Category: Speedway

Jack Holder became the first winner of the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix season with an excellent display in Donji Kraljevec.

The Aussie dominated the event, coming through the heats as number one, and continued that form in the semi-final and final. Jason Doyle was second with Fredrik Lindgren completing the podium.

Defending world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik got out of shape on the opening lap of the final and had to settle for fourth. “I just made history for the Holder family, we’re the first brothers to win,” Holder said post-race. “Massive monkey off my back, I’ve been wanting this one for so long.

“My partner, she’s back home in England, she’s got our son in her belly, so she can’t travel anymore, so that one was for her and I can’t wait to get home. And the whole Holder crew – we did it, baby!

“It was a pretty technical track out there, there were a few big, big holes, but you know, I was just trapping. Trapping for fun, just logging my laps and got to that chequered flag first.”

Holder started the night with three wins and a second place in the heats to top the standings and have the first gate choice for the semi-finals. He looked untouchable from there, taking the lead at tapes up in both the semi-final and final and storming to the win.

It was a very different story for Doyle who just snuck through into the semi-finals after a slow start to the Grand Prix. Forced to start from the dreaded Gate 4, which had produced no winners and the least amount of points through the evening, he had a decent getaway and battled wildcard Kai Huckenbeck for second, gradually edging away to secure a spot in the showdown.

Fighting Zmarzlik for second at the start of the final, Doyle stood firm while the defending champion got out of sorts and brought the podium spot home.

“What a couple of days we’ve had – a terrible one in Poland last night and then coming here, going into qualifying and getting 18th in the timing, and then standing on the rostrum is … yeah, what a night!,” the Aussie said.

“I can’t thank my mechanics enough, they’ve worked so hard in the last week and I really appreciate all the fans here, what an amazing atmosphere. I’m cheering!

“[Lindgren] and I know how vital it is to get into the semi-finals and points come when you get into the final, so we’re going to dig deep, show these boys that we’re not over – the old boys are still in it for the long run.”

Indeed, Lindgren too had to hope he had done enough to reach the semi-finals until the very end, having failed to win a single heat. The Swedish veteran prevailed from Gate 4 in the second semi-final, finishing second behind Zmarzlik to progress to the final.

“It was hard work again for me today and I kept working hard,” Lindgren admitted. “I threw away a couple of points early on in the heats when I’ve had good starts and made things hard for me. My mechanic said before the semi ‘you know what to do’ and I said ‘I got to pull the rabbit out of the hat. I managed to do that and I’m very happy to finish on the podium.”

Defending world champion Zmarzlik had looked in decent form all evening, but eventually had to settle for fourth after a small error in the final that he could not recover from.

Robert Lambert was the top Brit in Croatia after a strong performance in the heats, going through to the semi-finals in third. However, he just missed out against a resurging Lindgren and it was sixth overall.

The other Brits in the mix, Dan Bewley and Tai Woffinden, meanwhile struggled throughout the heats and could not exceed five and three points respectively.

World number three Martin Vaculik too missed the cut to the semi-finals, having failed to score points in the first two sets of heats.

Jack Holder became the first winner of the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix season with an excellent display in Donji Kraljevec.

The Aussie dominated the event, coming through the heats as number one, and continued that form in the semi-final and final. Jason Doyle was second with Fredrik Lindgren completing the podium.

Defending world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik got out of shape on the opening lap of the final and had to settle for fourth.

“I just made history for the Holder family, we’re the first brothers to win,” Holder said post-race. “Massive monkey off my back, I’ve been wanting this one for so long.

“My partner, she’s back home in England, she’s got our son in her belly, so she can’t travel anymore, so that one was for her and I can’t wait to get home. And the whole Holder crew – we did it, baby!

“It was a pretty technical track out there, there were a few big, big holes, but you know, I was just trapping. Trapping for fun, just logging my laps and got to that chequered flag first.”

Holder started the night with three wins and a second place in the heats to top the standings and have the first gate choice for the semi-finals. He looked untouchable from there, taking the lead at tapes up in both the semi-final and final and storming to the win.

It was a very different story for Doyle who just snuck through into the semi-finals after a slow start to the Grand Prix. Forced to start from the dreaded Gate 4, which had produced no winners and the least amount of points through the evening, he had a decent getaway and battled wildcard Kai Huckenbeck for second, gradually edging away to secure a spot in the showdown.

Fighting Zmarzlik for second at the start of the final, Doyle stood firm while the defending champion got out of sorts and brought the podium spot home.

“What a couple of days we’ve had – a terrible one in Poland last night and then coming here, going into qualifying and getting 18th in the timing, and then standing on the rostrum is … yeah, what a night!,” the Aussie said.

“I can’t thank my mechanics enough, they’ve worked so hard in the last week and I really appreciate all the fans here, what an amazing atmosphere. I’m cheering!

“[Lindgren] and I know how vital it is to get into the semi-finals and points come when you get into the final, so we’re going to dig deep, show these boys that we’re not over – the old boys are still in it for the long run.”

Indeed, Lindgren too had to hope he had done enough to reach the semi-finals until the very end, having failed to win a single heat. The Swedish veteran prevailed from Gate 4 in the second semi-final, finishing second behind Zmarzlik to progress to the final.

“It was hard work again for me today and I kept working hard,” Lindgren admitted. “I threw away a couple of points early on in the heats when I’ve had good starts and made things hard for me. My mechanic said before the semi ‘you know what to do’ and I said ‘I got to pull the rabbit out of the hat. I managed to do that and I’m very happy to finish on the podium.”

Defending world champion Zmarzlik had looked in decent form all evening, but eventually had to settle for fourth after a small error in the final that he could not recover from.

Robert Lambert was the top Brit in Croatia after a strong performance in the heats, going through to the semi-finals in third. However, he just missed out against a resurging Lindgren and it was sixth overall.

The other Brits in the mix, Dan Bewley and Tai Woffinden, meanwhile struggled throughout the heats and could not exceed five and three points respectively.

World number three Martin Vaculik too missed the cut to the semi-finals, having failed to score points in the first two sets of heats.

Here is how things are lining up tonight:

Robert Lambert says he is “pushing hard” for “big things” this season in the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix ahead of the campaign opener. The Brit is still without an SGP win to his name so far but is optimistic about his prospects.

“The first goal is to obviously be in the top six and qualify myself for the following season. But now I think it’s time I’m pushing for that medal and even beyond that.

“I’m definitely pushing for big things this season. Definitely to get my first Grand Prix win. That’s been on the cards for the last couple of years. It just hasn’t happened and hasn’t fallen into place. So something that I’m definitely pushing hard for this season.

“I think it’s more about like the mindset around the semi-final and the final. I think I add a little bit too much pressure on myself and maybe want it too much and get that first Grand Prix win. I’m trying to focus more on just taking race by race. There’s nothing different about the semi-final or the final. It’s just another race. I can beat all the guys there. I’ve proven to myself that I belong in the Grand Prix series. And yes, just take it as another race. And when that happens, it will happen and I believe it will be happening this year.

“I think I’ve been very good at being consistent in the Grand Prix series. Last year I got into the semi-finals the most, but the big points, how the point structure is, is gained in the final and even if I get to the final and come third or fourth in all of them, then that’s guaranteed a medal by the end of the season. I think getting into the finals is definitely the key for that, so just trust myself and trust the process but also at the same time, give 110% and everything else around behind the scenes as well.”

Ahead of the season opener, Leon Madsen said 2024 will be his best chance to win the first Speedway Grand Prix world championship of his career. The 35-year-old won SGP silver in 2019 and 2022 but is yet to go the distance and win gold.

“Mark my words: if I am going to win the world championship, it’s going to be in 2024. We just have to step up, be better and not have any off-days. That’s really the main key to it; being consistent all the way through the season.

“You have to be really, really, really good to win the world championship, even without Bartosz [Zmarzlik] in it. There is a lot of hard competition and a lot of good riders in it. It’s not only Bartosz. But with Bartosz in the GPs, you have to be extremely good to beat him and win the title.

“We finished [2023] off on a high, I plan to take that with me into the new season. I am continuing with the same equipment that we know is working. We were testing a lot last year and trying to maybe develop the template with the engines, and it just went in the wrong direction. We kept trying to make it work for too long. Then you start to get the bad results and it affects your confidence. It went as low as it could get in Cardiff. After that, I knew it was time to make some big changes. We did that coming into Vojens and we saw the results of that.

“I moved on to Torun and, again, it was a good result. That gives me a lot of confidence, knowing the equipment is working. I believe in that and with the mental state I am in, I believe I will be up there in the top mix.”

Defending champion Bartosz Zmarzlik insists his focus is on racing, not records this weekend. The Polish rider can break the all-time Speedway GP win total with a victory in Croatia, surpassing Aussie icon Jason Crump’s total of 23, which he matched in the final event of 2023.

“I am very happy and really very proud about this. Jason also has 23, and he is a big name for me, I remember when I was very young and watching Speedway GP. He was always a big star – along with people like Greg Hancock, Tony Rickardsson and Tomek Gollob. He is a big hero in my eyes and now I am at the same level maybe. I have the same number of GP wins as Jason. This is important, but I am not noting in my book how many points or podiums I get – it’s more the other people around me that talk about this.

“I always look at myself and just do everything I can to make everything the best it can be this year. How many wins or points I get; we will see after the season. I am just thinking about what I can do to be the best from day to day. Tomorrow when I wake up, I am thinking about what I can do to improve as a person and a rider. That’s my focus.

“I am very happy about what I have done for the last five years, but I am always looking to the future. Every year is different, and I make different preparations with the bike. Now I feel ready for everything, and I am fully focused for the whole series. It’s always important to focus on what worked well last season that we need to do the same. But motorsports can be different every week sometimes. It’s possible that you will get different results because everything is so open. I must find what I like and what works for me. I find mistakes sometimes and work on everything with the bikes, my technique, my control, my focus and I want to try everything to make me the best I can be.”

Dominik Kubera set the pace in the qualifying practice earlier today, just edging out Kai Huckenbeck. Robert Lambert was the fastest Brit in fourth while defending champion Bartosz Zmarzlik was seventh.

• 1. Kubera
• 2. Huckenbeck
• 3. Vaculik
• 4. Lambert
• 5. Lebedevs
• 6. Madsen
• 7. Zmarzlik
• 8. Wozniak
• 9. Kvech
• 10. Holder

Good evening and welcome to our live text coverage of the Speedway Grand Prix from Donji Kraljevec. This is it, the new season is finally upon us and we’re once more kicking things off in Croatia.

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The FIM Speedway Grand Prix is back for 2024 with 11 rounds of thrilling action to come over the course of another nail-biting, high-speed campaign.

With back-to-back titles under his belt, four-time champion Bartosz Zmarzlik will attempt to become the first competitor in SGP history to win three consecutive world titles this year but the rest of the field will be hoping to spring an upset.

Veteran Swedish rider Fredrik Lindgren pushed Zmarzlik all the way in 2023 with the title only being decided in the final heat of the final round in Torun, which will be an encouraging sign for anyone hoping to dethrone the dominant Pole.

Robert Lambert has said Bartosz Zmarzlik is “not unbeatable” and is confident he can challenge the defending Speedway Grand Prix world champion when the 2024 campaign begins in Croatia this weekend.

Polish star Zmarzlik has won the last two titles in a row and four in the last five years ahead of his latest defence.

Speaking to Eurosport ahead of the opening meeting in Donji Kraljevec, Lambert hailed his rival as “one of a kind” and suggested working hard off the track as well as on it would be needed to usurp Zmarlik from his throne.

“It’d be to be faster than him. As simple as that,” Lambert joked about how to beat the Pole. “But no, I think he’s one of a kind in this generation of speedway.

“So you need to do everything you can behind the scenes, that I know, that I’m doing a little bit extra than he is, and have that confidence in myself.

“He’s not unbeatable. I’ve beat him many times. So this is obviously possible. It’s just doing it on a regular occasion.”

Lambert, still chasing a first SGP win, came closest in last season’s opening race but was beaten into second place by Zmarzlik.

Aside from Lambert, several other riders will be looking to challenge Zmarzlik, including a number of fresh faces to the permanent rider line-up.

Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia), Kai Huckenbeck (Germany), Dominik Kubera, Szymon Wozniak (both Poland), Jan Kvech (Czech Republic) all make their debuts as permanent riders in a big shake-up to the 2024 roster.

Lambert welcomes the new additions and believes they will make an impact on this year’s SGP campaign.

“I think it’s great there’s some new blood coming in,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve got the boys who finished in the top four last year who obviously fight and fight strong and then we’ve got some new guys coming in. So I think that’s going to be hard for them.

“But I think that adds a little bit of a balance to the series because it was a very close, tight race last year. So I think that evens things out a little bit.

“You can’t underestimate any of the new guys who are coming in because they’re there for a reason. And they’re very good riders and can perform well on the day.

“I think in some areas it is making the lineup stronger, and it can make it also a little bit varied in the races, which is great entertainment for everybody.”

Another rider hoping to be in the mix is Dan Bewley, Lambert’s compatriot who he races alongside for Great Britain in events such as the Speedway of Nations and the Speedway World Cup.

Lambert admitted that although the two have a great relationship as friends, they are still fiercely competitive on the tracks and will always try to outdo one another in the pursuit of glory.

“We’re good mates obviously,” he said. “We come together every year and need to be in sync with each other and race for our country and we’ve done that in the past very well. And also raced in a team with him in Sweden so we know each other very good and we’ve got a bit of banter going on.

“But there’s always this unspoken rivalry which obviously you feel and you want to beat each other and I’m sure he feels exactly the same.

“The Grand Prix is an individual series so you can’t be worrying about your teammate then. You’re just looking for yourself and looking for that win. I think we’re on a good level and good mates the same as the rest of the Team GB boys.

“[But] with every rider, there’s this unspoken, you know, ‘animosity’ to each other that you want to kind of do one-up and do one better than them.”

Lambert also revealed the tracks he is looking forward to racing at the most this season, including performing in front of his own fans later in the summer.

“Definitely Warsaw and Cardiff,” he said of his favourite venues on the calendar. “Two great stadiums where the atmosphere is electric and definitely ones where you feel that energy a little bit extra and gives you that buzz. So I’m looking forward to them the most.

“Wroclaw is another great track where I’ve had success as well. So yeah, I’m looking forward to a few of them, but just looking forward for this series to get underway.

“I’m super excited, I have had a few meetings already and in Poland, and I’m just really happy and in loving life riding on the bike.”

Tai Woffinden has said he would love to see a Speedway meeting take place at Old Trafford, stating that such an event would be “incredible”.

Ahead of the new season of Speedway Grand Prix action – live and ad-free on discovery+ – the three-time world champion discussed his favourite tracks as well as citing Manchester United’s home ground as his dream venue to race.

“Between Warsaw and Cardiff for me,” Woffinden told a media day ahead of the new campaign. “I would have said Cardiff five years ago but the numbers are very slowly declining. The buzz just ain’t there like it used to be.

“The atmosphere in Warsaw is pretty incredible. But then you’ve got half the people in Cardiff and you have the same level of atmosphere.

“I went to watch Manchester United and I would love to see a 60-70,000-seater full to watch Speedway. More often, not just in Warsaw. It would be incredible.”

Although there are currently no plans in place for any Speedway at Old Trafford, the 2024 Speedway of Nations will actually be held in Manchester at the National Speedway Stadium.

Woffinden, alongside fellow Speedway Grand Prix riders Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert, will be representing Great Britain on home soil, where they will be hoping to repeat the success of 2021 at the same venue and make up for a loss in the final 12 months later in Vojens, Denmark.

“That’s obviously what we’re aiming for,” Woffinden stated with regard to claiming another gold medal. “We’ve proven we can be at that level. We’ve just got to keep going and keep pushing forwards as we always have done.”

Woffinden, 33, is Britain’s most successful rider with world titles in 2013, 2015 and 2018 and begins the 2024 campaign looking to claim a first championship in six years.

But having been plagued by injury during that time – including a huge crash in Cardiff last season as well as missing the final two meetings of the campaign – the Scunthorpe-born star believes he is better placed to compete fully again this time around.

“I’ve been injured every year since 2019,” he confessed. “I broke my back in 2019 and it’s been a constant grind ever since then.

“It’s not been ideal, but it’s part of what we do.

“I did a lot more rehab this year. Spent a lot more time with my strength and conditioning coach in Australia. Really looked after my left shoulder. I crashed in 2011 or 2012, dislocated my shoulder and never really looked after it so it’s nice to feel the same on both sides which I haven’t done for many years.

“This year is probably the most settled I’ve been. At the end of 2022, we sold our house in Europe, went to Australia for five months, came back to England and the house we were buying wasn’t ready until June, July. So I was living out of a hotel for the first two months of the year. That’s just not ideal preparation when you’re going to race in a world championship.

“I feel like we’re pretty much there now. I’m very excited for this year.”

The FIM Speedway Grand Prix is back for 2024 with 11 rounds of thrilling action to come over the course of another nail-biting, high-speed campaign.

With back-to-back titles under his belt, four-time champion Bartosz Zmarzlik will attempt to become the first competitor in SGP history to win three consecutive world titles this year but the rest of the field will be hoping to spring an upset.

Veteran Swedish rider Fredrik Lindgren pushed Zmarzlik all the way in 2023 with the title only being decided in the final heat of the final round in Torun, which will be an encouraging sign for anyone hoping to dethrone the dominant Pole.

This season will see some fresh faces to the rider line-up, as well as familiar venues for the riders to contend with in pursuit of glory…

Every meeting, including qualifying, will be broadcast in full and will be accessible live-on-demand on discovery+ and Eurosport’s digital platforms.

Eurosport.com will provide live coverage, reaction and video highlights of every single meeting.

• 1. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
• 2. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
• 3. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia)
• 4. Jack Holder (Australia)
• 5. Leon Madsen (Denmark)
• 6. Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
• 7. Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
• 8. Jason Doyle (Australia)
• 9. Tai Woffinden (Great Britain)
• 10. Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark)
• 11. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
• 12. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
• 13. Dominik Kubera (Poland)
• 14. Szymon Wozniak (Poland)
• 15. Jan Kvech (Czech Republic)

SUBSTITUTES

• S1. Max Fricke (Australia)
• S2. Maciej Janowski (Poland)
• S3. Kim Nilsson (Sweden)
• S4. Rasmus Jensen (Denmark)
• S5. Luke Becker (USA)
• S6. Dimitri Bergé (France)
• S7. Mateusz Cierniak (Poland)

The 2024 Speedway GP season takes place across eight different countries, with mostly familiar tracks and a returning meeting at Landshut in Germany for the first time since 1997.

• April 27 – FIM Speedway GP of Croatia – Donji Kraljevec
• May 11 – FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw
• May 18 – FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut
• June 1 – FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague
• June 15 – FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla
• June 29 – FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow
• August 17 – FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Cardiff
• August 31 – FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw
• September 7 – FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga
• September 14 – FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens
• September 28 – FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun

Every round will see the 15 permanent riders and one wild card rider race against each other over 20 heats. Every heat will consist of four riders doing four laps of the track.

• Each rider takes part in five of the 20 heats, with points given out as per the result of each heat.
• The winning rider in each heat is awarded three race points with two points for second, one for third, and none for last place.
• The eight riders with the most points at the end of the heats move to two semi-finals, with the top two in each semi then facing off in the final.
• The winning rider earns 20 championship points with 18 for second, 16 for third and 14 for fourth.
• The riders who finish third in each semi are awarded 11 or 12 points depending on who scored higher in the heats, and the same applies to the fourth-placed semi-finalists with nine or 10 points awarded.
• Those remaining riders who don’t reach the semis are then allocated championship points on a sliding scale from 8 down to zero based on their performances in the heats.
• The rider with the most points at the end of the season is the world champion.