LINDGREN: STILL CHASING TITLE DREAM

Swedish star Freddie Lindgren insisted “I haven’t given up on my dream to be world champion” after returning to the FIM Speedway Grand Prix rostrum in Torun last weekend.

The Orebro-born ace won his second bronze medal in three years, finishing in the world’s top four for a third straight season.

Lindgren went into the FST Grupa Brokerska Torun SGP round-eight final requiring a podium spot to seal World Championship silver. But disaster struck when he broke down at the start line with a carburettor problem, forcing him into a run-off with Tai Woffinden, which the British racer won.

While Lindgren admits he was gutted to come up short in the title race, he pledged to keep pushing for the sport’s biggest prize in 2021.

He said: “I haven’t given up on my dream to be world champion. I am going to work hard again this winter. We are going to see if we can improve something with the bikes and be even faster.

“I will keep working and that’s all you can do. I will give everything I have again next year and see if I can go higher.”

Lindgren added: “Overall, I have had a great performance this season and I got another SGP win in Gorzow.

“Last time I got the bronze medal, I was definitely happier than I was on Saturday. But at the same time, this year I have been close to having a shot at the title and I didn’t have that last time. That’s definitely a step in the right direction.

“I have to congratulate Bartek very much. He truly deserved to be world champion. He has been absolutely awesome all year. My worst finish was sixth place and I only finished third. That shows how good you have to be to win.”

Lindgren may not have got quite the result he wanted in Torun, but he still enjoyed a life-changing weekend. While the 35-year-old was competing at the final rounds of SGP 2020, his wife Carolina was giving birth to their daughter Millie-Li Elisabeth Lindgren in Czestochowa.

Despite Carolina’s pregnancy, the couple relocated to Poland from the base in Andorra to allow Freddie to race during a coronavirus-hit season.

And the new dad paid tribute to his wife for taking care of their special delivery while he took care of business on the shale.

He said: “I’m very proud of Carolina. To come to Poland and stay with me while being pregnant was a big move – she was in a different country, doesn’t know the language and there’s everything else going on in the world.

“But we have been taken care of very well by a clinic in Czestochowa that has helped us very much. We are very grateful for that and we feel lucky that way. Our baby is healthy and I am happy. It’s an exciting time. Everything went spot on and there were no dramas. The baby is fine and Carolina is fine. The timing is perfect too – I can get into the daddy role in the off-season.”

Lindgren admits becoming a dad puts any disappointment he has at missing out on the world’s top two into perspective. He said: “You win and lose, but life always goes on. I have a new chapter in my life with the little one. Life goes on and we keep fighting.”