Every year, the SEC Challenge tournament delivers a thrilling dose of speedway excitement. Riders will battle it out in the final qualification round for the Individual European Championship for the 11th time, with Daugavpils hosting the event for the first time.
Traditionally, speedway riders have vied for promotion to the Speedway Euro Championship series at venues like Nagyhalasz and Krsko, each hosting SEC Challenge twice. Other qualifying finals have taken place at locations including Zarnovica, Debrecen, Lamothe-Landerron, Olching, Gorican, Terenzano, and Pardubice.
Interestingly, no rider has stood at the top of the podium more than once. Grigorij Laguta (3rd in 2013, 1st in 2019), Przemyslaw Pawlicki (3rd in 2016, 1st in 2017), and Dimitri Berge (2nd in 2022, 1st in 2023) are riders who have achieved podium finishes twice.
Leading in terms of promotions from the SEC Challenge to the main series is Przemysław Pawlicki. The Polish representative has accomplished this feat three times from 2015 to 2017 and will undoubtedly strive to maintain his lead in this ranking this Sunday.
As a nation, Poland has clinched victory in the SEC Challenge the most times. Riders promoted from first place include Adrian Miedziński, Krzysztof Kasprzak, Przemysław Pawlicki, and Patryk Dudek. Representing Russia, Artem Laguta, Emil Sayfutdinov, and Grigorij Laguta have stood on the highest step of the podium three times each. Additionally, Jurica Pavlic (Croatia), Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia), and Dimitri Berge (France) have each claimed first place in the SEC Challenge once.
