FIM Speedway Grand Prix Ace “Fast’ Freddie Lindgren

Monster Energy’s FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) racer Freddie Lindgren is in for quite a battle this weekend. A mere six points separate him from the overall SGP points leader Bartosz Zmarzlik and the coveted title of SGP Gold Medalist as 10-race season champion.

Flying the flag of Sweden – the world’s No. 1 most successful SGP nation with a combined 40 Gold, Silver and Bronze medals – Lindgren is representing a long line of Swedish SGP champions, including the great Tony Rickardsson, winner of six (6) SGP championship Gold medals, Ove Fundin – to whom the SGP World Championships trophy is named after – and past Swedish SGP champions Bjorn Knutson, Anders Michanek and Per Jonsson.

Lindgren, as you’ll read, is a Monster Energy athlete to the core. A former snowboarder, Lindgren is also a huge Monster Energy AMA Supercross fan, and never misses a race on TV. But as you’ll learn here, while hopefully tuning in to check out some SGP Finals racing from Torun, Poland, or catching some of the post Final highlights, speedway is a sport our SX racers like Eli Tomac and Haiden Deegan would no doubt appreciate as well, much like Lindgren does of their sport.

So let’s tee up a cool discussion here with Freddie Lindgren, get to know a bit about his background in motorcycle racing, what other stuff he’s in to and, of course, the big event this weekend – the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Finals – at the famed Marian Rose Motoarena in Torun, Poland.

Hey, Fredrik! Congrats on your recent FIM Speedway GP podium in Denmark. Before we get into the next week’s championship final in Poland, let’s get MonsterEnergy.com readers up to speed on your career in motorcycle racing and the sport of FIM Speedway GP. First off, like most of the American ‘dirt track’ racers, which is our most similar sport to speedway, did you get your start in speedway racing by first riding/racing mini bike motocross?

I first rode a motorcycle just before I turned 3 years old, so yes, I got started at a very young age. My granddad had built a mini speedway motorcycle with a 50cc engine which I rode, and I also had a Yamaha PW50, which was the first bike for most kids in this era. I was hooked by the sport of speedway very early, so I always wanted to ride in circles. We did go to motocross tracks sometimes, but since I can remember I always wanted to be a speedway rider. 

Interesting. Your father, Tommy, was a speedway racer. Talk about the influence he had – and still has – on you with the sport.

I was very fortunate to have a father which had a lot of knowledge about the sport, with riding technique, line choices and the mechanical side of things. You could say that he worked for me as a trainer in the early part of my career – when it’s very important to build the fundamentals of everything and to be guided in the right way from the beginning. I have benefitted from having him in my corner for that part of my career.

That’s always rewarding. Aside from racing, and growing up in athletic-friendly Sweden, did you participate in any other sports during the off-season, and while in school?

I played both soccer and ice hockey during my youth. Soccer I had to give up early as it’s a summer sport and clashed with my speedway racing. In Junior High School, I went to a special sports school for ice hockey. I really loved playing that game. One of my ice hockey teammates at the time, Carl Gunnarsson, went on to play in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with St Louis Blues in 2019. 

That’s awesome! Great story. Monster Energy backs such a wide range of athletes. Of all the sports – from surfing and skateboarding to snowboarding and freeskiing, BMX and mountain bike free riding… If you were to select one of those sports to watch, say at the X Games, which one interests you the most?

I have always been a big admirer of the freestyle sports since I was young. It’s breathtaking to watch what they can do. If I were to choose one – and we take out dirt bikes, which would be the obvious ones – being a motorcyclist myself, I would choose snowboarding. As a kid in the mid-90s, I used to ride snowboards a lot. Me and my friends always used to be in the freestyle parks. I used to read the snowboards magazines and there were two Scandinavians at the time Terje Hakonsen and Ingemar Backman, both of whom we looked up to. And both, would say, were pioneers of the sport of snowboarding.

That will surely resonate with the Monster Army and monsterenergy.com readers, Fredrik. … Given those factions, let me ask you this: How would you explain the sport of FIM Speedway GP to someone in a country that doesn’t host a GP, or would be unfamiliar with the sport?

Four guys going flat out for four laps, which takes one minute, on a motorcycle without any brakes or any gears on a circle track. It’s the sprint race of motorcycle sport. Pure racing with high adrenaline.

I’m quite certain our readers will relate to that. So you’re 38 years old and have been racing professionally since you were a teenager. What is it about the sport of speedway that keeps you coming back, year after year, to compete?

For me personally, it’s the strive to be better. I still feel I can develop myself to be a better rider. And we can develop the bike to perform better. It’s also the journey I do together with the people around me, which I also enjoy. A day at the test track together with the crew… we have some fun, might find something good which we are able to execute on a big race night - that’s all exiting for me. But probably the most addictive thing with the sport is that winning feeling. When there is a big competition where everything is going come down to the last race, you can feel the adrenaline pumping, you can feel the heart beats and you know you’ve got to put everything out on the line and execute everything perfect to be able to win. When you are able to cross that finish line first, in these kinds of situations, that feeling is unbelievable.

So true. Beyond speedway, are you able, as a fan, to get to other forms of sport or motorsport in Europe, and around the world to watch just as a spectator?

There is only one other sport I follow, and it is a motorsport. It’s the Monster Energy Supercross in the USA. I never miss watching that on the TV. I have been a few times to watch it ‘Live’ at the opening round Anaheim 1 and I truly love watching that sport.

That right there’s outstanding. Moving up the Torun, Poland FIM Speedway GP finals, last week in Denmark took somewhat of a strange turn – one where you benefitted in the overall title points chase. Explain what happened in Denmark, how your race went, and how the table is now set for the Sept. 30th finals in Poland.

What happened was that Bartosz (Zmarzlik, the current SGP overall points leader) had during Qualifying Practice wore a race suit which did not conform to the FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship Regulations. The FIM assessed a penalty, and he was fined 600€ and disqualified from the Danish Grand Prix. I finished in second position in Denmark, which means the gap went from 24 points to 6 points in the championship table going into the last round in Torun, Poland.

Well, that for sure makes things a heck of a lot more interesting. Speedway is such a dogfight. Side-by-side – sideways – at crazy speeds with no brakes – as you said earlier. You really have to trust the other competitors. That said, what is your relationship with Bartosz Zmarzlik?

Me and Bartosz have a good relationship in my opinion, Outside of the Individual World Championship we race together at our Polish club, Motor Lublin, in the top domestic league in the world – Polish PGE Ekstraliga. Right now we are in the Playoff Finals and only one match away to bring home the Gold home for our club.

That’s very cool. I think some people here in the States don’t realize that you guys race numerous times though out the week with various clubs and race leagues – beyond just FIM Speedway Grand Prix events. So this weekend, to win the SGP title, which would be your first, you’ll have to go through your teammate Zmarzlik. What do you anticipate your mindset will be in the days leading up to the finals?

My mindset is to win the final round in Torun, Poland. Leading up to this final I will prepare myself the very best that I can, sticking with my program and my routines.

It’s important to note that, as motorcycle racing in all forms is considered to be an individual sport, there’s very much a behind-the-scenes team aspect to what you do and what you’ve accomplished. Talk about your team, the people around you, and how the team has allowed you to be in the position you are – 2nd place overall – following nine FIM Speedway GP races this year.

We have a fairly small team and work very closely together. The team member closest to me is my wife, Carolina. She’s the Sport & Event Manager. She takes care of most of the stuff around the racing and our team so I can put my focus on what I need to do, which is racing my bike. Then we have the mechanics. There are three of them; David Haynes, Jonathan Birks and Emil Pulczynski. I would trust my life with these boys they work so hard behind the scenes to prepare the bikes, transport the bikes and make sure everything is 100% ready for each competition. We also have a great relationship with our engine tuner, Bert van Essen of Holland, who provides me with fast engines.

Very good. With six points separating you from the No. 1-ranked SGP racer heading into the weekend, have you been in this situation in the past, with the championship on the line with one race remaining?

I have been within reach of a World Championship going into the last round before, but this will be the closest I have been, so that is exiting.

This is awesome. One last question. What do you expect the crowd to be like at Torun?

I expect a full stadium at Torun, Poland which is my main competitor’s home country. So I won’t expect to have the crowd on my side on this day.

Hahaha. Right on, Fredrik. From everyone at Monster Energy HQ in the U.S., best of luck to you this weekend in your quest for the FIM Speedway Grand Prix championship.

Thank you and thanks to everyone at Monster Energy.

Up next…

The final round of the 2023 FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championships, Saturday, Sept. 30, at Marian Rose Motoarena in Torun, Poland.