Andzejs Lebedevs didn’t win in any Speedway Euro Championship round this year. Despite that, his good, equal form led him to final in every competition and allowed him to win the European championship.
Lebedevs was one of the participants, who needed to take part in eliminations. Unfortunately, Latvian lost battle in SEC Challenge in Gorican and he was really close to leave the tournament. Fortunately for him, organizers decided to give him constant wild card - one of the best decisions they could have made.
- I’m really happy. I would like to thank organizers, who belived in me nad gave me a wild card. Only a lot of bad luck excluded me from fight in Gorican, that’s why I didn’t pass eliminations. I think I dissapointed promotors and showed, that they made good choice – said Lebedev.
The beginning of last round in Lublin wasn’t as good as Lebedev wanted. In first two races, he scored only 3 points. However, the second part of torunament was one man show. Finally Latvian promoted to final, wherein he lost only with Krzysztof Kasprzak.
- My bikes worked good. Of course, beginning was pretty nervous. I faced my biggest rivals in first heat, which we had to replay. In second approach I didn’t make as good start as in first try and speed on the field wasn’t enough to overtake anybody. However, I stayed calm and didn’t make huge changes in setups – added Latvian.
Despite 4 points lead in general classification, Lebedevs wasn’t the biggest favourite to take the gold. A lot of fans' attention was directed to Vaclav Milik and Artem Laguta.
- I was really well-prepared to ride in Lublin, because I didn’t want to defend my position to the last drop of blood. I just tried to have a lot of fun on the track. It wasn’t easy for me, my results were worse than I expected – said Latvian.
A lot of other things worked for Lebedevs' success. Latvian thanks his mom, because she made him a speedway rider.
- I’d like to thank all my family for all support. Especially, I want to thank my mom, because without her I would never try to be a speedway rider. Also my tuner Ryszard Kowalski helped me a lot and Sparta Wrocław allowed me to develop – finished Andzejs Lebedevs.
Andzejs Lebedevs’s (Latvia) stats:
Heats: 24
Points: 52
Average per heat: 2,17
Average per round: 13,00
1st: 12
2nd: 6
3rd: 4
4th: 2
