Great Britain shooting star Will Cairns can’t wait to race a high-stakes meeting with no pressure on his shoulders as he lines up in the 2026 BST FIM SGP2 of Sweden – Malilla on Friday at 17:00 CEST.
Cairns makes his FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship debut – two years after winning FIM Speedway Youth World Championship bronze in the SGP3 250cc category for under-16 riders.
The 17-year-old is rated among the best of his generation, ensuring there was expectation on his shoulders when he debuted for British clubs Belle Vue and Poole, as well as Polish side Zielona Gora since turning 16 last year.
Cairns takes on an SGP2 field of riders ranging from Poland’s 2024 SGP2 champion Wiktor Przyjemski, Denmark’s 2025 bronze medallist Mikkel Andersen and Czech ace Adam Bubba Bednar to recent SGP3 graduates like Polish talent Maksymilian Pawelczak, Aussie racer Beau Bailey and Slovenia’s next top prospect Sven Cerjak.
Sweden’s Rasmus Karlsson, who won the 2023 SGP3 title in Malilla, returns to fly the home flag on Friday alongside wild card Leo Klasson.
Cairns can’t wait to gage his level against a stellar field. 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’m really happy that I don’t have any pressure on me. It’s finally a place I can go, where there is no pressure. I feel like I ride better when I haven’t got any pressure on me. It’s quite a difficult thing. I just enjoy my riding more when I have no pressure, so Friday is going to be cool.”
Riders from eight different nations line up in SGP2 all bidding to underline their future World Championship credentials the night before Saturday’s BST FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla. Asked how he rates his chances of success, Cairns replied: “It depends which Will turns up. I know that I can beat anyone. I just need to be in the right mental space. I feel the level is super strong. I am really happy that I qualified this year. I will just play the game and see where I end up.”
Cairns has shown he can beat some of the sport’s top names in Britain’s Rowe Motor Oil Premiership and Poland’s PGE Ekstraliga.
He admits doing it consistently is the next challenge. He said: “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.”
Cairns finished fifth at the 2023 FIM SGP3 Final – Malilla but admits he will have to re-learn the Skrotfrag Arena track as he returns on a 500cc machine.
He said: “It is difficult when you go back on a completely different bike and race on a track that you have maybe ridden already. You know what it’s like on a 250cc bike, but you don’t know what it’s going to be like on this one.”
2026 FIM SPEEDWAY UNDER-21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (SGP2) SERIES LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers):
505. Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland)
97. Mikkel Andersen (Denmark)
121. Maksymilian Pawelczak (Poland)
802. Kevin Malkiewicz (Poland)
108. Villads Nagel (Denmark)
545. William Drejer (Denmark)
145. Will Cairns (Great Britain)
79. Adam Bubba Bednar (Czech Republic)
305. Antoni Mencel (Poland)
27. Mitch McDiarmid (Australia)
173. Beau Bailey (Australia)
63. Nicolai Heiselberg (Denmark)
99. Rasmus Karlsson (Sweden)
138. Sven Cerjak (Slovenia)
28. Slater Lightcap (USA)
16. Leo Klasson (Sweden – wild card)
17. Alfons Wiltander (Sweden – first track reserve)
18. Harry Lundahl (Sweden – second track reserve)
Words by FIM Speedway – Feature Image courtesy of Taylor Lanning
