We invite you to the second part of the interview with Tero Aarnio, Finnish speedway rider, who rides in Polish league. In the following conversation we talked about his memories from the times when he raced for Speedway Wanda Krakow.
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– What about classic speedway in your country? What is the condition of the sport?
– At the moment it is very, very bad. Unfortunately, there's a bad mentality, there's a lot of arguing about the rules and about who's doing well and who's not. At the moment it looks like there is not even a league, for the first time in a very long time there is no league. All matches will be on an individual basis.
– How many clubs are in Finland then?
– Well, there are seven or eight clubs, but maybe half of them are active. In Poland it is the case that there are clubs that are active but don't have a track. In Finland it is the other way around. There are those clubs that have tracks but no licensed rider. So… Four, maybe five clubs are active in the sport. They want to organise competitions and then there are a few more clubs that have a track but don't have an rider and are not going to organise meetings.
– It doesn't sound like an optimistic scenario for speedway. Do you think the situation could be better in the future? In which area does speedway in Finland need the most help to make things better?
– What we need most is for all the presidents of all the clubs to come to the same room, talk to each other and agree that they want to save speedway, not that they all only look at themselves. They don't see that speedway as a sport is under threat. They only look at what is good for their own club. The most important thing in Finland at the moment is to start thinking that we have to save the sport. Otherwise it will soon not be in Finland. If we don't start acting and working towards the same goal of saving speedway, it will soon be just a memory. If we save speedway, on the other hand, within a few years, then we can start to see new young riders. First, of course, if there is no sport in Finland, we won't attract young riders who want to start racing at the age of 10-15. And if there is no competition in Finland, who will race at speedway? Nobody.
– So are there any prospective names of young riders at all, who would prognosticate well in terms of a future in speedway? Is there a lack of that too?
– There aren't many, unfortunately. There aren't many good prospects for speedway either. Probably the only one who comes to mind is Timi Salonen. He is already riding at a professional level, I hope he develops his career and gets to where he wants to be.
– Coming back to you, in your career you also represented Speedway Wanda Krakow. How do you recall this club? What are your memories connected with it, with the fans, with the atmosphere that was there?
– I really liked to ride for them. I rode very well. It was the best year of my career. At the end I became one of the best riders in the second league. Well, but still I had problems with money and of course I wasn't happy about it when I didn't get it, because it was big money for me. It made my life very difficult.
– It was a problem for all the riders who had signed contracts in Krakow and were racing towards the end of this team's existence. But maybe fate will bring a better future for Krakow speedway. If there was a club and team in Krakow, would you want to race there?
– Definitely yes. I have nothing against Krakow. I liked to ride in Krakow. I love this city. I love this track. The only person I have something against is obviously the former president of Speedway Wanda Krakow. If there were other people in charge, I wouldn't have a bad feeling to go back there. Of course, now I ride for Tarnów, I'll do my best for them and we'll see how things go. The track in Tarnów is a bit like the track in Krakow. I like the track in Tarnow. You never know what will happen next year. But I'm definitely open to possible talks with Krakow. My goal is still to ride in the first division. I wanted to do that after a year of riding with Wanda, I thought I would get a place in the first division, but that didn't happen. Then came the coronavirus. The plans didn't go exactly as I wanted. Now I need to get back to where I was in 2019. I'm certainly happy to talk to people in the speedway industry in the future about returning to Krakow. I hope speedway comes back to the city because the track in this city is really nice.
– At the moment there are anyway open trainings for professionals but also amateur riders at the track in Krakow.
– Yes, I've seen pictures, even Wilki Krosno trained in Krakow.
– Yes, they came for one training session so far. Apart from them, there were also young riders from Tarnów.
– It's good that the Krakow track is in use now, which is very good. This track is like all tracks. It is in better condition when it is used. If it is not used for a year, it will never be good right away. So it is good that the riders train on it. Otherwise it would also become overgrown with grass etc.
– Asking you about more experience with Wanda Krakow… What is the best memory from this club for you?
– Winning races in front of the people there and, above all, how much they liked us as a team. We didn't do too well, you know that. For example, when I won the 15th race, it was a personal joy for me. It was something amazing to celebrate a ride like that. It was my dream at the time for many years. And when I finally got the chance to ride in Poland, winning races for Wanda was a big deal for me.
– Is there anything else you would like to add at the end of our conversation? To thank those who are with you in speedway.
– I have many friends from speedway, especially when I was riding for Wanda Krakow. The fans from Kraków don't have a team to support at the moment. Those who supported me in Krakow can come and say hello to me this year. Of course, I also want to thank those people who make speedway possible for me. There are many sponsors and many friends who help me. They are very important and there are also a lot of people from different countries like Great Britain, Poland, Sweden and Finland. When they see this interview, they will know that it is about them.
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