Michelsen. Lublin is unlike anywhere else in the world

Mikkel Michelsen was Speed Car Motor Lublin’s second best rider last season. The Dane reacted well to the move up from Nice 1. Liga Zuzlowa to PGE Ekstraliga and was one of the main links in the team’s successful relegation battle. The 25-year-old praise for the club’s fanatic supporters and summing up of the past season were the main topics of this interview for the Lublin’s club website.

The club from Aleje Zygmuntowskie stayed up with relative ease in the PGE Ekstraliga. Jacek Ziołkowski’s riders finished 6th in the table and avoided a two-leg play-off with Arged Malesa TZ Ostrovia Ostrow Wielkopolski to stay in the league. Michelsen admits that this was the club’s main goal for the season.

– In team terms, this year had its ups and downs. We were well aware before the start that this is going to be a tough task. The goal was clear, to stay up in PGE Ekstraliga. The fact that we made it happen, is a massive achievement, taking into consideration that Lublin came back to the top division after years of riding at the lower levels. In the next year, we will have our eyes set on higher targets but we must wait and see how that pans out, said Michelsen for motorlublin.com.pl.

Speed Car Motor was the league’s biggest surprise in 2019. The club proved that a newly promoted team can also provide some quality entertainment and rival much more powerful clubs in the country.

– Our biggest problem was, that in each match we had a rider missing or riding not at full strength, for different reasons. We struggled for consistency because of that. When we had a full team out and all riding at their normal level we could challenge all the best clubs of PGE Ekstraliga. Even at Leszno we battled hard against the champions at their track and pushed them close, something that not many clubs were able to do. It was similar at Wroclaw, so it was a good year for us. For sure we were very underestimated by many before the start, but we showed those people what we were made of – explained the Lublin racer.

All the talk during the season in Poland was the amazing Lublin crowd. Almost all the riders racing at Aleje Zygmuntowskie spoke highly about Speed Car Motor’s supporters and the atmosphere they make at their home stadium. Michelsen agrees.

– I raced for many clubs in Poland during my career and also rode on the biggest stadiums in the world. I will say this again, that I have never experienced anything like this before. The passion that those Lublin fans have for the team and the energy that they give us is incredible. I had my own goals and expectations before this season, the fans made all us riders feel like home and it all became very easy. I am extremely happy about it all and grateful to have such great support – continued the 25-year-old.

The Dane can’t complain about his individual achievements either. Michelsen beat Grigory Laguta in a run-off to become the new European Champion. The speedway rider from Nykobing Falster also featured in two Speedway Grand Prix rounds and scored 15 points altogether.

– My main personal goal was to qualify to SGP for next season. It was possibly my best season so far as I have scored heavily in both leagues I was riding in, in Sweden and Poland. I was staying away from major mistakes and had a consistent year but when it came to the GP Challenge I just had a bad day. I wasn’t riding well and we had a poor meeting as a team, but unfortunately, this is speedway. Winning SEC was a good end to the year and in some way compensation for not making it to the GP. It was all a little bit surreal for me and I didn’t really believe it was possible until the very end, it was a great day and unforgettable moments – recalled Mikkel who ended the 2019 season in Poland with a 2,013 average.

BARTOSZ RABENDA