RUML & NICOL INTO SGP QUALIFIERS

American racers Max Ruml and Broc Nicol booked their places in next year’s FIM Speedway Grand Prix qualifiers at the FIM North America Championship Final in Perris on Saturday.

Ruml topped the podium with a 15-point maximum in the Californian event, with Nicol taking second spot on 13.

Billy Janniro won a run-off with Luke Becker for third place after the pair tied on 12 points after five rides.

There were two spots in the SGP qualification rounds up for grabs in Perris, and Ruml and Nicol will now jet to Europe next year to take part in the international semi-finals, where riders will compete for places at the GP Challenge in Zarnovica, Slovakia on August 21.

Ruml doesn’t currently race in Europe. Nicol was due to compete for British clubs Wolverhampton and Glasgow in 2020, before the UK league season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He represented his country in the 2020 GP Challenge at Croatian track Gorican, where he scored three points, before completing the season with some meetings for Swedish side Piraterna.

With British, Swedish and Danish clubs set to lose riders due to restrictions on how many leagues riders signed to Polish teams can enter, Ruml’s Perris performance may put him in the shop window for sides seeking replacements.

FIM NORTH AMERICA FINAL RESULTS: 1 Max Ruml 15, 2 Broc Nicol 13, 3 Billy Janniro 12+3, 4 Luke Becker 12+2, 5 Dillon Ruml 11, 6 Russell Green 9, 7 Gino Manzares 9, 8 Aaron Fox 8, 9 Blake Borello 7, 10 Kyle Cunningham 7, 11 Eddie Castro 4, 12 Anthony Dion 4, 13 Sebastian Palmese 3, 14 Sara Cords 2, 15 Michael Wells 2, 16 Austin Novratil 1, 17 Redmond Bohannon 1, 18 Mark Fillebrown 0.