SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX | Silver Lining For Kurtz

A record-breaking run for Brady Kurtz saw our Aussie star miss a championship crown on debut by a single point

The penultimate round of the 2025 World Speedway Championship, the DeWalt FIM GP of Poland at Wroclaw on 30 August, started with a sprint completion where series leader Bartosz Zmarzlik grabbed two points for third place ahead of Max Fricke, but behind Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert.

The other three Aussies bowed out in the first round of the Sprint.

Zmarzlik was at his supreme best, reeling off a 15-point max over the 20 heats, but again Brady Kurtz was next best on 13, dropping points to Zmarzlik and Fricke, as the two frontrunners dodged the Last Chance Qualifiers.

Fricke (11 from two thirds and three wins) had first pick of gate for his LCQ but got shoved aside and fell, being excluded. Jack Holder (seven from a third, three seconds and a last) won the re-run ahead of Andrejs Lebedevs (seven) and Anders Thomsen (nine). Bewley (eight) won the other LCQ from Jason Doyle (10 from two wins, a last and two seconds), Mikkel Michelsen (10) and Maciej Janowski (six).

At that point Zmarzlik was five ahead of Kurtz but when the tapes rose in the final, Kurtz was away, leaving Zmarzlik and Bewley to swap positions several times before the Pole won that battle for second, with Holder left chasing them all.

Kurtz’s four round wins in a row matched the record set by Sweden’s Tony Rickardsson in 2005 on his way to world title No.6.

Going into the final round in Denmark on 13 September saw Kurtz just three points adrift on the standings – but there was plenty more to race for besides deciding the 2025 champion Third place was up for grabs, Holder was safe in the top seven – guaranteeing him a berth for 2026 – but Fricke only had a three-point buffer over his nearest challenger (Lambert) for the seventh spot. And Doyle definitely needed to finish with a flourish to remind organisers that he’s worthy of a berth for next year.

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

In a finish worthy of the history books, Zmarzlik held his nerve to seal a record-equalling sixth world title by just one point over Kurtz at Vojens Speedway Centre in Denmark on 13 Sept.

Once into the 20 heats, the tension was palpable, with Zmarzlik steady rather than spectacular. Still, he collected two wins and three seconds for 13 points. Kurtz matched him blow for blow with the same total (three wins, a second and a third) to guarantee both men a direct passage into the decider. They were joined there by LCQ winners Bewley and none other than Danish national champ Michael Jepsen Jensen, who is making his return to the world stage 11 long years after his last full campaign.

In the final, Kurtz made the start and raced clear to an astonishing fifth straight GP victory – besting Rickardsson’s record. But Zmarzlik kept calm in second, which was just enough to clinch the crown.

“This is an amazing moment for me because when I was young, I was always dreaming about becoming world champion,” Zmarzlik said afterwards. “Now I am 30, I have six world titles, and this is unbelievable for me… I am super happy because Brady gave me a really big challenge, so thank you, Brady. All season we have produced a good show for the sport.”

Bewley’s consistency was rewarded with bronze overall, his first championship podium. Holder held firm to finish a creditable fifth; Fricke dropped from seventh to eighth by just three points; while Doyle’s run at Vojens saw him jump ahead from 12th to finish tenth overall.   

And with that, season 2025 is over, marked by the enduring image of Kurtz, rounding the last corner of the last lap of the last race – knowing he needed to finish two places ahead of Zmarzlik – looking back as he crossed the finish line, his head dropping… beaten, but not bowed. And it took an all-time legend of the sport to do it.

For Kurtz, there was pride despite the heartbreak of coming so close in his debut campaign. “Obviously it’s tough to come that close to winning,” he said. “But I am also so grateful and happy to win silver in my first year. To win five GPs is absolutely unbelievable… I have to say congratulations to Bartek. You have to respect him and admire him… I am not sure what I have to do to beat him, but I need to keep working on that.”

SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX Final standings