SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX | Future Aussie Star Shines

Bailey makes SGP3 podium while Kurtz takes first round win to herald a golden period

While the Speedway Grand Prix series attracts the most attention from fans, there is plenty to enthuse about looking to the future.

Teenager Beau Bailey reminded everyone that his is a name to remember for the future when he placed third in the Speedway Grand Prix 3 Final staged at Prague, Czechia.

Bailey won his semi-final staged at Krsko, Slovenia, with a maximum score to enter the final as one of the favourites – but his hopes were dashed with a third place and a disqualification from his first two rides before he won his remaining three heats to finish on 10 points, earning a berth in a run-off for third in an extremely congested scorechart.

He then scored an impressive win in the run-off after passing German rider Carlos Gennerich to claim third overall behind Danish rider Villads Pedersen and Slovenian Sven Cerjak.

The next Australian summer season will see Bailey move into the senior ranks, aiming to earn the chance to apply for a UK visa.

Nate Smith was the other promising Australian representative, progressing through his semi-final to finish 14th in the final.

In the Speedway Grand Prix 2 series, Perth 17-year-old Mitchell McDiarmid will contest the three-round competition after being selected for one of the permanent wildcard berths after he only missed out on automatically qualifying when he lost out in a three-way run-off for third, fourth and fifth place in his Qualifying Meeting.

Tate Zischke, Michael West, James Pearson and Alex Adamson also contested Qualifying Meetings.

This will give Australia a small pool of riders to select from for the Speedway of Nations 2 tournament in October.

The three SGP 2 rounds are at Malilla, Sweden (4 July), Riga, Latvia (1 August) and Vojens, Denmark (12 September).

BREAKTHROUGH FOR KURTZ

The exceptionally good news is that Brady Kurtz has won his first ever Speedway Grand Prix round, but five-time champion Bartosz Zmarzlik actually extended his championship lead across three rounds in a nine-day period.

It is now five final appearances from the six rounds for both title pacesetters, but Kurtz at least is now a winner – and it came a week after a crash that left him with a wrist injury requiring intensive physio.

Jack Holder remains in the top seven, which would ensure a berth in the 2026 line-up at season’s end, while Max Fricke has lifted himself to a more comfortable position in the rankings.

On night one in Manchester (13 June), Fricke and Kurtz led Zmarzlik home in the Sprint race and that trio then topped the scorechart, all on 12, with Fricke missing out on countback for a direct final berth.

That proved very costly, as Fricke then ran last in his LCQ behind Fredrik Lindgren.

Jack Holder was also a victim of the system, just one point behind the top three and then only pipped at the post in his LCQ by Dan Bewley.

A far from fully fit Jason Doyle managed only four points.

The thrilling decider saw three different leaders before Bewley was in front at the flag ahead of Zmarzlik, Kurtz and Lindgren.

The next night in Manchester there was no Sprint Race, with Zmarzlik best in the heats on 13 points as Kurtz again went direct to the final on 11 points and an exclusion when deemed the cause of a chilling crash when he and Lindgren tangled.

Both Holder and Fricke scored nine to make the LCQs where Holder scored a hard-fought win, before Fricke was relegated to second by a late pass by Lindgren.

Doyle was again down the scorechart.

Kurtz led the final before Zmarzlik stormed past with Lindgren and Holder following them home.

At Gorzow (21 June), Dan Bewley won the Sprint Race ahead of Lindgren, Zmarzlik and Holder.

In the heats, Zmarzlik (13) and Kurtz (12 from three wins, a second and a third) progressed direct to the final, before Lindgren and Bewley won the LCQs.

The involvement of the other Aussies ended with Doyle (six), Fricke (eight) and Holder (11) finishing second, third and fourth respectively in their races.

Kurtz was an emphatic winner in the final, leading home Zmarzlik, Bewley and Lindgren.

The next round is at Malilla, Sweden, on 5 July.

SGP standings after 6 of 10 rounds