SGP FUTURE STARS | JAIMON LIDSEY

As the 2021 season approaches, SpeedwayGP.com shines a spotlight on some of the potential FIM Speedway Grand Prix stars of the future. We kick off with Australia’s World Under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey.

Winner of three Aussie Under-21 titles since 2018, Lidsey has firmly established himself as one of his country’s brightest prospects.

He is not eligible to race as an under-21 in 2021, but he signed off his junior career in spectacular style last year.

On the same night compatriot Max Fricke was busy winning Torun SGP round seven 500km away, Lidsey delivered part one of an unforgettable international double for Australia as he took victory at the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship Final in Pardubice on October 2.

Lidsey won a duel with Polish shooting star Dominik Kubera to top the podium, where they were joined by Latvia’s Olegs Mihailovs, who was third.

It crowned an epic year for Lidsey who jetted back to Europe, missing the birth of son Eddie Hayze in Australia on August 1.

The World Under-21 crown wasn’t his only reward for that huge sacrifice; he also played a pivotal role in Leszno’s charge to a fourth straight PGE Ekstraliga title. Lidsey enjoyed his first season as a regular in the Bulls first team after displacing compatriot Brady Kurtz after the opening rounds and comfortably establishing himself in the side with some rock-solid scores.

While most Aussie young guns get their professional careers started in the UK, Lidsey took the brave step of making the move to Poland in 2018 and learning the ropes with Leszno’s feeder club Rawicz.

It was a gamble that paid dividends as he has been in Australia’s Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations squad ever since and earned his big break with Leszno, where he will serve as their under-24 star in 2021.

A year in the UK with Belle Vue in 2019, where he worked with Aces and Aussie team manager Mark Lemon, didn’t do his progress any harm.

He also ended that season with SON bronze as he teamed up with Jason Doyle and Fricke to help Australia end their five-year wait for a senior team medal in Togliatti.

It has been a rapid climb for the 21-year-old from Mildura. Just three years on from his professional debut, this season sees Lidsey serve as SGP second reserve – meaning he could be drafted in for his World Championship debut if a couple of riders are sidelined by injury, illness or other reasons.

After years of proving he isn’t afraid of stepping outside his comfort zone and making the next step, Lidsey gets his chance to underline his potential as an SGP star of tomorrow.

Photo: Taylor Lanning