Emil Damirovich Sayfutdinov (russian: link=no, Эмиль Дамирович Сайфутдинов; born 26 October 1989) is a Russian

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider and member of the

Russia national speedway team Russia are an international speedway team who compete in the major international competition, the Speedway World Cup. They are managed by Andrey Savin and the current captain is Rybnik's Denis Gizatullin. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukr ...

. He is a three times World team champion, twice World Junior champion and a two-time winner of the European Championships in 2014 and 2015.

Career history

;2005 Sayfutdinov gained his speedway licence in 2005, just before his 16th birthday. He started his career in the Russian league with Mega-Lada Togliatti. His team won the Russian Champion title, and Sayfutdinov was one Mega-Lada's best riders with an average of 2.271 (15th place in league). He won the Individual under-21 Russian Championship and was 6th in the Russian Senior Championship. He also won the Russian Pairs Championship title with Mega-Lada that year. In international competitions he started in Individual U-19 European Championship. In Semi-Final C in

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

he was won qualification to the Final. But he was too young and was not allowed to take part – the minimum age of a rider is 16 years of age at the start of each year. ;2006 Emil Sajfutdinov

In 2006, he signed for Polish team

Polonia Bydgoszcz Polonia Bydgoszcz is a Polish sports club based in Bydgoszcz most known for its Motorcycle speedway, speedway team ŻKS Polonia Bydgoszcz which currently races in the Polish Speedway First League, 1. Liga. The club has won the Team Speedway Polish ...

, the then Polish League Runner-up. On 9 April 2006, he rode in his first meeting in the Polish Ekstraliga (

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

vs Bydgoszcz 53:37). He started in only one heat – finishing last behind

Tomasz Gapiński Tomasz Gapiński (born 8 July 1982 in Piła, Poland''Świat Żużla'', No 1 (73) / 2008, pages 20-21, ) is an international motorcycle speedway rider who was riding in 2007 Speedway Grand Prix of Europe. He was won Team Polish Champion titles ...

Hans N. Andersen Hans Nørgaard Andersen (born 3 November 1980, in Odense, Denmark) is a motorcycle speedway rider who captained the Denmark speedway team that won the Speedway World Cup in 2006 and 2008. Career summary Despite being original ...

and

Piotr Protasiewicz Piotr Protasiewicz (born 25 January 1975 in Zielona Góra, Poland) is a Polish international speedway rider. Career He has ridden for the Polish national team in the Speedway World Cup in 1996 and 2005. He was also World U-21 Champion in 199 ...

. On 23 March 2006, (Bydgoszcz vs

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...

44:46) he scored his first points in the Ekstraliga (finishing second behind with his teammate

Krzysztof Buczkowski Krzysztof Buczkowski (born 30 April 1986 in Grudziądz, Poland) is a Polish speedway rider and has ridden for the Polish national junior team. He started speedway in 2002 with Piła, riding for GKM Grudziądz. In 2005 he joined Polonia Bydgoszc ...

, he beat

Paweł Hlib Paweł Hlib (born 20 February 1986 in Poland) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. Career Hlib won the Team Speedway Junior World Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and became the Individual Polish Under-21 Champion in 2007. I ...

and Kamil Zieliński). Polonia Bydgoszcz finished 3rd in Polish Championship - Emil's Average was 1.353 (38th place). He started in Team U-21 Polish Championship – Polonia finished 2nd place in Qualifying Group C. Sayfutdinov did not race in the Russian league in 2006, therefore he could not defend his titles, and the

Motorcycle Federation of Russia A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

did not nominate him for any international competitions. ;2007 Emil Sajfutdinov after win, Togliatti, Russia

In 2007, Sayfutdinov remained with

in Poland. It was very bad season for Bydgoszcz – they finished last in the Ekstraliga and were relegated from the top division for first time in their history. Sayfutdinov's average was 1.463 (36th place). He also made his debut in the Swedish Elitserien with

Masarna Avesta Masarna are a Swedish motorcycle speedway team based in Avesta (locality), Avesta, Sweden. The club was founded in 1937 as the ''Folkare Motorklubb'' but their first track was not built until 1948. Masarna joined the Swedish second division in 195 ...

who finished in 5th place in league. He returned to Russian league in 2007 with Mega-Lada Togliatti. Sayfutdinov won the Russian League Championship title and a bronze medal in Russian Pairs Championship. Mega-Lada took part in the European Club Champions' Cup – Sayfutdinov scored 0 points – but his team came 3rd in final. In the Individual under-21 Russian Championship he finished second. In June, Sayfutdinov took part in the Team U-21 World Championship. Sayfutdinov was Russia's top points scorer in the Qualifying Round 1, but Russia finished last and were knocked out of the competition. With the senior team – in July – he participated in the 2007 Speedway World Cup with Russia, finishing in sixth place. After winning the quarter and semi-finals, he qualified to the Individual U-21 World Championship Final. On 9 September 2007, Emil Sayfutdinov became the World Under-21 Champion for the first time with a 15-point maximum score, breaking the track record twice during the meeting. ;2008 In 2008, Sayfutdinov remained with

Polish First League I liga ( pl, Pierwsza liga, ), currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga vi ...

(second division). Polonia won league were promoted back to the Ekstraliga. In Swedish Elitserien he rode for

, who were relegated after finishing the season in last place. In Russia, with Mega-Lada Togliatti, he won league championship title again. Sayfutdinov won Individual U-21 Russian Champion title and won the silver medal in the Russian Senior Championship. With Mega-Lada he took part in the European Club Champions' Cup Final and won the European Club title. In June, he started in Team U-21 World Championship Qualifying Round 1, but the Russian team finished last again. In July, he participated in the 2008 Speedway World Cup. In the semi-final he was the top point scorer for Russia with 14 points. Sayfutdinov did not take part in the race-off because he was taking part in the Individual U-21 World Championship Semi-Final, where he won qualification to the final. On 4 October 2008, he defended his World Under-21 Champion title, becoming the first rider to ever do so. In the final he beat

Chris Holder Christopher Robert Holder (born 24 September 1987 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian speedway rider currently riding for Lejonen in the Swedish Elitserien and for Apator Toruń in the Polish Speedway Ekstraliga. He became the Austral ...

again, and

Jurica Pavlic Jurica Pavlic (born 14 June 1989, in Goričan, Croatia)pavlicracing.com
2008-04-09 is a Croatian 2009 Speedway Grand Prix Qualification The 2009 Individual Speedway World Championship Grand Prix Qualification Meetings are a series of speedway meetings used to determine the three riders and one reserve who qualify for the 2009 Speedway Grand Prix. The top eight riders finishing th ...

, but in the "Qualifying Round 3" he finished 8th and was knocked out of the competition. On 2008-10-28 Speedway Grand Prix Promoter and the SGP Commission nominated him as "permanent wild card" to 2009 Speedway Grand Prix. ;2009 2009 was Sayfutdinov's first season in the

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

(SGP) and at 19 years old, he is the youngest permanent rider in SGP history. He made his debut on 25 April at the Czech Grand Prix in Prague. In his first heat (heat 3), he was second to

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason Cr ...

. In heat 15, he won his first SGP heat – beating

Grzegorz Walasek Grzegorz Walasek (born 29 August 1976) is a Polish motorcycle speedway rider who has ridden for the Polish national team and has also competed in the Speedway Grand Prix series. Career Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Poland, Walasek began his seni ...

Sebastian Ułamek Sebastian Ułamek (born 20 November 1975) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. He was a European individual Champion. Career Ułamek rode in the Polish leagues for his home club Włókniarz Częstochowa from 1992 until 1998 and the ...

and Chris Harris. Sayfutdinov qualified for the final which he won, making him the youngest ever rider to win a Grand Prix. On 27 June at the British GP in Cardiff, on heat 5 Emil had a fight on the track with Scott Nicholls. The final round of 2009 season will be at his home track in

Bydgoszcz, Poland Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

. He won 3 Grand Prix and finish 3 overall in his first season at the sport top-level competition. During the 2009 season he is riding for

(Poland), Piraterna Motala (Sweden),

Vojens Speedway Klub Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Denis Gizatullin Denis Gizatullin (born 11 March 1983 in Oktiabrsky, Russia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider and former captain of the Russian national team. Career He is a two times Russian champion. He first rode in the British leagues ...

and

Andrey Kudryashov Andrey Kudriashov (russian: Андре́й Алексе́евич Кудряшо́в; born July 10, 1991) is a Russian speedway rider who ride for KMŻ Lublin in the Polish First League (second division). Career history 2009 Andrey Kudriashov ...

was won Pairs Russia Cup for Turbina Balakovo; Emil scored maximum 16 points and 2 bonus in six heats. ;2010 Emil started the season in the best way with a third place in the Polish Grand Prix in Leszno. But in the Czech Grand Prix, Emil was involved in a serious crash, and he broke his arm. After a break, he was back, ready to fight in the Grand Prix in Malilla, Sweden. He started out making two 3rd places and then two 2nd places before he crashed again, and broke his arm once again. After that, he did not race again in the Grand Prix that year ;2011 He started out with a 3rd place, just like the previous year, in the first Grand Prix in Leszno. That was his only time on the podium until last round in Gorzow where he made another 3rd place. He was 6th overall in the Grand Prix for 2011 which was enough to be one of the eight best and automatically qualify for the 2012 Grand Prix. Sayfutdinov resigned from the Individual U-21 World Championship, because of the heavy race schedule. Sayfutdinov was nominated to Russia team to Team U-21 World Championship Qualifying Round 2, but Russia was withdrew. In July, he will be participated in the 2009 Speedway World Cup for Russia. ;2014 An injury and financial costs forced Emil Sayfutdinov to withdraw from

Series, he joined the European Championships Series (SEC). He won the 2014 European Championships. ;2015 Sayfutdinov won in 2015 again the European Championship. ;2017 After three years away from the World Championships, Sayfutdinov return to the series, he finish sixth in the championships. ;2018 Sayfutdinov finished 8th in the 2018 World Championship but won a gold medal with Russia in the 2018 Speedway of Nations (the World Team Championship). ;2019 Sayfutdinov finished third and won his second bronze medal in the 2019 World Championship, finishing with 126 points. He won his second gold medal with Russia in the 2019 Speedway of Nations (the World Team Championship). ;2020 He finished 8th in the 2020 World Championship but won his third consecutive gold medal with Russia in the 2020 Speedway of Nations (the World Team Championship). ;2021 Sayfutdinov finished third and won his third bronze medal in the 2021 World Championship, finishing with 140 points. ;2022 In 2022, Sayfutdinov was unable to compete for the world title following the

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM; en, International Motorcycling Federation) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 116 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regiona ...

ban on Russian and Belarusian motorcycle riders, teams, officials, and competitions as a result of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Personal life

His parents are

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

father Damir and Russian mother Tamara; his brother, Denis (born 2 June 1981) is also a speedway rider. Denis was a member of the Russian team during the 2002 Speedway World Cup and 2004 Speedway World Cup Qualification. In March 2009, Sayfutdinov gained Polish citizenship. Before the 2010 season, his Polish club

applied to

Main Commission of Speedway Sport The Main Commission of Speedway Sport ( pl, Główna Komisja Sportu Żużlowego, GKSŻ) is governs the sport of motorcycle speedway on behalf of the Polish Motor Union (PZM). The members are appointed by the PZM. The current chairperson of the cou ...

(GKSŻ) for him to be exempt from the Polish speedway licence (''Licencja "Ż"'') exam based on his individual honours (including bronze medal in the 2009 Speedway Grand Prix and two

Individual Speedway Junior World Championship The Speedway Under-21 World Championship is an annual speedway event held each year organized by the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) since 1977. As of 2022, the title was awarded to the winner of the SGP2 category at the FIM Speedway ...

titles). GKSŻ excepted him and on April 22, 2010, confirmed Sayfutdinov as domestic rider and known as Emil Sajfutdinow. In the

Speedway Ekstraliga The Speedway Ekstraliga ( en, Polish Extraleague, pl, Ekstraliga żużlowa) is the top division of motorcycle speedway in Poland. It has been called the "richest and most popular speedway league in the world", and attracts riders from all over th ...

minimum three riders must have Polish licency. In international competitions he will continue to represent Russia. He currently lives at the Zielona Tarasy (Green Terrace) residential estate in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland.

Major results

World individual Championship

* 2009 Speedway Grand Prix - 3rd (including Czech Rep, Swedish and Slovenian grand prix wins) * 2010 Speedway Grand Prix - 15th * 2011 Speedway Grand Prix - 6th * 2012 Speedway Grand Prix - 5th *

2013 Speedway Grand Prix The 2013 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 68th edition of the official World Championship and the 19th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the th ...

- 6th (including European, British and Swedish grand prix wins) * 2017 Speedway Grand Prix - 6th * 2018 Speedway Grand Prix - 8th * 2019 Speedway Grand Prix - 3rd (including Swedish grand prix win) * 2020 Speedway Grand Prix - 8th * 2021 Speedway Grand Prix - 3rd

World team championships

* 2007 Speedway World Cup - 6th * 2008 Speedway World Cup - 6th * 2009 Speedway World Cup - 4th *

2011 Speedway World Cup The 2011 FIM Speedway World Cup (SWC) was the eleventh FIM Speedway World Cup, the annual international speedway world championship tournament. It took place between 9 July and 16 July 2011 and involved eight national teams. Six teams were seeded t ...

- 5th * 2012 Speedway World Cup - 3rd * 2016 Speedway World Cup - 6th * 2017 Speedway World Cup - 3rd * 2018 Speedway of Nations - Winner * 2019 Speedway of Nations - Winner * 2020 Speedway of Nations - Winner

World junior championships

* Individual U-21 World Championship (Under-21 World Championship) **

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

- Ostrów Wlkp. - World Champion (15 points) **

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

- World Champion (14 points) * Team U-21 World Championship (U-21 Speedway World Cup) ** ''

- 4th place in Qualifying Round 2'' ** ''

- 4th place in Qualifying Round 1'' ** ''

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

- team withdrew from Qualifying Round 2''

European Championships

* European Club Champions' Cup **

Miskolc Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...

- 3rd place (0 points) **

Slaný Slaný (; german: Schlan) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administr ...

- Winner (13 points)

Domestic competitions

* Individual Speedway Russian Junior Championship ** 2005 - Winner ** 2007 - Silver medal ** 2008 - Winner * Russian Pairs Speedway Championship ** 2005 - Winner ** 2007 - Bronze medal ** 2009 - Winner * Team Polish Championship ** 2006 - 3rd with

- 8th place with Bydgoszcz **

- First League winner with Bydgoszcz * Russian League Championship ** 2005 - Winner ** 2007 - Winner ** 2008 - Winner ** 2009 - Winner * Polish Team U-21 Championship ** ''2006 - 2nd place in Qualification Group C''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayfutdinov, Emil 1989 births Living people People from Salavat Russian speedway riders Polish speedway riders Polonia Bydgoszcz riders Russian emigrants to Poland Tatar people of Russia Naturalized citizens of Poland Sportspeople from Bashkortostan