You’ve been racing speedway for many years, and have represented many clubs in Denmark, the UK and Poland. Which teams have you enjoyed racing for most in each country and why?
Yeah, to be honest mate, I have had many great times in all the clubs I’ve raced for, but if I was to pick one individual place in UK, it would probably be Peterborough
I’d started at Stoke first, then I was at Peterborough and I had an awesome couple of years there, everything was just great. I know it’s maybe hard (for you as an Edinburgh fan) to accept this but I also always enjoyed racing for Glasgow…
In Denmark I always enjoyed racing for Holsted. I felt at home, and lucky to race there…I also enjoyed racing for Esbjerg in 2022, that was really nice. And I had really good times with Fjelsted back in the days with Morten (Svendsen) who is now Danish assistant coach. But right now after a successful year last year, my average is quite high which maybe counts against me a bit…
In Poland, I loved racing at Krosno, and had some good years racing in the Polish 2nd division for them.
As we approach the start of the 2024 season, you are returning to Workington’s exciting new set up. You last raced for the Comets in 2016. How do you think the club will perform this year with what looks like a very interesting squad?
I've only seen pictures of the place up until now but I really think they are onto something good, they have good people there running it and the team is a really good mix - some more experienced guys like Cookie and Batch as well as the younger riders as well. I’m looking forward to it a lot and I’m really up for it because I think we will definitely be underdogs.
Recently, you were part of the Team 3PL Camp at Zarnovica. This looked like a great experience for the various members of Paw Kristensen's stable. How has he helped you with your preparations for this year?
I absolutely appreciate the tremendous opportunity we had; I was there from Sunday to Tuesday - it’s Martin Vaculik’s home track and it was so great to chill with the guys, share info and have lots of track time. The track and stadium is big and was great to race on.
I have to say that Paw is a man with his foot down to the ground, he’s so passionate about speedway and I know he obviously sponsors various riders, and people in other sports as well. It was fantastic that he was able to bring us all together, along with Greg Hancock too - I think whoever you speak to would say the same about Paw, he’s just a tremendous guy. Having been there and had all that track time, I definitely feel fit and ready for the season.
I’m coming with a group of fans from the Continental European Speedway FB group to Grindsted on 10th April. This will be our first experience of speedway in Denmark. Do you have any tips or advice for us ahead of our visit?
Haha, well it’s not really like Poland of course, it’s more like the UK. You’re definitely going to enjoy yourself and there will be a really big crowd there as the local community sponsors the meeting and it’s free entry. You’ll need to get some of the sausages from the barbeque for sure! If you have time the next day before you fly to Poland, you’ll be welcome to come to my place for coffee, as it’s only a few minutes away.
Thank you Claus for your answers and best of luck for your season in 2024!
Thanks to you too Michael and see you and your guys in Grindsted on the 10th April!
Michael Purves, 30.03.2024
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