EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Mathias Thörnblom – can’t wait to start

Swedish rider, Mathias Thörnblom was part of the Gislaved Lejonen team that won the regular season in 2020’s Bauhaus Elitserien. They won 6 of their 8 matches in the shorted season, but to everyone’s surprise, went out in the semi-finals to Masarna, who went on to win the championship. 

Top scorer for the team, and indeed the league, was his teammate Robert Lambert . But the 28-year-old was the squad’s top scoring Swede with 1.627 putting him in 28^th overall on individual averages. 

Thörnblom started the season off well with a fourth place in the Swedish National Championships in Målilla, “I really like that track and one of my aims is to win the championship this year,” he reveals.

But it is not just in his home country that he had success. He also got to race one match in eWinner 2 with Wilko Krosno. The Swede made the most of his chance scoring an impressive 8+1 as the team crushed local rivals Rzeszow and catching the eye of the Polish speedway press. 

But despite the success, the Swede reflects that it was hard working coming to Poland and working with a team that was already well established. “But I am pleased I’ve got an “injury contract” with Krosno for 2021,” he continues, “You don’t want people to get hurt or have a bad season, but I’m looking forward to making the best of any opportunities,” he says in his southern Swedish accent. 

SVEMO have decided to reward the improving Thörnblom with a chance to qualify for the European Championships when he races at Rivne, Ukraine on 5^th May. He will have just started the 2021 season in Sweden with Lejonen the day before away at Kumla.

When it came to choosing team for 2021 it was an easy decision, “I am going to stay at Lejonen. I’ve been there since I was a junior. Everything about the club is good, there’s a great team atmosphere and it is also nearest to my home”. The 28-year-old lives in his home town Malmö, where former top division club, Gnistorna are based. 

A bridge connects Malmö with Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen so it was a natural decision that Thörnblom has decided to race in Denmark’s Metal League in 2021. He will represent Region Varde Motorsport alongside Polish veterans Tomasz Gapinski (38 yrs) and Piotr Protasiewicz (46 yrs). 

”I can see I am getting better with every year,” he says, “it is easier to get into the routine and I’ve got better equipment now”.

But what do you do when it goes wrong on the track? 

“You just have to go back to the depot and think about it,” he says in his softly spoken voice. But he goes on, “I know I can beat anyone on a good day, so it is about finding that top level more of the time,” he says honestly. 

”Now, I just want to get started,” he concludes. 

And with the Metal League coming to tapes on 21 April and the Elitserien starting two weeks later, it is not long before he will get his chance to prove that he is one of Sweden’s top riders.