. What were some other points of the 2023 FIM Speedway GP season that allowed you to race to the Silver medal?

FL: I believe consistency making it to the final heat, which means you're in the top 4 and I did that in 8 out of 10 GPs in 2023. 

ME: Excellent. If you could have had one throw away race, we’d figure it would have been the German GP. You came out of there with just five points – and end up only 8 points (158-150) behind Bartosz at season’s end. Talk about the German GP and what went wrong that weekend.

FL: We had some insecurities with the equipment for this track. It is a very specific track which rides very slick. It's difficult to get the power to the ground. We had done some testing prior to the GP and believed we had something which would work good for this track. But we were wrong and made a couple of wrong decisions as a team on this race weekend and you cannot afford to do that on the highest level.

ME: For 2024, what are the races that stick out on the Speedway GP schedule – ones that possibly favor your riding style, or are just events you, for whatever reason, are really looking forward to?

FL: I enjoy the big stadium events Warsaw GP and Cardiff GP where they build a temporary track in these great stadiums with big crowds and great atmosphere. Another favorite on the schedule is the GP of my home country in Malilla, Sweden, as I always have great support there.

ME: Talk about the team you’re working with again this year.

FL: It's a fairly small team which works closely together. My wife Carolina Jonasdotter is the Sport Manager. The three mechanics Jonathan Birks, David Haynes and Emil Pulczynski. We also work very closely together with our engine tuner, Bert van Essen.

ME: So you recently just re-signed for two years with Monster Energy. Talk about your relationship with the American energy drink brand and what it’s meant to your racing career. 

FL: I am stoked to be with the Monster Energy family. I feel they really care about their athletes. Monster Energy Sports Marketing Manager Joe Parsons comes out to all our big events to support myself, along with the other Monster Energy riders. That just shows they want the absolute best for their athletes. Monster Energy always involve their fans to create a great event. This is hugely important as we would not be able to do this at this level without our fans.

ME: The Monster Energy brand has a pretty solid foothold in FIM Speedway GP. Do you sense a positive vibe with the speedway fans and the brand?

FL: Absolutely. Again, Monster Energy helps make the event a much greater event involving the fans creating that positive vibe together with the riders and the fans. 

ME: Right on. Thanks for your time, Freddie. We’ll look forward to seeing you in the gate at Donji Kraljevec, Croatia, April 27th for the opening round of 2024 FIM Speedway GP.

FL: Thank you very much