PREVIEW: FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS SEMI-FINAL 1, BELLE VUE

EDINBURGH favourite Paco Castagna is looking to make a big impression with Italy as the FIM Speedway of Nations gets underway at Belle Vue tonight (Tuesday).

Castagna teams up with Plymouth’s Nico Covatti at the National Speedway Stadium, with three qualifying places available for the Final on Saturday.

The opposition include Poland, led by World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik and featuring Oxford Spires star Maciej Janowski, along with Sweden who are captained by Birmingham’s Fredrik Lindgren, as well as a German team who track Norick Blodorn (Belle Vue) and Erik Riss (Oxford) in their trio.

Castagna said: “I am having the best season of my career so far. I am really enjoying my time in the UK.

“I have found some different setups that seem to be working. I have an engine that I hope will be working well in Manchester.

“Me and Nico are going to be there. We didn’t know until the last minute whether he was going to be there or not because of his fitness, but it seems like he is going to be fit for it and we can have a good meeting.

“There is a good feeling about the SON for us. The last time I raced in the SON was at Vojens in 2022. I had a fantastic meeting and scored 17 points. There’s a really good buzz around the SON. Hopefully I can have a good meeting again and Nico can back me up.”

Team A – FRANCE

1. David Bellego ©
2. Steven Goret
3. Mathias Trésarrieu
   Team manager: Laurent Sambarrey

Team B – POLAND

1. Dominik Kubera
2. Bartosz Zmarzlik ©
3. Maciej Janowski
   Team manager: Rafal Dobrucki

Team C – ITALY

1. Paco Castagna ©
2. Nicolas Covatti
3. Nicolas Vicentin
   Team manager: Alessandro Dalla Valle

Team D – UKRAINE

1. Stanislav Melnychuk ©
2. Marko Levishyn
   Team manager: Stanisław Burza

Team E – GERMANY

1. Kai Huckenbeck ©
2. Norick Blödorn
3. Erik Riss
   Team manager: Mathias Bartz

Team F – SWEDEN

1. Fredrik Lindgren ©
2. Jacob Thorssell
3. Oliver Berntzon
   Team manager: Morgan Andersson

Team G – FINLAND

1. Jesse Mustonen ©
2. Antti Vuolas
3. Otto Raak
   Team manager: Aki-Pekka Mustonen

*TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/speedway-of-nations