BELLE Vue youngster Will Cairns insists he won’t feel the pressure as he goes into his SGP2 (World Under-21) debut at Malilla tonight (Friday).
17-year-old Cairns is Great Britain’s sole representative in the series and he takes on a strong field over three rounds starting in Sweden, with meetings to come at Lodz (Poland) and Vojens (Denmark).
He said: “I am super excited. I don’t really know where I stand coming into this level. I really have no idea if I’m going to be one of the top guys or one of the bad guys. I really don’t know.
“I haven’t got any expectations on me, which is always nice. I’m just going to turn up, do my best and leave with the result I get.
“I just need to work on my consistency now. I feel like I have the speed. I feel like I have to work on my starts a little bit. Consistency is the key, and at the minute, I am not consistent.”
Although 2025 champion Nazar Parnitskyi was overlooked for a wild card place and therefore cannot defend his crown, former winner Wiktor Przyjemski of Poland is back for another attempt, whilst fellow countryman Maksymilian Pawelczak and Denmark’s Mikkel Andersen also won their qualifying rounds.
The line-up also includes Oxford star Mitch McDiarmid and former Glasgow racer Villads Nagel.
Meanwhile the Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden takes place on Saturday with ATPI Aces skipper Brady Kurtz just three points behind leader Bartosz Zmarzlik at the halfway stage of the series.
Kurtz topped the podium in Malilla last season, part of his record-breaking run of five successive GP wins which took him to within a fraction of the World title, and he raced for the Dackarna club in 2022-24.
Jason Doyle goes into the meeting 10th in the standings after crashing out in Wroclaw, which leaves him ten points short of the all-important top seven.
He also had spells as a home rider at Malilla in 2015 and 2021, and has achieved three Final appearances in GPs at the venue, including a second place in 2016 when he lost out to Greg Hancock.