Latvian speedway pair through to European pairs championship final again
Francis Gusts and Daniils Kolodinskis won a semifinal in Austria to secure Latvia's spot in October's European pairs championship final in Poland.
Latvia's speedway duo Francis Gusts and Daniils Kolodinskis won their semifinal of the European pairs championship, held at the Mureck speedway track in Austria, confirming that Latvia will again race in this year's final.
The Latvian pair dominated the meeting, winning three heats 5:1, two more heats 4:2, and drawing only once, 3:3, against the Swedish pair. Gusts contributed 16 of the team's 26 points, while Kolodinskis added 10.
The Czech pair of Jan Kvěch and Václav Milík finished second, just one point behind. Third place went to the Finnish duo of Antti Vuolas and Tero Kalevi Aarnio, who edged out Sweden's Casper Henriksson and Filip Hjelmland by two points. Ahead of the event it was already clear that the strongest rivals would come from the Czech, Swedish and Finnish sides, while Ukraine's junior pair, along with Romania and Austria, were not considered comparable in strength.
The Latvian squad for the final will also include Andžejs Ļebedevs, who missed the semifinal because he was competing in an SGP round in Vojens on Saturday.
The European pairs championship final will take place on October 10 at the Grudziądz speedway track in Poland. Latvia has previously won three silver and three bronze medals in this championship, and the team is again considered a medal contender this year. The main rivals in the final are expected to be Poland, Denmark, Great Britain and the Czech Republic.
