HEAT CARD
Here is how things are lining up tonight:
LAMBERT AIMING BIG IN 2024
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.”
MADSEN KEEN TO MAKE 2024 HIS YEAR
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.”
ZMARZLIK FOCUSSED ON RACING, NOT RECORDS
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.”
KUBERA FASTEST IN QUALIFYING PRACTICE
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
HELLO AND WELCOME
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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SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX 2024
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.