Frenchman David Bellego is no stranger to the Speedway Euro Championship having appeared in the finals for the last two years. But to make it three years in a row he will need to qualify through this weekend’s SEC Challenge which take place at Pardubice, Czech Republic.
“It’s going to be a tough meeting, for sure, but I will give it my best,” he says, “I want to be part of the European Championships as I have learnt so much and it is one of my main goals this year,” he divulges.
On 15 May 2021 he was 28-year-old and he is currently having a blistering season so far in eWinner 1 with Bydgoszcz. His hard work has been rewarded with a 9th place in the individual rankings where he has an impressive heat average of 2.200.
He also can travel to Pardubice knowing that he has already beaten some of his rivals. For example, he defeated Jakub Jamrog (POL) twice at Gdansk on 24 April and then he outdid Patrick Hansen (DEN) three times at home in Bydgoszcz on 29 April.
So, what has made the difference?
“Last season was very short for me as my crash in Torun in the last round of SEC took me out for six weeks,” he reminds us, “But I’ve worked hard all winter and invested a lot to have the best equipment possible. I have two good mechanics that I wanted to work with, so we sure want to have a good season!” he says with a laugh.
As well as racing in Poland, the Frenchman has been active in Denmark’s Metal League. He currently has a 1.867 average there. And when the Swedish Elitserien finally gets underway in June he will be continuing with current champions, Avesta Masarna.
But it may be his experience in Poland that will give him an advantage if he qualifies for the SEC this weekend. That’s because three of the venues are at eWinner 1 League tracks. First, the opening round in Bydgoszcz, then Round 3 in Gdansk, where he top-scored with 13 pts last month and then the final Round in Rybnik.
But he wisely is not getting ahead of himself, “If I qualify, my aim would be to finish in the top 3. But it is early days and now we must focus on the SEC Challenge first – and having a full season without injury,” he says from painful experience.
