EUROPEAN PREVIEW - SEC Chorzow

Image courtesy of Steve Hone Photography

Brennan came close to reaching this year’s SEC Challenge, missing out on a run-off in Mureck to Polish rider Bartlomiej Kowalski.

But he still made it onto the reserves’ list for the main series, and with Jacob Thorssell and Kowalski (as wild card) already called up to race at the iconic Slaski Stadium, Brennan was next in line when defending champion Mikkel Michelsen was ruled out.

It means he gets to race at one of Poland’s most famous venues, which staged World Finals and GPs in the past but is now a temporary track and was last used for the SEC in 2018-19 prior to the pandemic.

Brennan will be keen to make his mark in a meeting which has plenty resting on it, as he looks to potentially follow in the footsteps of 2020 Champion Robert Lambert, and then Dan Bewley and Adam Ellis, in becoming full-time SEC riders.

The winner of the series will receive a guaranteed place in the 2025 Speedway Grand Prix, and that position is currently held by Andzejs Lebedevs who has won two of the three rounds so far and has a six-point lead at the top of the standings.

If the Latvian should falter than there are three riders in particular who will look to take advantage – former champion Leon Madsen, who scored an 18-point maximum in Chorzow in 2018, and local favourite Kacper Woryna are both on 33 points compared to Lebedevs’ 39, whilst Piotr Pawlicki is also in contention on 32.

There is also a major battle on for fifth place, which means qualification for the 2025 SEC, with Maciej Janowski currently on 27 points – but Patryk Dudek, Rasmus Jensen, Timo Lahti and Anders Thomsen are all within three points.

Brennan is thrust straight into the action in Heat 1 where he faces a tough challenge from the outside against Madsen, Jensen and Woryna, whilst Heat 13 could be key in the title race as Lebedevs faces both Pawlicki and Madsen.

The SEC is the focal point of the weekend as the PGE Ekstraliga play-off semi-final between Wroclaw and Gorzow has again been postponed as efforts continue to clean up from recent flooding in the area.

Originally re-arranged from last weekend to this Friday, and then to Sunday, the meeting will now take place on Wednesday September 25 with Lublin patiently awaiting the winners, and dates for the Final are to be confirmed.

However, the promotion battle in Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga is set to take place this weekend with Rybnik hosting Bydgoszcz on Friday and the second leg then scheduled for Sunday, with the overall winners to replace Leszno in the top-flight next season.

The teams were split by four points in the regular league table, with Bydgoszcz in front, and when they met in the league stage it was Bydgoszcz who did the double with a 61-29 win at home backed up by a 48-41 success in the away match.

Promotion into the second tier is also at stake at Gniezno on Sunday where the home side take on Tarnow in the National Speedway League Final, with the visitors holding a useful 51-38 advantage from the first leg a fortnight ago.