2019 Wildcard Anders Thomsen will probably not forget his SEC season in a hurry. He took part in three of four Rounds but missed racing in his native country, Denmark. That was because in Round 2 in Torun, he was involved in a serious crash.
Thomsen was leading the heat and as he came out of the third turn, Leon Madsen, tried to undertake his countryman. Unfortunately, the SEC Bronze medallist clipping the 26-year-old causing him to come off his bike.
That in and of itself would not have been too bad, but as the Dane slid across the shale, Robert Lambert could not avoid him and rode right over the top of unlucky Thomsen. The Dane was left with five broken ribs and a broken hand. Amazingly, he was back racing after a month, but naturally, he was fighting through the pain barrier in every race.
“The worst thing was that I was in really good flow, I was the top scorer in the Metal League in Denmark and I took 15 points in my first ever Ekstraliga match with Gorzow Stal”, he says.
“It was the same when I was in the SEC in 2016. It was really tough, I finished the final with two broken hands,” and he goes on, “I was beginning to think I will never ride this event again; I am always unlucky!” he says with a laugh.
But Thomsen is not going to give up on trying to qualify his way back into the SEC in 2020. He was partly inspired by getting one of his highest scores in the SEC during the final Round of 2019 in Chorzow.
“The SEC is a really great event, it is like being at the SGP, it is very professional and the organisation really looks after you”, he said talking about his experience, “Of course, I know that if I win the SEC I can get into the SGP, so that’s another reason to take part”.
The Dane will continue to ride with Gorzow in Poland, but in Sweden and Denmark he will change clubs for 2020.
In Sweden the 26-year-old has moved from Kumla Indianerna to Västervik Speedway, meaning he will be able to race alongside 2018 U21 World Champion and 2020 SEC rider, Bartosz Smektala.
In Denmark he will ride for Sønderjylland Elite Speedway, who are based at Vojens Speedway Center, the venue for the first Round in the SEC on 20 June 2020. It means that Thomsen will have the advantage of racing on his home track if he qualifies for this year’s Speedway Euro Championships.
Thomsen may not have had much luck in the two chances at the SEC, but you can be sure with his dedication and methodical approach, he will do all he can to reach the top of the podium in Europe this year.
