The calendars for the 2001 FIM Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup have been confirmed, heralding an exciting year for the sport.

The FIM Speedway Grand Prix breaks new ground in 2001, visiting three new stadiums in three capital cities: Berlin’s Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Stadium (5 May), Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium (9 June) and Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium (29 September). The British Grand Prix is the first motorsport event in Europe’s premier stadium.

The inaugural FIM Speedway World Cup will be held in two Polish cities during the first week of July. It opens in Gdansk’s Wybrzeze Stadium on Sunday 1 July and remains in the famous Polish port for three days before heading to Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium for the race-off on Thursday 5 July, and Final on Saturday 7 July. The week-long competition also includes two rest days (Wednesday 4 and Friday 6 July).

The event format for the FIM Speedway World Cup pitches the eight seeded countries – Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Poland, USA, Australia, Czech Republic and Germany, against four of the eight countries competing in two qualifying meetings on 3 June. Slovenia, Russia, Latvia and Ukraine battle it out in Ljubliana, Slovenia, while Hungary, Norway, Finland and Italy meet in Debrecen, Hungary.

Commenting on the new season John Postlethwaite, Chief Executive of rights holders Benfield Sports International said: ‘We are in for an exciting year. There has been a significant improvement in the quality of stadia in exciting major cities like Berlin, Cardiff and Stockholm and we have again increased global television coverage of the GP Series. The World Cup in Poland will be a celebration of top class speedway in a country passionate about the sport. The two events will combine to provide the most exciting season of international speedway ever.’
For further information:
Jonathan Sim at Benfield Sports International
+44(0)207 578 7061
+44 (0)7788 717 829
www.speedwaygp.com