Australian superstar and highly decorated Speedway competitor, Jason Doyle is now the standalone FIM Speedway GP Championship leader after coming second in the Adrian Flux British SGP.
Polish star Maciej Janowski won the Adrian Flux British FIM Speedway Grand Prix to go back-top-back, to now sit second behind Doyle in the points standings. With a three point buffer to Janowski, Doyle is in prime position to have a crack at this year’s title, as he now has a three-point cushion heading into the Swedish GP
The night did not get off to a great start for Doyle as he scored just a single point in his first ride and even fell in the next. Doyle managed to recover however to come second in the Semi’s and qualify to the Final.
The situation got tricky for Doyle in the Final as he received a warning – nearly touching the tapes. Doyle then found himself on the back foot for the re-run, with Janowski exceptional off the line. Doyle then rode his heart out to achieve a mightily impressive second, to the in-form Janowski.
Doyle’s ride was all the more impressive taking into account the 31-year-old is still hampered by a foot injury – and is still walking around on crutches.
Australian rider Doyle shared his thoughts after taking the win;
“Apart from Horsens, I’ve started a couple of GPs not very well and I have really been digging deep. After the first couple of rides, I barely had any points and had to do it the hard way.
“I snuck into the Semi’s again and fair play to Magic and Zagar. They were also good tonight. They had all the lines sorted out.
“I’m really happy with performance. I did it for everyone watching in my box. I thought I’d be sitting out of the Semi’s, so I’m very happy with where I ended up.”
Doyle shared his excitement about extending his championship lead; “It’s a long way to go this season – there are another six GPs. It doesn’t matter where you stand at the moment.
“You just need to bang those points in and see where you stand at the end of the season. We’re all going to be pushing hard – it’s the GPs. It’s tough racing.”
It will be interesting to see if Doyle can maintain his exceptional year so far during the Swedish GP that will take place on the August 12.
FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1 Jason Doyle 78
2 Maciej Janowski 75
3 Patryk Dudek 75
4 Fredrik Lindgren 58
5 Emil Sayfutdinov 58
6 Tai Woffinden 57
7 Bartosz Zmarzlik 55
8 Martin Vaculik 49
9 Matej Zagar 48
10 Greg Hancock 45
11 Chris Holder 44
12 Piotr Pawlicki 44
13 Niels-Kristian Iversen 38
14 Antonio Lindback 36
15 Peter Kildemand 22
16 Vaclav Milik 13
17 Nicki Pedersen 8
18 Maksims Bogdanovs 8
19 Kenneth Bjerre 7
20 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 3
21 Craig Cook 2
22 Josh Bates
23 Nick Skorja 1
ADRIAN FLUX BRITISH SGP:
1 Maciej Janowski 17
2 Jason Doyle 13
3 Matej Zagar 12
4 Bartosz Zmarzlik 16
5 Emil Sayfutdinov 11
6 Peter Kildemand 10
7 Patryk Dudek 10
8 Chris Holder 10
9 Tai Woffinden 9
10 Niels-Kristian Iversen 7
11 Fredrik Lindgren 7
12 Antonio Lindback 7
13 Martin Vaculik 4
14 Josh Bates 2
15 Craig Cook 2
16 Piotr Pawlicki 1
17 Adam Ellis 0
18 Greg Hancock 0